Royal National Park description and photos - Australia: Sydney (Topic)

Royal National Park description and photos - Australia: Sydney. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Royal National Park.

Photo & Description

Royal National Park is located 29 km south of Sydney. Officially established in April 1879, it is the second oldest national park in the world after Yellowstone in the United States. Initially, this specially protected natural area was called simply "National Park", but in 1955 the word "Royal" was added to the name in honor of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, who traveled through the area a year earlier during her visit to Australia. In 2006 the park was listed as a National Treasure of Australia.

There are several settlements in the park - Audley, Mayanbar and Bandina, which can be reached by highway.

Like any other national park, there are many hiking trails in the Royal, barbecue and picnic areas have been created. Mountain biking is allowed on specially marked paths, and the movement on these paths is two-way. One of the most popular routes is a two-day trek along the seashore from Bandina to North Era with an overnight stay in a tent.

The landscape of the Royal National Park is very diverse - from coastal cliffs, eroded by sea waves, and small cozy coves to ancient high mountain plateaus and deep river valleys. The rivers flowing from south to north flow into the wide but shallow Bay of Port Hacking, which is the northern boundary of the park. Sandy beaches open to the ocean are a great place for swimming and surfing. Some beaches can be reached by road, while others can only be reached after a few hours of walking.

The flora of the park is as diverse as its relief. Rosemary, darwinia, casuarina, sundew and others can be seen in the outcrops and coastal areas. On the tops of ancient sand dunes, there are silver bankxia, large-fruited oak and heather. Among these thickets scurry about honey suckers, fire-tailed finches and southern soft-tailed beetles. The coastal rainforest, which has survived human invasions of the 19th and 20th centuries, is dominated by the Australian tea tree and long-leaved Lomander.

On the slopes of river valleys, mainly eucalyptus, pines, red blood trees grow, and from shrubs - Banksia, Aralia, peppermint. Orchids, wild lilies, irises and hundreds of other amazingly beautiful flowers are also found here. The river valleys were chosen by many representatives of birds - golden whistlers, yellow-tailed cockatoos, laughing kookaburras, honey suckers, etc. Among the animals here you can see mountain kangaroos, wallaru, echidnas, koalas, wild dingo dogs.

On the territory of the Royal National Park, several buildings of the late 19th - early 20th centuries have survived: for example, in the town of Audley there is still a wooden dance hall, built about a hundred years ago, and on the western edge of the dam there is a huge wooden boathouse for lifeboats listed as a national treasure. Aboriginal rock carvings have been found at Cape Gibbon, which offers a beautiful view of the Sutherland Peninsula - this site was once used for initiation rites. And not far from the town of Carracarong, right on the shore, you can see a huge rock in the shape of an eagle's head.

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Topic: Royal National Park description and photos - Australia: Sydney.