Port Campbell National Park is located in the southwest part of Victoria, Australia. The 1,750-hectare (4,300-acre) park is found about 190 kilometers (120 miles) southwest of Melbourne and about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) east of Warrnambool. The park is next to the Great Otway National Park and the Bay of Islands Coastal Park.

History

The Port Campbell National Park was created on May 5, 1964, and started with an area of 700 hectares (1,700 acres). Its purpose was to protect the limestone formations along the coastline near the Great Ocean Road. By 1981, the park had expanded to cover 1,750 hectares (4,300 acres), stretching from the eastern side of Curdies Inlet near Peterborough to Point Ronald near Princetown. In 2002, the Port Campbell Professional Fishermen's Association tried to stop the creation of a new marine national park at the Twelve Apostles location but failed. However, they were happy with the later decision by the Victorian Government to prevent Benaris Energy from using seismic exploration at the same site, as they believed it would harm marine life.

Features

Port Campbell National Park has tall cliffs that look out over nearby islands, rock formations, deep valleys, natural arches, and blow-holes. It is part of the Shipwreck Coast and includes several popular tourist spots such as The Twelve Apostles, London Bridge, Loch Ard Gorge, Gibson Steps, and The Grotto.

The park experiences strong winds that carry salt from the ocean, and the top of the cliffs are especially exposed to the rough weather from the Southern Ocean. Despite this, delicate grasslands and heaths can still grow, supporting plants like sun orchid and spider orchid. In areas that are more protected, plants such as beard-heath, bower spinach, coast daisy bush, daisies, and cushion bush can be found. In wilder areas, plants include she-oaks, dogwoods, correa, messmate, trailing guinea-flower, woolly tea-tree, and scented paperbark.

The park is home to many bird species, including honeyeaters, southern emu-wrens, fairy wrens, swamp harriers, rufous bristlebirds, peregrine falcons, pelicans, ducks, black swans, and egrets. Penguins, terns, and dotterels live near the shoreline, while hooded plovers nest in open areas. Australasian gannets, wandering albatrosses, and short-tailed shearwaters live far out at sea. Other animals found in the park include the southern brown bandicoot, swamp antechinus, and echidna.