Louise Lodge - Windows on Wilderness

The Fitzgerald River National Park

The Fitzgerald River National Park is one of the two internationally recognized biosphere reserves in Western Australia and is one of the largest National Parks in Western Australia. It has 330,000 hectares of unspoiled wilderness located on one of the most magnificent stretches of Australian coast. The park’s inventory is a nature lover’s delight. There are over 209 species of birds, as well as wallabies, tammars, honey and ring tailed possums, kangaroos, dibblers, emus, and dozens of reptile species. Most animals are nocturnal marsupials. They share the park with more than 1800 species of wildflowers including 81 orchids, almost half of the named orchids in WA, 70 of which occur nowhere else on earth.

Four rivers wind their way through the park to inlets and the ocean. A series of rugged mountains stretches across the park from west to east. Collectively known as the Barrens they fall into three broad groups. The western group is made up of West Mt. Barren and Mt. Bland. The central group, which lies close to the coast between the Fitzgerald Inlet and Hamersley Inlet, is dominated by Mid Mt. Barren. The Eastern group consists of the Eyre Range and East Mt. Barren.

East of the Fitzgerald Inlet the mountains lie close to the coast and in places, fall directly to the sea. Thus this section of coast is made up of massive cliffs and steep scree slopes intermingled with small beaches, giving the park its superb coastal scenery.

Hopetoun

Hopetoun is 585k south east of Perth. This picturesque and pleasant waterfront holiday destination on the shores of beautiful Mary Ann Haven was once the port for the Phillips River Goldfield. Previously it served sealers, whaling ships and early settlers. A breakwater has replaced the old jetty and is used by pleasure craft and fishermen to launch their boats. Hopetoun has endless unspoiled beaches and is close to the eastern entrance to the Fitzgerald River National Park.

Location & Photographs

Click on the thumbnails in the image gallery to view larger versions of location maps and photographs of the national park.

Image Gallery