Ravine Des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area
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Ravine Des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area is a
protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...
on the west end of
Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...
in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
, about west of Kingscote. It was established in 1993 on land previously part of the
Flinders Chase National Park Flinders Chase National Park (formerly Flinders Chase) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located at the west end of Kangaroo Island about west-south west of the state capital of Adelaide and west of the municipal ...
.


Description


Location

Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area is located at the north-western end of Kangaroo Island in South Australia, approximately west of Kingscote. It is located within the gazetted localities of Cape Borda and Flinders Chase.


Extent

The wilderness protection area is bounded to the south by the West Bay Road and the West Melrose Track, to the east by the West End Highway, and the north in part by the Playford Highway. The remainder is the coastline, down to the mean low water mark, from the cove known as Harvey's Return in the north-east, to West Bay in the west. The coastline boundary excludes the former lighthouse reserve at Cape Borda, which is part of the Flinders Chase National Park.


Protected area designation

The Wilderness Protection Area is classified as an
IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...
Category Ib protected area.


History and prior use of land

The wilderness protection area was proclaimed on 15 October 1993, "in order to protect and preserve the outstandingly high wilderness qualities of the area." It was named after the Ravine des Casoars, a valley and associated drainage basin located in the northern half of the wilderness protection area. Previously, the land had been part of the Flinders Chase National Park and its predecessors since 1919. Prior to being part of a protected area, the land which was never cleared by European colonists for agricultural or any other purpose, appears to have supported Aboriginal people on the basis of archaeological evidence. As of 1999,
radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...
of material recovered via archaeological excavation from sites at Cape du Couedic and Rocky River just outside the wilderness protection area's southern boundary, suggest an Aboriginal presence from approximately 7,500 years BP, to as recent as 350–400 years BP.


Wilderness qualities

The following qualities have been identified by the government agency managing the wilderness protection area:
The extensive woodlands and nature forests are virtually pristine. The area contains several complete natural drainage systems, from watershed to their discharge at sea. Wilderness quality is recorded as high over the entire area except where it is reduced in a narrow north-south band by the presence of Shackle Road, an unsealed public access road. The vegetation is biologically intact and many endemic plants are present.


Visitor services

The wilderness protected area can be visited on foot via the following
walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...
and trekking trails, which connect locations both in the wilderness protection area and the Flinders Chase National Park. The ‘Return Road Hike’ is a walking trail, that starts at Harvey's Return and finishes at the Cape Borda Lightstation. The ‘Flinders Chase Coastal Trek’ is a trekking trail between Cape du Couedic and the Ravine Des Casoars car park, on the north side of the ravine, at the southern end of Ravine Road. The trekking trail has three sections - Cape Du Couedic to Snake Lagoon (length of ), Snake Lagoon to West Bay (length of ) and West Bay to Ravine Des Casoars car park (length of ).


References


External links


Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area webpage on protected planet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area Wilderness areas of South Australia Protected areas of Kangaroo Island Protected areas established in 1993 1993 establishments in Australia