Port Campbell National Park

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Port Campbell National Park
The twelve apostles
The twelve apostles
Port Campbell National Park (Victoria)
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Coordinates: 38 ° 39 ′ 1 ″  S , 143 ° 3 ′ 45 ″  E
Location: Victoria , Australia
Specialty: Cliff
Next city: Warrnambool
Surface: 17.5 km²
Founding: 1964
Visitors: 1,955,025 (2000/01)
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The Port Campbell National Park , 285km west of Melbourne in the Australian state of Victoria and is the culmination of the Great Ocean Road and the great Ocean Walk . It protects the coastal region between Princetown and Peterborough . The offshore marine area with its islands is in the Twelve Apostles Marine National Park and the adjacent north-western coastal strip with its bays is in the Bay of Islands Coastal Park . The erosion of the cliffs has created a grandiose backdrop, the highlight of which are the sculptures of the Twelve Apostles . The national park was named after the Scottish whaler Alexander Campbell , who also stands for the name of the town of Port Campbell located here.

geology

Ten to twenty million years ago, the remains of sea creatures deposited on the seabed and condensed into limestone . As the sea retreated, it revealed the soft rock. For thousands of years the storming waves and tides worked incessantly on the steep coast, which is up to 70 m high, cutting deep gorges, shaped rock needles, islands and stone arches. The erosion is progressing steadily and therefore this area is subject to constant change.

history

First, the Kirrae Whurrong Aborigines used the abundance of marine resources for consumption. Found artifacts serve as an indicator of their healthy lifestyle over thousands of years. They still use the area for their traditional way of life today. Seal and whale hunters moved to the area later in 1840 , but the first town was not founded until after 1870 . The Bass Strait increasingly developed into a main supply route from Europe to the emerging regions of Victoria and New South Wales . But the dangerous cliffs with their strong surf claimed many victims. The most famous accident happened in 1878 when the clipper Loch Ard sand in heavy fog and strong surf off Muttonbird Island at Loch Ard Gorge . Of the 52-man crew, only two survived - one reason why this coastline also became notorious as the Shipwreck Coast .

  • Landmarks in Port Campbell National Park

  • London Bridge

  • Tom and Eva (Loch Ard Gorge)

  • Loch Ard Cemetery

  • The Arch

Flora and fauna

In the sparsely vegetated bushland, 6 significant native plant species are still in bloom, including the metallic sun orchid and the scented spider orchid . The Southern Brown Bandicoots , Swamp Antechinuses and Echidnas feel at home here. The skies are conquered by hawks , honey-eaters , terns , albatrosses and shearwaters . On the beach at London Bridge and the Twelve Apostles you can watch penguins returning home at dusk . During the day the sea is populated by pelicans , ducks , herons and weeping swans . A colony of silver gulls nest on a Bay of Islands rock , others are inhabited by the Australian gannet , the shearwater and the rare black-faced cormorant .

Attractions

Web links

Commons : Port Campbell National Park  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files