 Fitzgerald River National Park is renowned for its diverse and spectacular scenery and flora, which in turn supports a number of threatened animals.
Surrounding the inlets of the Gairdner, Fitzgerald and Hamersley Rivers, between Bremer Bay and Hopetoun on the South Coast of Western Australia, lies one of the most diverse botanical regions in the world. More than 1800 beautiful and bizarre species of flowering plants, as well as a myriad of lichens, mosses and fungi, have been recorded in Fitzgerald River National Park. This represents nearly 20 per cent of the total number of plant species in Western Australia, in an area that covers only a tiny fraction of the State.
The coastal hills, collectively known as the Barrens, are the most distinctive landforms in the park and many plants found nowhere else in the world are restricted to them. The Barrens are composed of quartzites; the tilted and folded rock beds, like those seen at East Mount Barren, were once layers of sand deposited on the sea floor. They were subsequently compressed, heated and uplifted by movements of the Earth's crust.
The park is also known for its spongelite cliffs, which are exposed along the Hamersley and Fitzgerald River valleys. The soft rock was formed more than 36 million years ago, when the sea level was higher than today and flooded the coast up to 65 kilometres inland, leaving the Barren Ranges as islands. Sponges proliferated in the warm shallow seas, and their silica skeletons in the silty sediments gave rise to the name of the rock type.
Where is it? Approximately 550 kilometres southeast of Perth, the National Park is approximately 180 kilometres northeast of Albany and about 220kilometres west of Esperance.
Travelling time: Approximately 7 hours from Perth, 2 hours 30 minutes (approx) from Albany or 3 hours (approx) from Esperance.
What to do: Sightseeing, walking, photography, camping, canoeing, fishing. During the winter months you can see spectacular views of southern right whales from the cliffs at Point Ann. The spongelite cliffs can be seen along the Fitzgerald and Hamersley Rivers.
Facilities: Campground, Barbecues, Picnic Areas, Toilets. NOTE: No Drinking Water Available.
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