Thursday, January 28, 2010

Red Banks Conservation Park


Nestled in the hills near Burra, South Australia is Red Banks Conservation Park.  The 1,035 hectare park, located 170 kilometer north of Adelaide, is largely unknown.   The rugged red gorges, with walls up to 30 meters high, are a sharp contrast to the areas gentle rolling hills.
The meandering creek beds, which house several permanent waterholes, provides an important habitat for birds, reptiles, kangaroos, echidnas and hairy nosed wombats.  In addition to the area's contemporary residents, fossilized remains of Australia's Mega Fauna can be found in the areas alluvial gorges.  These remains include the Diprotodon, a huge marsupial that weighted between 1-2 tons--it is likened to a giant wombat.  There is an interpretive trail that takes visitors on a tour of what the landscape was like 60,000 years ago when these giant animals roamed the area.
The Conservation Park includes a small camp ground with 11 sites. There is no running water nor bar-b-que facilities.

3 comments:

  1. The weather here has been overcast and sucks for hiking so I envy you - keep those hiking posts coming!

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  2. Quickroute, most people here would say it is too hot, but as long as there are no fires we will keep hitting the trails.

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  3. Hi Maya, wonderful post. I looked up Echidna... interesting looking animal. I'm learning so much from reading your posts.

    That's a really cool photo too. Thanks so much for sharing. Have a great day.

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