Belair National Park

Belair National Park
Belair National Park
Coordinates: 35 ° 0 ′ 47 ″  S , 138 ° 39 ′ 21 ″  E
Location:	South Australia , Australia
Next city:	Hill country, eucalyptus forest
Surface:	8.39 km²
Founding:	1891
Landscape in Belair National Park

The Belair National Park (English Belair National Park ) is located in the state of South Australia of Australia , only about 13 kilometers from the center of Adelaide . It is 835  hectares and was the first national park in South Australia to be placed under protection in January 1891. This makes it the second oldest national park in Australia and the tenth oldest in the world.

location

Belair National Park is located in the Mitcham and Adelaide Hills and is part of a chain of national parks that stretch along the Adelaide Hills Face Zone . The specialty of the area is that it is the only region in South Australia that has both relatively high rainfall (between 750 and 1000 millimeters per year) and a hilly topography. The summers are hot and dry, the winters cold and wet.

history

Aborigines from the Kaurna tribe , whose settlement area stretched from Crystal Brook in the north to Cape Jervis in the south and the Mount Lofty Ranges in the interior, originally lived in what is now the national park. In 1837 the first Europeans crossed the area, from 1840 it was settled by them.

flora

In the western part of the park, forest communities dominate with the tree species gray box ( Eucalyptus microcarpa ), white gum eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus leucoxylon ) and red eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus camaldulensis ) as well as an undergrowth of numerous grass species. The golden acacia ( Acacia pycnantha ) and the kangaroo thorn ( Acacia paradoxa ) were promoted in their spread by the repeated burning of the vegetation. Overall, nature has suffered more from earlier forms of use in this area. In the eastern area of ​​the park there are open woodlands, which are characterized by the messmate Stringybark ( Eucalyptus obliqua ), white gum eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus leucoxylon ), pink gum ( Eucalyptus fasciculosa ) or rod-shaped eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus viminalis ).

fauna

The National Park provides a livelihood for 15 native mammal species, such as the short-beaked echidna , curly tail Beutler , possum , Yellow-Footed Antechinus and little short-nosed bandicoot . Red and gray giant kangaroos and koalas are also found.

• Mammal species in Belair National Park
• 

  Short-billed hedgehog

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  Fox kusu

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  Rabbit kangaroos

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  Red giant kangaroo

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  Koala bear

So far, around 130 species of birds have been identified in the national park, but many of them only pass through. Common species include, for example, the white-cheeked heron , the Australian tree hawk , the Papuan moorhen , the musk lory and the singing parakeet . In addition, six amphibians and 19 reptile species were detected.

• Bird species in Belair National Park
• 

  White-cheeked heron

• 

  Papuan Moorhen

• 

  Musk Lorikeet

• 

  Red Parakeet

tourism

Old Government House

There is a visitor center in the park, toilets and rest areas are also available. There are hiking trails and paths for cyclists and riders. The Old Government House , built around the mid-19th century, used to be the summer residence of the Governor of South Australia and can be visited today. Plants are raised in the State Flora Nursery .

The park is visited by around 250,000 visitors annually.

Web links

Commons : Belair National Park  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Belair National Park. In: National Parks South Australia. Retrieved May 22, 2015 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Belair: History. (No longer available online.) In: National Parks South Australia. Archived from the original on February 11, 2014 ; accessed on May 22, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ ^{a b} Belair National Park: Flora ( Memento from October 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ Belair National Park: Fauna ( Memento of October 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
5. ↑ Belair: Things to see and do. (No longer available online.) In: National Parks South Australia. Archived from the original on April 1, 2015 ; accessed on May 22, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.