Tuart Forest National Park, Nature reserve near Busselton, Australia.
Tuart Forest National Park is a narrow strip of tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) woodland running along the Bussell Highway between Capel and Busselton. The trees grow only on coastal limestone and include the tallest and largest remaining specimens on the Swan Coastal Plain, over 33 metres high and 10 metres in girth. Tuart Drive, about 15 kilometres long, passes through the park.
The tuart stand was long managed as Ludlow State Forest, named after Frederick Ludlow. The park was declared on 16 October 1987, and Tuart Drive carried the Bussell Highway until the Ludlow diversion opened in 1995. The forest is the largest remaining pure tuart stand in the world.
This woodland held deep meaning for the Wardandi people, who hunted and sheltered in the open grasslands beneath the tall trees. The space under the canopy provided essential resources and gathering places for those who lived on this land.
Visitors can walk the 2 kilometer Possum Spotlighting Trail, which has reflective markers for nighttime exploration and starts from the Layman Road parking area. Sturdy shoes are helpful for moving safely along the paths.
The park holds the tallest and largest surviving tuart specimens on the Swan Coastal Plain, some over 33 metres tall and more than 10 metres in girth. It also shelters the densest population of a quokka relative in Western Australia, alongside at least eleven raptor species recorded in the park.
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