Kroombit Tops National Park

Kroombit Tops National Park
Coordinates: 24 ° 24 ′ 3 ″  S , 150 ° 57 ′ 30 ″  E
Location:	Queensland , Australia
Specialty:	Sandstone plateau with gorges and waterfalls
Next city:	Biloela
Surface:	432.6 km²
Founding:	1974
Beautiful Betsy

The Kroombit Tops National Park (English: Kroombit Tops National Park ) is a national park in the east of the Australian state of Queensland . It is 399 kilometers northwest of Brisbane and 80 kilometers southwest of Gladstone in the Boyne River Valley .

The park consists of two separate sections connected by the Kroombit Tops State Forest . Cania Gorge National Park is around 25 kilometers further south .

history

The area had been of great importance to the Aborigines for thousands of years. Since the end of the 19th century , when gold was found there, European settlers have been mining, cattle ranching and logging.

In February 1945, an American B24 Liberator bomber named Beautiful Betsy crashed in what is now the national park. The wreck was only discovered on August 2, 1994.

National nature

The national park is located on a sandstone plateau on the north face of the Dawes Range . Rock steps, valleys, gorges and waterfalls characterize this area. The south-east of the park has a more humid climate than the dry north-west.

Flora and fauna

The valleys and heights are overgrown with eucalyptus and subtropical rainforests . There are over 850 different plant species, many of which are considered rare or endangered.

The park is a retreat for the endemic kroombit tinker frog ( Taudactylus pleione ). This species is so rare that it is believed that only a few hundred specimens remain.

A small population of brumbies roam the park. From time to time these horses need to be captured in order to reduce their numbers.

Leisure and facilities

Bird watching, hiking, and off-road tours are recommended as recreational activities for this park. Camping in the national park is permitted. There are three landscaped trails, the Rainforest Walk (300 meters), the Beautiful Betsy Bomber Crash Site Walk (700 meters) and the Escarpment Track (13 kilometers). A 35-kilometer course was created for off-road drivers.

Driveway

The national park can be reached from the Dawson Highway (exit 4 kilometers west of Calliope ). There you turn onto the connecting road Gladstone – Monto and 500 meters further onto Tableland Road . Follow this 68 kilometers to the entrance of the park.

Many roads to and in the park are only suitable for road vehicles in dry weather.

Web links

• Official site of the park (English)
• Kroombit Mud Map . boynevalley.org.au
• Kroombit and "Beautiful Betsy". Calliope City Council

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Australian Government - CAPAD 2010 ( MS Excel ; 170 kB), DSEWPaC , accessed on October 7, 2012 (English)
2. ↑ Australian Government - CAPAD 1997 ( MS Excel ; 93 kB), DSEWPaC , accessed on January 7, 2013 (English)
3. ^ ^{A b} Steve Parish: Australian Touring Atlas . Steve Parish Publishing. Archerfield QLD 2007, ISBN 978-1-74193-232-4 , p. 11
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Kroombit Tops National Park . Department of Environment and Resource Management. Retrieved November 22, 2012
5. ↑ ^{a b} Kroombit Tops National Park . Tourism Queensland. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
6. ↑ Jacquie Mackay: Search for the Kroombit tinkerfrog . In: ABC Capricornia , Australian Broadcasting Corporation, February 17, 2009. Retrieved November 9, 2010. 
7. ↑ Minister Denies Kroombit brumby shoot plans . In: ABC News Online , Australian Broadcasting Corporation, January 22, 2003. Accessed November 9, 2010.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.