Daintree rain forest national park/Australia

The Daintree Rainforest itself boasts an incredibly biodiverse landscape with a large concentration of animal and plant species that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. It is also one of the oldest rainforests on the planet.

It covers 1,200 km squared, and is one of the finest examples of Mother Nature in the world, let alone in Australia. Situated in Northern Queensland, it gained its national park status back in the early 1980s and forms a vitally important part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland. A few years after opening it was awarded World Heritage status and remains to this day a ground to showcase Australia’s most picturesque landscapes and most beautiful flora and fauna.

For the most part, the park is covered by tropical rainforest, which has been alive for more than 110 million years.

It is thought the forest was created via a fortuitous continental drift when it split away from the supercontinent that took up the southern hemisphere millions of years ago. As it drifted away towards Antarctica, it passed through ocean currents and dropped in temperature, while other areas sped off to warmer climates. It is thought the rainforest segments of the supercontinent, like the Daintree, retained their original climates, as well as their original tree species. In fact, many tree species that have long been thought extinct have recently been rediscovered in the park.

It got its name from the Daintree River which weaves its pretty way through the forest, which in itself was named after Richard Daintree, the friend of keen explorer George Elphinstone Dalrymple.

The park is split into two separate sections with a sweep of lowland that connects the two. It’s here that you’ll find the quaint towns of Mossman and Daintree Village, both of which are tucked away beneath the green-carpeted scenery

Animals of daintree national park

The park is home to more than 430 different bird species, ranging from small, colourful varieties to larger, more prehistoric-looking species. Keep your eyes peeled for the wompoo fruit-dove, which is one of around six pigeon species in the park, as well as the cassowary and the buff-breasted paradise kingfisher.

On the forest floor, you might spot creatures like the striped possum, the ringtail possum, the brown bandicoot, and various species of tree kangaroo. There are plenty of native Australia critters here, too, including the swamp wallaby, the platypus, and the short-beaked echidna.

If that wasn’t enough, there are also around 23 reptile species that call the forest home, and 13 amphibians that wander between the watering holes and dry land. You might be able to spot forest dragons, water dragons, chameleon geckos, pythons, and varieties of tree snakes, as well as a unique frog species like the Australian lacelid, the white-lipped treefrog, and the common mist frog.

The selection of wildlife and plant species in the Daintree Rainforest really is spectacular, and you can guarantee that you’ll be able to spot at least a few of the native critters that call the park home. While wandering beneath the lush canopies and exploring ancient landscapes, keep your eyes peeled so you don’t miss a wildlife-spotting opportunity.

Some of the species that call it home can only be found in this small patch of land, and it contains a vast amount of wildlife that is otherwise extremely rare or near extinct in other parts of the world.

Explore Daintree National Park

The Daintree National Park’s stunning scenery and abundance of cute critters makes it the perfect place for nature lovers to explore. It offers a unique hotspot for outdoor holidays that is unrivalled by anywhere else in Australia; visitors can enjoy daintree frogjaw-dropping hiking trails, camp beneath the vibrant green canopies, cool off in natural rock pools, and enjoy spectacular views from uninterrupted lookout points. There is a wealth of eco-friendly accommodation in the area and a number of eateries that promote local, fresh dishes.

Originally owned by the Eastern Kuku Yalanji Aboriginal people, the Daintree National Park is imbued with a legendary spiritual significance which weaves through the colourful undergrowth. It’s this combination of age-old histories and a new sense of development and sustainability that makes the Daintree National Park such an enticing place – well, that and it’s incredible wealth of wildlife and awe-inspiring landscapes.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia

Uluru is recognised as “Australia’s most natural icon” and has become a focal point for Australia and the world’s acknowledgement of Australian indigenous culture. The sandstone monolith stands 348 metres (1,142 ft) high with most of its bulk below the ground. To Anangu (local indigenous people), Uluru is a place name and this “Rock” has a number of different landmarks where many ancestral beings have interacted with the landscape and/or each other, some even believed to still reside here. Kata Tjuta, meaning ‘many heads’, is a sacred place relating to knowledge that is considered very powerful and dangerous, only suitable for initiated men. It is made up of a group of 36 conglomerate rock domes that date back 500 million years.

Anangu are the traditional Aboriginal owners of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. believe that their culture was created at the beginning of time by ancestral beings. Uluru and Kata Tjuta provide physical evidence of feats performed during the creation period. They often lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush foods and the Aboriginal Dreamtime stories of the area.

The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act was passed in 1976, meaning that after many years Aboriginal law and land rights were finally recognised in Australian law. Nine years later on 26 October 1985 the traditional owners were presented with the freehold title deeds for the park, who, in turn, leased the land back to the Australian Government through the Director of National Parks (formerly the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service) for 99 years.

The Director is assisted by Parks Australia, a division of the Australian Department of the Environment and Energy. Since hand-back, Anangu and Parks Australia staff have worked together to manage the park. This process of working together is known as ‘joint management’.

History of uluru

Uluru and Kata Tjuta were formed about 350 million years ago during the Alice Springs Orogeny.

The Anangu have connected to the area for thousands of years and some records suggested that they may have lived there for more than 10,000 years.

Europeans came to the western desert area of Australia in the 1870s. Uluru and Kata Tjuta were first mapped by Europeans during the expeditionary period made possible by the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line in 1872.

In separate expeditions, William Ernest Powell Giles and William Christie Gosse were the first European explorers to this area. In 1872 while exploring the area, Ernest Giles sighted Kata Tjuta from near Kings Canyon and called it Mount Olga, while the following year Gosse saw Uluru and named it Ayers Rock after Sir Henry Ayers, the Chief Secretary of South Australia. Further explorations followed with the aim of establishing the possibilities of the area for pastoralism.

In the late 19th century, pastoralists attempted to re-establish themselves in areas adjoining the South-Western/Petermann Reserve and interaction between Anangu and white people became more frequent and more violent. Due to the effects of grazing and droughts, bush food stores were depleted. Competition for these resources created conflict between pastoralists and Anangu. As a result, police patrols became more frequent.

Aboriginal rock art at Uluru

Between 1918 and 1921 large adjoining areas of South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory were declared as Aboriginal reserves, as sanctuaries for a nomadic people who had virtually no contact with white people. In 1920, part of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was declared an Aboriginal Reserve (commonly known as the South-Western or Petermann Reserve) by the Australian Government under the Aboriginals Ordinance 1918.

During the Depression in the 1930s, the Anangu became involved in dingo scalping with “doggers” who introduced Anangu to European foods and ways. The first tourists visited the Uluru area in 1936.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park/Australia

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large part of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef from damaging activities. It is a vast multiple-use Marine Park which supports a wide range of uses, including commercial marine tourism, fishing, ports and shipping, recreation, scientific research and Indigenous traditional use.

Fishing and the removal of artefacts or wildlife (fish, coral, seashells, etc.) is strictly regulated, and commercial shipping traffic must stick to certain specific defined shipping routes that avoid the most sensitive areas of the park. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest and best known coral reef ecosystem in the world.

Its reefs, almost 3000 in total, represent about 10 per cent of all the coral reef areas in the world. It supports an amazing variety of biodiversity, providing a home to thousands of coral and other invertebrate species, bony fish, sharks, rays, marine mammals, marine turtles, sea snakes, as well as algae and other marine plants.

Here are some interesting and fun facts about the Great Barrier Reef:

• The Great Barrier Reef as we know it today, began to form over 2 million years ago and is constantly changing in size and structure
• There are over 900 islands within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority or GBRMPA, is responsible for the well-being and protection of the reef
• It is the largest reef system in the world
• Over 2,000 species of animals call the reef home, including over 1,500 species of fish, over 200 species of birds, 6 species of sea turtles and over 30 species of whales and dolphins
• The Great Barrier Reef stretches over 2,300 kilometres down the East Coast of Australia
• It covers 344,400 km2
• Reefs only contribute about 7% to the entirety of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, with islands, cays, mangroves, sand, algal and sponge gardens and seagrass making up the rest
• There are 600 types of soft and hard corals that make up the reef
• It is said that 10% of the world’s fish population is found on the reef
• The Great Barrier Reef is located in the Coral Sea
• Around 2 million people visit the Great Barrier Reef every year
• The Great Barrier Reef was named a UNESCO World Heritage listed area in 1981
• The Reef covers an area from the Torres Strait to Bundaberg, in Northern Queensland
• Google offers an ‘underwater street view’ of the Great Barrier Reef where you can virtually swim around the reefs for a first-hand point of view

The Great Barrier Reef continues to thrive and grow every day, teaching us amazing things about its diverse ecosystem and local inhabitants. It is one of the most beautiful and astonishing places in the world and a national icon of Australia. As a source of national pride, it continues to be protected and cared for by its protectors, in hopes that it will be around for many, many generations to come.