This trek note has been prepared to provide one of the 3 alternative access routes into the Mungo National Park, located in the southwest corner of NSW, roughly 100km northeast of Mildura (Vic). For other access routes please also read Mungo NP via Top Hut Road.
For full details on visiting the park please ensure you also read our Mungo National Park trek note which provides details on all park features and provides the plot file for touring the 70km self-drive route within the park.
How to Use this Trek Note
- To download this information and the route file for offline use on a phone, tablet, headunit or laptop, go to the app store and purchase ExplorOz Traveller. This app enables offline navigation and mapping and will show where you are as you travel along the route. For more info see the ExplorOz Traveller webpage and the EOTopo webpage.
Environment
The crescent shaped lunette, otherwise known as the ‘
Walls of China’, is one of the main highlights in
Mungo National Park. Standing around 30m high and stretching nearly 30km long, this now dry eastern shore holds secrets of preserved campfires, cooking hearths and burials of ancient Aboriginal people. There are three distinct layers of sands and soil forming
the Walls of China. The oldest is the reddish Gol Gol layer, formed between 100,000 and 120,000 years ago. The middle greyish layer and the most archaeologically rich is the Mungo layer, deposited between 50,000 and 25,000 years ago. The most recent is the Zanci layer, which is pale brown, and was laid down mostly between 25,000 and 15,000 years ago.
Flora
There are three main types of native vegetation that co-exist in the
Mungo National Park - being grassy
woodlands, heathlands and semi-arid
woodlands. Within the grassy
woodlands, cypress pines thrive on loamy soils, sandy ridges and rocky out-crops. They can grow in dense communities, but these days are somewhat scattered, mainly due to extensively harvesting. These trees must be seen in their native habitat to be truly appreciated, as they play host to a variety of wildlife including pink cockatoos, which feed on the seeds of the small pinecones. The heathlands consist of lakebed shrubs such as Chenopodiaceae, commonly known as saltbush or bluebush. During Spring, these plants reveal a beautiful understorey of
wildflowers. In the semi-arid woodland parts, mallee dominate the area. The name mallee comes from an Aboriginal word for eucalyptus trees that are multi-stemmed from their base. The underground woody structure (lignotuber) stores water and nutrients, allowing the plant to survive in such harsh conditions. Aborigines used to rely on these lignotubers as an important source of
drinking water.
Fauna
There are many species of fauna within the park such as the largest of our marsupials - the kangaroo. These herbivores spend their days grazing quietly in the grasslands or resting in a scratched out pad in the woodland shade. All three species - Red, Western
grey, and the Eastern
grey kangaroos co-exist in the park. Other animals you may be lucky to encounter are short-beaked echidnas, spiny anteaters, bats, pygmy and larger possums, bandicoots and the common and fat-tailed dunnarts. The largest reptile in the park is the harmless carpet python, which grows between 2 and 4 metres long. Mungo supports a wide variety of bird species mainly due to the diverse environment. Birds you may see include: emus, mallee ring-necks, galahs, pink cockatoos, zebra finches, crested pigeons, blue bonnets, budgerigars, and
orange and crimson chats.
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