Northern
NSW has some wonderful national parks. Those
reasonably close to Grafton include Yuragir and Broadwater on the coast,
Washpool, Gibraltar Range and New England in the ranges.
The New
England National Park has been my favourite for many years.
I first
visited this special area around 35 years ago with my husband and two young
children. We stayed over a weekend at
the Chalet, a cabin at Banksia Point, just below Point Lookout.
Since
then I've been back many times with my children, with friends and on several
occasions with my grandchildren.
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| Looking east from the escarpment |
This is
a wonderful natural area, perched on the edge of the New England plateau,
overlooking the Bellinger Valley. The
views from Banksia Point and Point Lookout above are spectacular. From the escarpment you look east across
ridge after ridge of densely vegetated land.
In the ravines and valleys, where the dense rainforests are, the
vegetation is dark green. Along the
ridges, the domain of eucalypts and species that live in drier areas, the green
is paler.
On
occasions you look from the escarpment down onto cloud which fills the valleys
and gives the impression of a white sea with islands of vegetation rising from
it.
Point
Lookout, the highest point in the park, is more than 1500 metres above sea
level. From there on a clear day you can
glimpse the sea on the horizon – somewhere off Urunga.
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| The escarpment, late afternoon. |
I've
enjoyed many of the walking tracks in this park – from those meandering through
the tree ferns to those steep trails descending through the majestic, mossy
Antarctic Beech, remnants of the ancient continent of Gondwanaland. Some tracks follow the swiftly flowing creeks
plunging for a while over huge granite boulders. Then these creeks seem to rest as they turn into
deep shadowed pools which look inviting but which are breath-catchingly cold
even in the midst of summer.
I
remember walking on a cold winter's morning along the Eagle's Nest track, just
below the escarpment and being amazed at the icicles hanging from the rocks
where water had dripped from above overnight.
I
remember more recently going for a summer walk with my son and my
grand-daughter. When we were about
halfway to our destination, it rained heavily. Rivulets of water cruised
through my hair and down my neck and I was completely sodden but I relished the
experience of walking in the rain.
Among other
highlights of visits to the New England have been encounters with two of the
local fauna species.
The
first is the Superb Lyrebird, renowned as an outstanding mimic and as an extremely
shy bird. You frequently hear the
distant calls of lyrebirds in the valleys below and sometimes you encounter a
foraging bird along one of the tracks – particularly if you move quietly. But if you're staying at Banksia Point you
are likely to have the opportunity to observe a lyrebird at close
quarters. Those who forage around this
spot are used to people and don't flee unless you try to get too close.
I
remember one magical visit many years ago when I saw a male lyrebird, tail
unfurled and magnificent, practising what must have been his mating
ritual. He danced and carolled and
mimicked while I watched entranced. I'm
sure he knew a human was watching him.
The
second local fauna species is the spotted-tailed quoll which used to be called
the native cat. For years there was a
resident group of these carnivorous marsupials near Banksia Point. Although they are primarily nocturnal, I have
sighted them frequently there during the daytime.
The most
memorable quoll encounter occurred when I was staying with friends at the
Residence, another cabin. One hungry
quoll, obviously scenting our breakfast, made its way into the ceiling and down
an air vent and popped through the end of it onto the stove top. We were all stunned but the quoll got a
bigger shock to see five or six humans at very close quarters. It hastily turned
and scurried back up the vent.
While
our magnificent national parks are important for the protection of biodiversity
they are also places where humans who appreciate nature can re-connect with a
world that is in some ways simpler and certainly more natural than our everyday
world.
- Leonie Blain
