Tapin Tops National Park

Tapin Tops National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Nearest town or city	Wingham
Coordinates
Established	1999
Area	11,000 hectares (27,000 acres)
Managing authorities	NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service
Official site	www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/tapin-tops-national-park

Tapin Tops National Park is an 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) national park that is located in the Upper Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia.

Location and features

The Tapin Tops National Park is situated approximately 264 kilometres (164 mi) northeast of Sydney, with the closest town being Wingham. Access to the park from Wingham is reached via Elands Road, Wherrol Flat Road, Dingo Tops Road and Knodingbul Road, generally unsealed roads accessible via 2WD vehicles. The park is bounded by the Bulga, Knorrit, and Dingo state forests to the north, south, and southwest respectively, and by Killabakh nature reserve to the east.

Within the park are a number of threatened species including the common and little bent-wing bat and greater broad-nosed bat, the spotted-tailed quoll, the koala, the Parma wallaby, the red-legged pademelon, the glossy black cockatoo, the wompoo fruit dove, and the powerful owl.

Scenic lookouts such as Rowley's Peak provide astounding panoramic views via a platform with a 360–degree view, across Taree and the Tasman Sea to the east, the catchment area of Caparra Creek to the southeast, and the extensive forested hinterland toward Nowendoc in the west. The platform has an estimated elevation of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) AHD .

Mountain Brush circuit is a short 15 minute stroll through a rainforest area which contain red cedars and coachwoods, brushbox, corkwood and yellow carabeen.

Camping is permitted in the Dingo Tops campground. A walking track from Potoroo Falls picnic area can be accessed alongside the Little Run Creek to view Potoroo Falls, approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) upstream. Several swimming holes are also located in the area.

Parts of the Rowleys and Nowendoc rivers and the Dingo and Bobin creeks lie within the Tapin Tops National Park.

Etymology

The traditional custodians of the land now containing the Tapin Tops National Park are the Australian Aboriginal Birpai people of the Bundjalung nation. Tapin is the Aboriginal Kattang word meaning dingo, a subspecies of the grey wolf.

See also

• Protected areas of New South Wales