Bowling Green Bay is a national park in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, 1,103 km northwest of Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

, and 28km south of Townsville and 59 km north of Ayr

Ayr, Queensland

Ayr is a town in Queensland, Australia near the delta of the Burdekin River, named after the Scottish town of Ayr by the settlers from the United Kingdom...

. It is a Ramsar Convention

Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...

 listed Site. The park protects diverse range of habitats including the rugged, forested landscape surrounding Mount Elliot and Saddle Mountain as well as coastal estuaries between Cape Cleveland and Cape Bowling Green.

Landforms

Mount Elliot rises 1,342 m and has numerous creeks on its eastern slopes, of which, Alligator Creek is the most important. The creek is a popular place to swim and to watch birds drinking the creek's water or feeding on riparian vegetation.

The parks incorporates the floodplains of the Haughton River. This includes one of the largest wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

s on the east coast of Australia. The wetland arose as the coastal streams deposited material into the calm waters of Bowling Green Bay. It is composed of mud and sand flats, swamps, isolated hills, mangrove forests and inter-tidal flats. Behind the areas where mangroves grow are bare salt pan

Salt pan (geology)

Natural salt pans are flat expanses of ground covered with salt and other minerals, usually shining white under the sun. They are found in deserts, and should not be confused with salt evaporation ponds.A salt pan is formed where water pools...

. These wide expanses are a unique characteristic of North Queensland

North Queensland

North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the state of Queensland in Australia. Queensland is a massive state, larger than most countries, and the tropical northern part of it has been historically remote and undeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and...

 wetlands produced by comparatively low rainfall and a short wet season

Wet season

The the wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region occurs. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the...

 that never washes the salt away.

Fauna

The Brolga

Brolga

The Brolga , formerly known as the "Native Companion", is a bird in the crane family. The bird has also been given the name "Australian Crane", a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithological artist John Gould in his Birds of Australia.The Brolga is a common gregarious wetland bird species in...

 and Magpie Goose find habitat in the sedge swamps of Bowling Green Bay. The park is one of the best places to see the rarely observed Zitting Cisticola

Zitting Cisticola

The Zitting Cisticola or Streaked Fantail Warbler , is widely distributed Old World warbler whose breeding range includes southern Europe, Africa outside the deserts and rainforest, and southern Asia down to northern Australia...

. Other bird species include the Whistling Duck, Black Duck

Black Duck

There are three dabbling ducks named as Black Duck:* African Black Duck, Anas sparsa* American Black Duck, Anas rubripes* Pacific Black Duck, Anas superciliosaOther uses...

, Spoonbill

Spoonbill

Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises.All have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side...

, Ibis

Ibis

The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....

 and Jabiru

Jabiru

The Jabiru is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It is most common in the Pantanal region of Brazil and the Eastern Chaco region of Paraguay. It is the only member of the genus Jabiru...

. Crocodiles are found in the estuarine and swamp areas.

Facilities

Camping in the park in permitted at the Alligator Creek campground. Bush camping is permitted at Cape Bowling Green. No open fires or domestic animals are permitted in the park.

Access

Access to the park is via the Bruce Highway

Bruce Highway

The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is a part of the Australian National Highway and also part of Highway 1...

. Cape Bowling Green is accessible via the village of Alva Beach.

External links

• Environment and Resource Management, Queensland - Bowling Green Bay National Park