Booti Booti National Park

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox Australian place Booti Booti National Park (Template:Langx)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, Template:Convert, by road, north-north-east of Sydney. The holiday town of Forster-Tuncurry lies immediately to the north.

History

The first European to inhabit the area was a Captain J. Gogerly who sailed from Forster to Sydney with loads of timber.<ref name=environmentnsw/> He and some of his family are buried in the park. Mining for mineral sands took place at Seven Mile Beach from 1969 to 1975, and at Elizabeth Beach from 1969 to 1970.<ref name="griffith2000">Template:Cite journal</ref> The park was declared a state recreation area from 30 September 1977, then a national park in 1992.<ref name=environmentnsw>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

Geographically, the national park is made up of three hill complexes – the Template:Convert high Cape Hawke to the north, and Template:Convert high Booti Hill and Template:Convert high Charlotte Head in the southern end. The three areas are connected by low–lying estuarine and aeolian sands. The stretch of land between Cape Hawke and Booti Hill is around Template:Convert long and ranges between Template:Convert and Template:Convert wide. It separates Wallis Lake from the ocean. Cape Hawke and Charlotte Head were once islands, which became joined to the mainland by built-up sand deposits.<ref name="griffith2000"/>

Flora

654 species of native plants have been recorded from Booti Booti National Park. This formed 46 distinct plant communities within the park boundaries. 17% of the park is classified as rainforest. Seven distinct wet sclerophyll forest and ten dry sclerophyll forest communities have been recorded.<ref name="griffith2000"/>

Five species recognised as threatened by the New South Wales Government occur within the park – these are Allocasuarina defungens, A. simulans, Chamaesyce psammogeton, Cynanchum elegans and Senna acclinis.<ref name="griffith2000"/>

104 exotic species have been recorded from the park. Bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera var. rotundata) has infested sand dunes and cliff areas,<ref name="griffith2000"/> having spread from nearby beach habitat.<ref name=environmentnsw5>Template:Cite web</ref> Lantana camara infests the rainforest at Cape Hawke,<ref name="griffith2000"/> particularly disturbed habitat.<ref name=environmentnsw5/> Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) and coast morning glory (Ipomoea cairica) are vines that grow over and smother native vegetation in the park.<ref name="griffith2000"/>

Fauna

Booti Booti National Park has had 210 species of bird recorded within its limits.<ref name=environmentnsw2>Template:Cite web</ref>

Activities

Activities at Booti Booti National Park include hiking, swimming, birdwatching, mooning<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and, during winter, whale watching.<ref name=environmentnsw3>Template:Cite web</ref> Camping sites are located at The Ruins, in the Booti Hill area at the park's southern end.<ref name=environmentnsw4>Template:Cite web</ref> A lookout is located on top of Cape Hawke.<ref name=environmentnsw3/>

See also

• List of reduplicated Australian place names
• Protected areas of New South Wales
• Template:Wikivoyage-inline