Mount Royal National Park, Nature reserve in New South Wales, Australia.
Mount Royal National Park is a nature reserve covering about 69 square kilometers in the Hunter region of New South Wales. The area contains rainforests, eucalyptus woodlands, and open grasslands connected by walking tracks that let visitors explore different ecosystems.
Sections of the park were logged until a blockade disrupted the logging in 1989. The park was gazetted in 1997, covering 6,920 hectares. In 1986 the Gondwana Rainforests were inscribed as a World Heritage Site, and in 2007 the park was added to the Australian National Heritage List. The 'Mount Royal 1' fire damaged the park during the 2019 bushfire season.
The national park forms part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, representing significant biological evolution on the Australian continent.
The park lies about 187 km north of Sydney and roughly 50 km east of Muswellbrook, bordering Barrington Tops National Park to the north. About 20 percent of the area is rainforest, the rest eucalyptus forest and grassy woodland. Access is via unsealed roads, so check conditions before setting out.
The park's animals appear not to have evolved: species such as the Hastings River Mouse and the paradise riflebird still resemble their fossil remains. The park was gazetted in 1997 and covers 6,920 hectares, with Mount Royal the highest point at 1,186 m and Pieres Peak reaching 986 m to the south.
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