Garigal National Park
New South Wales
View of the national park from Middle Harbour
Map
Garigal National Park
Nearest town or citySydney
Established19 April 1991 (1991-04-19)[1]
Area22.02 km2 (8.5 sq mi)[1]
Managing authoritiesNSW National Parks & Wildlife Service
WebsiteGarigal National Park
See alsoProtected areas of
New South Wales
Aboriginal rock carving near Bantry Bay
A Brushturkey in the bush west of Seaforth
Creek in Garigal NP

The Garigal National Park is a protected national park that is located within the North Shore and Forest District regions of Sydney, New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 2,202-hectare (5,440-acre) national park is situated approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of the Sydney central business district.

Split into three distinct sections, divided by natural geography, urban development and road infrastructure, the park comprises the valley of Middle Harbour Creek and its tributaries, the slopes along the northern side of Middle Harbour as far as Bantry Bay and part of the catchment of Narrabeen Lakes.

The park trails are popular with bushwalkers and mountain bike riders, particularly between Belrose and St Ives in an area known as Cascades after the Cascades Track that runs through the area. There are over 35 trails in the park covering 120km, including both authorised bushwalking and mountain-biking trails, and unofficial or unsanctioned tracks.[2]

Etymology and indigenous heritage

The word Garigal is a derivation of the word Carigal or Caregal used to describe the indigenous people who lived in Guringai country,[3] translated in modern English as Ku-ring-gai.[4]

The Guringai people are the traditional custodians of the land now reserved as the Garigal National Park and there is considerable evidence of past Aboriginal activity in the area, with over 100 Aboriginal sites recorded to date, including shelters, cave art, rock engravings, middens, grinding grooves and a possible stone arrangement.[5]

Location

Much of the park is bounded by residential development along the ridge tops and it is easily accessible at numerous points by road and water. Several other conservation reserves and areas of bushland are adjacent or close by the Garigal National Park, including the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, the Sydney Harbour National Park, the Manly Warringah War Memorial Park (commonly known as the Manly Dam Reserve) and a number of areas of Crown land and other reserves in Northern Beaches, Ku-ring-gai and Willoughby local government areas.[5]

The national park is defined by the following boundaries

Features

Fauna

A Dry Sclerophyll Forest, Garigal National Park is home to a wide range of fauna, including birds, snakes and a wide range of native mammals (such as bandicoots, koalas, wallabies).[6]

There is also a number of introduced pests, including rabbits and foxes.[7]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Garigal National Park: Park management". Office of Environment & Heritage. Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  2. ^ "Guide to Garigal National Park". Hiking the World. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Local history: Pittwater's Past: Aborigines". Mona Vale Library. Pittwater Council. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  4. ^ Moore, Tim J. (15 November 1991). "Nattai National Park Bill". Hansard. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Garigal National Park: Plan of management" (PDF). NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (PDF). Government of New South Wales. 9 December 2013. ISBN 978-1-74359-324-0. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Garigal National Park". NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service. Government of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Sydney North Region: Pest Management Strategy (2008-2011)" (PDF). NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (PDF). Government of New South Wales. 2007. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-74122-639-3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.

External links

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National parks of New South Wales, Australia
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