Snapshots: Kosciuszko National ParkFlora

Snowy Mountains Region ~ Snapshots from New South Wales

Among the 870 national parks and reserves1 in New South Wales, Mount Kosciuszko National Park is definitely one of the favourites. This beautiful national park is the largest in New South Wales, covering some 690,000 hectares. The park is home to the highest mountain on mainland Australia, and where the headwaters of the Snowy River begins, as it drains through the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains on its way into the Bass Strait.

Whilst this wonderful park is a drawcard in winter when holiday makers make their way to the snow fields, it is also popular during the rest of the year offering many and varied attractions from great walks to scenic drives, pass alpine herb fields, caves, limestone gorges, magnificent vistas, historic huts and homesteads. One of the Australian Alps national parks, this park is nationally and internationally recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The park contains nine wilderness areas, encompassing alpine and sub-alpine areas that contain plant species found nowhere else in the world. The park is also home to the rare mountain pygmy possum and corroboree frog.

The landscape of the northern section of the national park has extensive treeless plains and home to historic huts. This is where you will find Selwyn Snowfields. The central section of the national park is Australia’s largest alpine area. The place above the treeline is covered with delicate herbfields and fragile bogs and fens. This area is where most of the park’s ski fields are to be found: Perisher Blue, Thredbo and Charlotte Pass. The southern section offers dry, rugged areas along the lower Snowy River, surrounded by large expanses of wilderness.

As the weather can quickly change in the mountains and snow can fall at any time of the year, extreme care should be taken. You should always check NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service website for how to get there, the latest weather reports, fires and closures etc.


Mount Kosciuszko National Park Flora – Snapshots from Australia
Carpet Heath (Pentachondra pumila)
Carpet Heath (Pentachondra pumila), Kosciuszko National Park
Carpet Heath (Pentachondra pumila)
Carpet Heath (Pentachondra pumila), Kosciuszko National Park
Carpet Heath (Pentachondra pumila)
Carpet Heath (Pentachondra pumila), Kosciuszko National Park
Carpet Heath (Pentachondra pumila)
Carpet Heath (Pentachondra pumila), Kosciuszko National Park
Wahlenbergia gloriosa, Mount Kosciuszko National Park
Wahlenbergia gloriosa, Mount Kosciuszko National Park

Footnote & References

  1. Our parks, National Parks & Wildlife Service, https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/conservation-and-heritage/our-parks

Snapshots: Kosciuszko National ParkFlora

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