Brindabella is the most northern section of the Australian Alps national parks corridor and only 30 km west of Canberra along the Brindabella Road. The mountainous terrain contains communities representing low to high altitude open forests. The park protects several threatened species including the regent honey eater, powerful owl, yellow-bellied glider and northern corroboree and Booroolong frog.
Activities
There are four camp grounds in the park. Flea Creek has basic facilities, while McIntyres Hut, Lowells Flat, and Coree Camp currently have no facilities provided. Top Crossing, on Doctors Flat Road, is designated as a day use area.
Activities include bushwalking, orienteering, birdwatching, fishing or exploring a range of 4WD trails. The majority of trails are suitable for capable 4WD vehicles only.
Mount Coree offers excellent views of the surrounding ranges and McIntyres and Bag Range Huts are interesting historical sites.
Guided tours
History
Brindabella National Park lies within the tribal boundaries of the Ngunnawal, Ngunawal and Brungle Aboriginal people. Occupation of the area has been dated to approximately 5000 years before European settlement, however, few occupation sites have been recorded.
The Ngunnawal, Ngunawal and Brungle people exploited Bogong moths on the Brindabella Range and appear to have also participated with neighbouring tribes in Bogong Moth feasts on the Bogong Range or Snowy Mountains. Mount Coree was a reliable Bogong Moth aestivation1 site regularly visited by Aboriginal people. Summer base camps from which moth collection trips to the relevant sites on Mount Coree were undertaken have been recorded.
No systematic archaeological survey has been undertaken in the park. Those archaeological sites that have been recorded within the park are generally small surface scatters of artefacts or camp sites associated with summit Bogong Moth access routes and waterways. Many of the records are a result of opportunistic observations and the recorded sites should not be regarded as a comprehensive indication of Aboriginal sites within the park.
Nature
Much of the park supports a forest of red stringybark and scribbly gum, while more sheltered slopes have forests of brown barrel with ribbon gum. Sub-alpine snow gum and mountain gum forests are found on the more elevated sites. Uncommon river oaks fringe cold air drainage areas adjacent to water courses and alpine ash on sheltered southern slopes.
The alpine tea tree, along with 58 other sub-alpine plants are found here at the northern limit of their distribution.
Brindabella supports a diverse range of native animals, including a number of threatened species. The park contains fauna unique to this part of the Alps and is particularly significant as a corridor for native animal movement.
Large mammals you may see in the park include eastern grey kangaroos, red-necked wallabies, wombats, wallaroos and swamp wallabies. Ring-tail and brush-tail possums, greater gliders and sugar gliders live in the trees.
Smaller mammals include the echidna, antechinus, southern bushrat and water rat. There are also reptiles such as the blotched blue tongue lizard and copperhead snake in the park.
About 80 species of birds have been seen in the park, including the yellow-tailed black cockatoo and peregrine falcon. Of particular interest to birdwatchers are the powerful owl, pink robin and olive whistler, all of which are threatened.
The park is also home to a number of other threatened species including the northern corroboree frog, common bent-wing bat, yellow-bellied glider and tiger quoll.
Visiting
For more information about Brindabella National Park:
- Telephone – 02 6229 7000
- Visit – NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change – Brindabella National Park web page
National Parks and regional visitor information offices
See this page for a full listing of visitor centres.