Munmorah State Conservation Area. (part 1)

Last week I had the opportunity to spend several days on the Central Coast of New South Wales and visit both Brisbane Waters National Park and Munmorah State Conservation Area. I will write about both parks beginning with a two part article on Munmorah State Conservation Area.

Around 40km north of Gosford you can discover Munorah State Conservation Area, situated between Budgewoi and Catherine Hill Bay. The land now occupied by Munmorah State Conservation Area was first inhabited by the Darkinjung people and the Awabakal people, the Indigenous Australians. The Darkinjung occupied the southern section and the Awabakal occupied the northern section. It is believed Europeans first discovered the Tuggerah Lakes in 1796. National Parks and Wildlife Service started managing the park in April 1977 and today it covers an area of 1,529 hectares.

Coastal Views
You can undertake scenic driving, sailing, fishing, surfing, camping (booking required), bushwalking and picnicking and some truly spectacular views. The reserve contains a number of ecosystems wetlands, forests, woodlands, littoral rainforests and heath communities.

Flora
In spring Munmorah offers the visitor a beautiful wildflower display.
Throughout the park you may notice lime green scrubs scattered through the coastal heath this is Lance – leaf Geebung, or Persoonia lanceolata. It is in the Proteaceae family, same as Banksia and Grevillea

In the Open Forest and Woodland flora such as Red Bloodwood, Smooth-barked Apple, Arcacias, Grevillias, Banksia, Hakea, Brown Stringybark. Scribbly Gum and in the Closed Forests Cabbage Tree Palms, Mock Olive, Muttonwood, Cheese Tree, Lilli Pilli, White Mahogany, Wonga Vine, and Wombat Berry can be found.

Fauna
The park is home to wildlife such as Blue Wrens, Brush Bronzewing Pigeons, Tawny Crowned Honeyeaters, Southern Emu-wrens, White Breasted Sea-eagles, Sooty Oystercatchers, Ring-tailed Possums, Sugar Gliders and Swamp Wallabies.
A number of Southern Emu-Wren could be seen flying around Snapper Point. The Southern Emu-wren is a tiny bird with a long (10 cm) filamentous tail, made up of six feathers, which is usually held upright. Male birds are grey-brown streaked black above, warm tawny brown below, with a distinctive blue chin and throat and some blue around the eyes. Females are similar but lack the blue colouration. This species is shy and has a weak flight, preferring to spend most of its time low in dense cover and will run like a mouse, with its tail down. The Southern Emu-wren is found in a variety of moist dense scrublands, heaths with grass trees, coastal heathlands, tea-tree vegetation and, in Western Australia, in low scrub and dune vegetation on sandhills.


In Part 2 on Munmorah State Conservation Area we will take a look around the Palm Tree Circuit Track.

Acknowledgments
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.