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Walpole-Nornalup National Park, WA Australia
| Address | South Coast Highway,
Walpole
Western Australia, 6398, Australia | | Enquiries : | Send an enquiry to Walpole-Nornalup National Park | | Telephone Enquiries : | 08-9840 1111 |
The Walpole-Nornalup National Park is situated 121 kilometres west of Albany, surrounded the tranquil inlets of Walpole and Nornalup. Fed by the freshwater Walpole River, the Walpole Inlet is joined by a natural deep channel to the larger and deeper Nornalup Inlet, fed by the freshwater Deep River and the saltier Frankland River.
The one kilometre long and two metre deep channel is bordered by steep granite hills and rocky shores, known locally as 'The Knolls' and covered with dense karri forest.
Sealers and whalers were the first Europeans to arrive on Walpole's coast in the early 1800's and their glowing reports brought William Preston and his party to officially explore the area in 1837.
Four years later, William Nairn Clark and his party rowed into Nornalup and wrote in his diary; "The sail up was truly delightful. The river actually appeared to be embosomed amongst lofty wooded hills, with tall eucalypt trees close to the water's edge, and crowning the summits of these high hills thus casting a deep gloom over the water and making the scenery the most romantic I ever witnessed in the other quarters of the globe."
Today, the The Walpole-Nornalup National Park is renowned for its natural beauty including four rare and wonderful trees - the red, yellow and rate's tingles, and the red-flowering gum. To the east of Walpole, the 'Valley of the Giants' (home to the famous Tree Top Walk) gives visitors the chance to experience the awesome sight of the giant red tingle trees with trunks of up to 20 metres in circumference!
A fantastic variety of flora and fauna can be viewed throughout the Park. For those wanting to know their tingles from their karris, The 'Forest Discovery Wheel' (available from local tourist centres) helps identify eighteen of Western Australia's best known forest trees, bush tucker plants and wildflowers. This Western Australian Tourism Commission environmental tourism package, developed in conjunction with the Department of Conservation and Land Management's WA Herbarium, provides funding to help save threatened flora species.
In the south-west of the Park, about 5000 hectares of near-pristine bushland has been set aside for bushwalkers seeking solitude and beauty. In addition, Western Australia's world-class walk trail, The Bibbulmun Track, passes through the Walpole-Nornalup National Park on its 1000 kilometre route from Perth hills to Albany. For more information visit: www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au or telephone (08) 9481 0551 / (08) 9321 0649 or email: friends@bibbulmuntrack.org.au.
Camping is permitted at some locations in the park including Coalmine Beach (power and hot water available) and Crystal Springs (borehole toilets, barbecues and cold water). There are also commercial campsites at Rest Point and Peaceful Bay Caravan Park. Wilderness areas are backpack camping only.
Visitors to Walpole-Nornalup between February and April each year can by lucky enough to witness one of nature's most remarkable phenomena, the annual migration and spawning run of the Australian salmon.
For further information, contact Conservation and Land Management, Walpole Office, on 08 9840 1034.
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| Activity | Birdwatching, Bushwalking. | | Entity Facility | Picnic Area. | | Experience | Adventure, Beach, Flora/Fauna, Nature based, Wildlife. |
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