Royal National Park
Royal National Park - a national park in New South Wales. The park is the second oldest national park after Yellowstone and the first protected area to which the expression « national park » is used. The territory, organized on April 26, 1879, was first called the National Park itself. Renaming occurred only in 1955 in honor of Queen Elizabeth II, who had previously visited Australia.
National Park covers more than 150 km2. In July 2006, the park was included in the Australian National Heritage Register. Many species of flora and fauna grow in it, some of them are threatened with extinction. From the north, the park borders on South Sydney and Port-Haking Bay, from the east its territory is washed by the waters of the Tasman Sea.
As in any other national park, many hiking trails are laid in the Royal. The paths in the Royal Park are very convenient so as not to disturb vegetation, they are often laid with wooden and metal flooring. The main trail goes along the coast, opening amazing views of the rocks, the color of which varies from sugar-white to red, which gives a unique color to these places. On specially marked tracks, mountain biking is allowed, and movement on these tracks is two-way. One of the most popular routes is a two-day journey along the seashore from Bandina to the town of North Era with an overnight stay in a tent.
The landscape of the Royal National Park is very diverse – from coastal cliffs sharpened by sea waves, and small cozy bays to ancient alpine plateaus and deep river valleys. Rivers flowing from south to north flow into the wide but shallow Port Hawking Bay, which is the northern border of the park. Sandy beaches open to the ocean are a great place to swim and surf. Some beaches can be reached by road, to others – only after several hours of walking.
The flora of the Royal National Park is as diverse as its relief. On bare wastelands and coastal areas you can see rosemary, darvinia, kazuarin, dew, etc. On the tops of the ancient sand dunes there is silver banssia, large-fruited oak and heather. Among these thickets, honey pumps, fire-tailed amadins and southern soft-tailed maluras scurry scurry scurry scurry. In the coastal rain forest, which survived human invasions of the 19th and 20th centuries, Australian tea tree and long-leaved blond dominate. On the slopes of river valleys, eucalyptus, pine trees, red blood trees grow mainly, and from shrubs – banssia, aralia, peppermint. They are found in the Royal National Park and orchids, wild lilies, irises and hundreds of other amazingly beautiful flowers. River valleys were chosen by many representatives of the birds – golden whistles, yellow-tailed cacadas, laughing cucabarras, honey pumps. From the animals here you can see mountain kangaroos walllara, echidn, koal, wild dingo dogs.
