Mount Kaputar National Park

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The Mount Kaputar National Park is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, surrounding the proximities of Mount Kaputar, a volcano active between 17 and 21 million years ago.<ref name="park-id"/> It is located Template:Convert east of Narrabri and Template:Convert northwest of Sydney.<ref name="tourism-info">Template:Cite web</ref> Millions of years of erosion have since carved the volcanic region into the lava terraces, volcanic plugs, and dykes of Nandewar Range. The central feature of the region is Mount Kaputar, the park's namesake, which rises to an altitude of Template:Convert.<ref name="park-id">Template:Cite web</ref> The 360 degree view from the summit of the mountain encompasses one-tenth of New South Wales' area or Template:Convert.<ref name="tourism-info" />

The park protects a wide range of biomes, including semi-arid woodland, subalpine heath, and eucalypt forests, and provides a habitat for a range of animals, including bats, birds, wallabies, quolls, and the unique red triangle slug (Triboniophorus graeffei) and pink slug (Triboniophorus sp. nov. 'Kaputar'), which are known to appear after rainfall.<ref name="park-id"/>

History

Before it was a national park, the area was used largely as grazing land for domestic animals. The conditions in the park are very harsh, but several pioneering families lived there, and remnants of their occupation remain. Sheep and cattle continued to graze on the plateau until around the 1950s. It was an isolated place, and the stockmen in charge of the cattle often would not see another human for months at a time.<ref name="park-hist">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1925, some Template:Convert of land around Mount Kaputar were declared a "Reserve for Public Recreation". Two years later, a trust, known as the Mount Kaputar Trust, was formed to give guidance on managing the park. The area was expanded to Template:Convert and proclaimed a full national park in 1959. Eight years later, in 1967, the Fund relinquished the duties of controlling the park to the newly established National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the park is still administered by a regional advisory board.<ref name="park-hist"/>

Facilities and activities

In 1965, two cabins were constructed at Dawsons Spring, providing accommodations including a permanent water supply for showers and toilets, and a picnic facility. Today there are 3 cabins, including one facilitated from Bark Hut.<ref name="park-hist"/>

The park is popular with rockclimbers, and there are 11 walks in the park,<ref name="tourism-info" /> as well as a camping ground. However, the most popular site in the park is Scutts Hut, located upward of Kurrawonga Falls.<ref name="park-cult">Template:Cite web</ref> The hut is the former home of the Scutt family, a pioneer family living in the vicinity of the park.<ref name="park-hist"/> it is accessible via a fire trail from the Bark Hut camping grounds. The hut has been restored to its original livery, with an earthen floor and an open fireplace. The hut is built on the banks of Horsearm Creek, which flows into Kurrawonga Falls.<ref name="park-cult"/>