Eungella National Park
Encyclopedia
Eungella is a national park
in Queensland
, Australia
, 80 km west of Mackay
, and 858 km northwest of Brisbane
. The original inhabitants are the Goreng goreng
(goo-rang goo-rang) people. The park is covered by dense rainforest and is known for its platypus
es.
The national park was established in 1941 and is situated on the Clarke Range
. To the north-east, Mount Dalrymple and Mount William are two separate peaks, which are the same height at 1,259 m. Eungella is the lowest part of the range and looks over the Pioneer Valley to the east.
The name comes from a local Aboriginal dialect which means "land in the cloud".
, bush rat
, brushtail possum
, koala
tawny frogmouth
and boobook owl may also be observed.
There are more than 20 km of bushwalking tracks, some with scenic lookouts. A platform on the Broken River provides good viewing of platypus, eels and turtles.
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
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...
, 80 km west of Mackay
Mackay, Queensland
Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....
, and 858 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...
. The original inhabitants are the Goreng goreng
Goreng goreng
The Goreng Goreng people are an Australian Aboriginal language group. The Goreng Goreng area is between Baffle Creek to Agnes Water, Queensland in the north, extending westerly as far as Kroombit Tops....
(goo-rang goo-rang) people. The park is covered by dense rainforest and is known for its platypus
Platypus
The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...
es.
The national park was established in 1941 and is situated on the Clarke Range
Clarke Range
The Clarke Range is a rainforest-covered mountain range in Central Queensland, Australia. It forms part of the Great Dividing Range in central Queensland, lying about 30 km from the coast and 65 km west of the coastal city of Mackay...
. To the north-east, Mount Dalrymple and Mount William are two separate peaks, which are the same height at 1,259 m. Eungella is the lowest part of the range and looks over the Pioneer Valley to the east.
The name comes from a local Aboriginal dialect which means "land in the cloud".
Fauna
More than 100 species of bird have been recorded in Eungella. At night the ringtail possum is often seen and to a lesser extent the short-nosed bandicootShort-nosed bandicoot
The short-nosed bandicoots are members of the order Peramelemorphia. They can be found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and in Albany, Western Australia.-Species:There are three species in this genus:...
, bush rat
Bush Rat
The bush rat is a small Australian nocturnal animal. It is an omnivore. It is one of the most common species of rats and is found in many heathland areas of Victoria and NSW...
, brushtail possum
Brushtail possum
The brushtail possums are the members of the genus, Trichosurus, a genus of marsupial in the Phalangeridae family.It contains the following species:*Northern Brushtail Possum, Trichosurus arnhemensis...
, koala
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
tawny frogmouth
Tawny Frogmouth
The Tawny Frogmouth is an Australian species of frogmouth, a type of bird found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania and southern New Guinea. The Tawny Frogmouth is often mistaken to be an owl...
and boobook owl may also be observed.
Climate
The average annual rainfall is in excess of 2,000 mm which mostly falls between the months of December and March. Despite being tropical, snow has fallen at Eungella National Park twice in recorded history - 1964 and in 2000. It is quite common for the temperature around Eungella to drop below zero more than once a year.Facilities
Camping is permitted at Fern Flat campground, which is accessible walking only. The Broken River picnic area has facilities for day visitors.There are more than 20 km of bushwalking tracks, some with scenic lookouts. A platform on the Broken River provides good viewing of platypus, eels and turtles.