Elsey National Park

Elsey National Park
Palm grove not far from the thermal pool
Coordinates: 14 ° 57 ′ 11 ″  S , 133 ° 11 ′ 35 ″  E
Location:	Northern Territory , Australia
Specialty:	Roper River , hot springs
Next city:	10 km from Mataranka
Surface:	138 km²
Founding:	1991

The Elsey National Park is a 138 square kilometer National Park in the north of the Northern Territory , Australia .

location

The park is located about 380 kilometers southwest of Darwin near Mataranka . Access to the park is from the Stuart Highway . The turnoff directly in Mataranka leads to the Bitter Springs . One and a half kilometers further south is the main part of the park via Homestead Road .

National park

Much of the national park is shaped by the Roper River and the multitude of springs from which it is fed. In the dry season it flows slowly through large waterholes that are separated from each other by tuff stone steps. During the rainy season, however, the Roper River swells into a torrent.

The main attractions are the two hot springs Thermal Pool and Rainbow Spring . 34 ° C warm spring water from the underground, over 30 million liters daily, feed the two pools.

Flora and fauna

So far, a total of 269 native animal species have been identified in the park, including 155 bird, 32 mammal, 51 reptile, 15 amphibian and 16 fish species.

Three of these species are endangered: the fox shark , the warbler and Leichhardt's saw ray .

The occurrence of the black fruit bat and the small red fruit bat is also remarkable . The latter forms colonies with up to 500,000 individuals in the national park; The area around the Mataranka Pool is of particular importance.

In addition, 371 native plant species were recorded. The park is home to several species with a restricted range, including the subspecies Livistona mariae ssp. rigida of the Livistona palm .

tourism

The best time to visit the national park is from May to September. He offers warm, crystal-clear ponds for swimmers, although outside the dry season you have to watch out for saltwater crocodiles and freshwater crocodiles are also a danger in some places (observe warning notices). Canoeing and fishing is possible on long stretches of the river. Hiking trails open up the landscape and lead to historical sites. Due to the weather, especially in the rainy season, the accessibility of areas in the park may be restricted.

Web links

• Official site of the park (English)
• Management plan of the national park, English, pdf

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Official website of the park. Northern Territory Government, archived from the original on March 22, 2016 ; accessed on January 16, 2016 . 
2. ^ ^{A b} Elsey National ark Management Plan. (PDF) Northern Territory Government, May 2012, pp. 23–24 , accessed on June 26, 2016 (English). 
3. ↑ Elsesy National Park Fact Sheet. (PDF; 806 kB) (No longer available online.) October 2015, archived from the original on June 26, 2016 ; accessed on June 26, 2016 (English). 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.