Friday 18 April 2014

Removals to Australia – A Guide to Some of the Best National Parks on the continent

If you are a nature lover, one of the things you might want to do after you have organised your removals to Australia and you are comfortably ensconced in your new home is to visit one of the country’s national parks. Australia is a vast continent with a wide range of national parks to visit, from the internationally acclaimed Lord Howe Island to the beautiful Bay of Fires. Whether you like the rainforest, desserts and beaches or mountains and volcanoes, there are some fantastic national parks to visit, just choose one that works for you.

At MPL removals we organise removals to and from destinations all over the world, including removals to Australia. We partner with high quality removals firms, most of which are BAR or FAIM accredited for your peace of mind and we can help you with every aspect of your international house move.

There are over 500 national parks in Australia covering more than 28 million hectares of land which equates to almost 4% of Australia's total land mass. If you add to that a further 6% which is protected, including state forests, nature parks and conservation reserves, that means that 10% of the country is safeguarded.

Space limitations mean we are unable to list all the best national parks here, but here’s our pick of some of what we feel are among the top ones to visit.

Removals to Australia –  Get a free online quote using the form to your right, or click here to talk to our International removals team.

Removals to Australia – Six of the Nation’s Great National Parks

Blue Mountains National Park NSW

More than a National Park, Blue Mountains is a World Heritage site and an adventure waiting to happen. Close to Sydney in NSW, the park offers more than 140km of hiking trails and plenty of camping sites as well as the opportunity to take part in adventure sports like challenging rock climbs, canyoning and horse riding. The area is one of huge botanical and cultural interest too, boasting majestic trees, some of which are hundreds of years’ old and Aboriginal sites and lookouts dating back to the Victorian era. The views from these lookouts are stunning and varied; from one, you might see vast forests of gum trees and from another the most stunning waterfalls. There are plenty of lookouts in place throughout the park, many of which have been made wheelchair friendly.

Carnarvon Gorge, QLD

Carnarvon Gorge in Queensland features towering cliffs, secluded gorges and an abundance of wildlife. Setting off from Takarakka, there are hiking trails and walks to suit all ages and abilities. Peaceful riverside walks can be combined with wildlife spotting on one of the Gorge's 9 bush walking sites and, if you’re into hiking, there are a number of trails to choose from including Devil's Signpost, The Ranch and Battleship Spur. En route you are bound to see some of the country’s famed natural wildlife including wallabies and kangaroos and you may even see a platypus or a spiny anteater. For the best chance to see these and many other creatures, you might want to book a guided tour. The tours are offered from April to September and their tour guide has over 10 years’ experience so, if the animals are out there, he’ll find them.

Fraser Island, QLD

Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island and the entire island is designated as national park. Also known as The Great Sandy National Park, it has suffered recently from beach erosion making driving conditions difficult on the island but don’t let that put you off. Fraser Island is a delight to visit with some great walks including the one from Central Station to Lake McKenzie via Basin Lake and Pile Valley and the one from Kingfisher Bay to Lake McKenzie via McKenzie's Jetty and the Dundonga track. Others to head for are from Lake McKenzie to Lake Wabby and from Eastern beach via Lake Wabby to the lookout. Those of you who are in it for the long haul can take on the Fraser Island Great Walk, which covers 90 km and takes 6–8 days to complete. Be aware though, that certain areas may be off limits due to planned burns, weather conditions and dingoes. The Fraser Island Dingo is a protected species and certain areas have been fenced off for safety and conservation.

Kalbarri National Park, WA

The combination of coastal, gorge and marine landscapes and virtually year-round sunshine make Kalbarri a favoured destination for all lovers of flora and fauna in Western Australia. Here, the ancient gorges and plains are home to a myriad of wild flowers and, on the edge of the park, on the coast you’ll see dolphins and whales. There are many different tours on offer in the area whether you choose to travel by land, air or water and, for the adrenalin junkies among you, there’s quad biking and abseiling. There’s so much to do here and so many ways to do it. You can walk, climb, paddle, cruise or drive, exploring 183,000 hectares of rock formations, flora, fauna and cultural heritage. Sites of special interest here are The Loop, Nature's Window, Red Bluff, The Z Bend Gorge, The Ross Graham Lookout and Hawk’s Head picnic spot. Hawk’s Head is a fairly recent facility, which has been created with the wheelchair user in mind, but as time goes on more and more of the park is being made easily accessible.

Lord Howe Island NSW

A two hour flight from Brisbane or Sydney takes you to Lord Howe Island, one of the most beautiful islands in the Pacific and THE place to go if bird watching is your thing. A UNESCO world heritage site, just 400 tourists are allowed on the island at any one time to help maintain the incredible natural beauty and rare wildlife of the island. One hundred and seventy species of bird can be seen here, among them are: the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Red-fronted Parakeet, Far Eastern Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, the Woodhen or Lord Howe Rail, Australasian Bittern, Sooty Shearwater, Hutton's Shearwater, Buller's Shearwater and the Mottled Petrel, all of which have been classified endangered or near threatened. Make sure you bring your binoculars and consider yourself very lucky if you happen to spot one of these guys. The island is surrounded by the world's southernmost coral reef and its pristine waters teem with marine life making it a Mecca for those into scuba diving, snorkelling, surfing, kayaking and fishing.

Southwest National Park TAS

This is Tasmania’s largest national park and forms part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Remote and wild, the weather here can at best be described as changeable and sometimes severe, so a trip to this park is not for the fainthearted or the ill prepared. There has been little in the way of modern human colonisation here and, as a result, large swathes of the area have remained untouched. The farthest south and western parts of the park can only be reached on foot, by boat or light aircraft. That said, walking in the park is far from discouraged. Two popular tracks cross the park: the Port Davey Track and the South Coast Track. Port Davey takes you south from Lake Pedder and the South Coast track runs to the east and west of Cockle Creek. It’ll take about two weeks to complete the walks and you’ll need to be fit but it’d be worth the effort especially if you are lucky enough to catch sight of The Orange-Bellied Parrot. By all accounts there are only 36 of them left in the wild, placing them firmly on the critically endangered species list.

About MPL


At Moving Partnership Ltd we specialise in sourcing the most cost effective, high quality removals to Australia and to other worldwide destinations. Using our extensive industry knowledge and list of removals company contacts, we search for the best removals quotes available whilst ensuring that the service offered matches with your exact requirements. For your free, no obligation removals quotation, call or email us today. Our team of removals experts are on hand to help with everything from planning your removal to completing the customs paperwork.

Removals to Australia – Get a free online quote using the form to your right, or click here to talk to our International removals team.