Otway National Park
Encyclopedia
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
(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...
), 162 km southwest of Melbourne. It contains a diverse range of landscapes and vegetation types.
History
The 103 km² park was declared in 2004 when Otway National Park, Angahook-Lorne State Park, Carlisle State Park, Melba Gully State ParkMelba Gully State Park
The Melba Gully State Park was formed to protect a small pocket of natural rainforest in the Otway Ranges near Apollo Bay in Victoria . The 48 ha park was extremely valuable as much of the rest of the Ranges has been burnt out many times by bushfires...
, areas of the Otway State Forest and a number of Crown Land reserves were combined into one park, after a successful campaign by the local community, led by the Otway Ranges Environment Network.
Park
The park is a popular area for interstate and international tourists, with companies operating tours in the region. It contains three camping areas at JohannaJohanna, Victoria
Johanna is a small town on the coast of Victoria, Australia located west of Cape Otway in the Colac Otway Shire. It is named after the schooner Joanna that was wrecked at the mouth of the Johanna River on 22 September 1843.-History:...
, Aire River
Aire River (Victoria)
The Aire River is a river in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It arises in the Otway Ranges south of Beech Forest and enters Bass Strait through the Great Otway National Park....
and Blanket Bay. The park is accessed from the east via Apollo Bay, from the north via Forrest
Forrest, Victoria
Forrest, Victoria is a small rural township located in the Otway Ranges. At the 2006 census, Forrest and the surrounding area had a population of 170.-History:...
or Beech Forest, or from the west via Princetown. The park covers both coastline and hinterland in the Otway Ranges and so includes both beaches and forest, accessible via walking trails. The Cape Otway
Cape Otway
Cape Otway is a cape in south Victoria, Australia on the Great Ocean Road; much of the area is enclosed in the Otway National Park.-History:...
Lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
is adjacent to the park and is open to tourists throughout the week. The park and the Aire River campground are home to a significant koala
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
population.
Important Bird Area
The park has been identified by BirdLife InternationalBirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
as an Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
(IBA) because it supports populations of Rufous Bristlebird
Rufous Bristlebird
The Rufous Bristlebird is a species of bird in the Dasyornithidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitat is temperate forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-Australia:...
s, Striated Fieldwren
Striated Fieldwren
The Striated Fieldwren or Calamanthus is a species of bird in the Acanthizidae family, endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....
s and Pink Robin
Pink Robin
The Pink Robin is a small passerine bird native to southeastern Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Like many brightly coloured robins of the Petroicidae family, it is sexually dimorphic...
s, as well as numerous other species.
See also
- Protected areas of Victoria (Australia)Protected areas of Victoria (Australia)Victoria is the smallest mainland state in Australia. It contains 1966 separate Protected Areas with a total land area of 33,780 km² . Of these, 36 are National parks, totalling 25,774 km² ....
- Great Ocean WalkGreat Ocean WalkThe Great Ocean Walk is a walking trail located on Victoria's south-west coast in Australia, traversing several areas of historical and cultural significance...
- Triplet FallsTriplet FallsTriplet Falls are waterfalls located in the Great Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia. The Falls are fed by the Young Creek and as the name suggests there are three falls that cascade over a lush rainforest to the floor of the valley...