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RAINFORESTS
OF THE CENTRAL COAST
Littoral rainforest
Littoral rainforest occurs in sheltered
areas behind sand dunes along the coast. They contain a wide range of species
including cabbage tree palms, tuckeroos, hard corkwood, bangalay and the rare
and endangered magenta lillypilly. Unfortunately, most of the Central Coast's
littoral rainforest has been lost to land clearing and urban development.
However, remnants remain. The largest of these is in Wyrrabalong National Park
(northern section) and can be viewed by taking a walk along the Lillypilly Loop
Trail (an easy 4.6 kilometre loop walk). Smaller remnants can be seen at
Wamberal Lagoon Nature Reserve and at The Palms Picnic Area (Frazer Beach Road,
Munmorah State Conservation Area).
Cabbage
Tree Palms, The Palms Picnic Area, Munmorah SCA
Warm-Temperate and Sub-Tropical Rainforest
While
the dry sclerophyll forest is the dominant forest type on the Central Coast,
pockets of rainforest can be found in sheltered gullies and on the southern
slopes of ridges. These are mostly warm-temperate rainforest but pockets of
sub-tropical rainforest occur along creek lines. Both types of rainforest are
confined to areas where richer soils derived from Narrabeen Shales
dominate.
Much of the
rainforest on the
Central Coast was logged for its valuable timbers during the period from
1830-1920. The remaining vegetation was then cleared and the land used for agricultural
purposes, such as dairying.
Australian Rainforest Sanctuary (formerly known as The Forest of Tranquility) preserves
a 57 hectare pocket of gully rainforest. It is a mixture of warm-temperate and sub-tropical
rainforest and contains 200 species of rainforest
flora and a wide range of fauna including 126
species of native birds.
A
well-maintained loop walking track takes you through the rainforest and will take about 1.5
hours to complete at a leisurely pace. A word of advice though, make sure you take insect
repellent as the mosquitos will eat you alive. Also, if you intend taking photos
a tripod is essential as the closed canopy lets in little sunlight. The photo below was
taken at midday in summer but still required the use of flash.
The
Australian Rainforest Sanctuary is located at Ourimbah Creek Road, Ourimbah. It
is open
10:00am-5:00pm Wednesday-Sunday and all public holidays except Christmas Day.
Entry fee: adults - $12, children 7-16 - $6, while children under 7 are admitted free.
For
more details, see the Australian Rainforest Sanctuary web site at:
http://www.australianrainforest.com.au
 Eastern
Water Dragon, Australian Rainforest Sanctuary, Ourimbah
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