Booti Booti National Park () is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia, , by road, north-north-east of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. The holiday town of Forster- Tuncurry lies immediately to the north.

History

The first European to inhabit the area was a Captain J. Gogerly who sailed from Forster to Sydney with loads of timber. He and some of his family are buried in the park. Mining for mineral sands took place at Seven Mile Beach from 1969 to 1975, and at Elizabeth Beach from 1969 to 1970. The park was declared a state recreation area from 30 September 1977, then a national park in 1992.

Geography

Geographically, the national park is made up of three hill complexes – the high Cape Hawke to the north, and high Booti Hill and high Charlotte Head in the southern end. The three areas are connected by low–lying

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

and aeolian sands. The stretch of land between Cape Hawke and Booti Hill is around long and ranges between and wide. It separates Wallis Lake from the ocean. Cape Hawke and Charlotte Head were once islands, which became joined to the mainland by built-up sand deposits.

Flora

654 species of native plants have been recorded from Booti Booti National Park. This formed 46 distinct plant communities within the park boundaries. 17% of the park is classified as

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

. Seven distinct wet

sclerophyll forest Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

and ten dry sclerophyll forest communities have been recorded. Five species recognised as ''threatened'' by the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

occur within the park – these are '' Allocasuarina defungens'', '' A. simulans'', '' Chamaesyce psammogeton'', '' Cynanchum elegans'' and '' Senna acclinis''. 104 exotic species have been recorded from the park. Bitou bush (''

Chrysanthemoides monilifera ''Osteospermum moniliferum'' (synonym ''Chrysanthemoides monilifera'') is an evergreen flowering shrub or small tree in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It is native to southern Africa, ranging through South Africa and Lesotho to Mozambique and Zimb ...

'' var. ''rotundata'') has infested sand dunes and cliff areas, having spread from nearby beach habitat. ''

Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduced i ...

'' infests the rainforest at Cape Hawke, particularly disturbed habitat. Madeira vine (''

Anredera cordifolia ''Anredera cordifolia'', commonly known as the Madeira vine or mignonette vine, is a South American species of ornamental plant, ornamental succulent vine of the family Basellaceae. The combination of fleshy leaves and thick aerial tubers makes t ...

'') and coast morning glory (''

Ipomoea cairica ''Ipomoea cairica'' is a vining, herbaceous, perennial plant with palmate leaves and large, showy white to lavender flowers. A species of morning glory, it has many common names, including mile-a-minute vine, Messina creeper, Cairo morning glor ...

'') are vines that grow over and smother native vegetation in the park.

Fauna

Booti Booti National Park has had 210 species of bird recorded within its limits.

Activities

Activities at Booti Booti National Park include hiking, swimming, birdwatching,

mooning Illustration of a woman raising her dress and mooning a nun (1905) Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, and also pot ...

and, during winter, whale watching. Camping sites are located at The Ruins, in the Booti Hill area at the park's southern end. A lookout is located on top of Cape Hawke.

References