Kings Plains is a national park in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, 48 km from Inverell

Inverell, New South Wales

Inverell is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the Northern Tablelands. It has a temperate climate...

, 50 km from Glen Innes

Glen Innes, New South Wales

Glen Innes is a parish and town on the Northern Tablelands, in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the centre of the Glen Innes Severn Shire Council. The town is located at the intersection of the New England Highway and the Gwydir Highway...

 and 478 km north of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

.

History

Kings Plains was founded in January 1988 and was made a national park to preserve and protect the array of wild animals, plants and the Kings Plains creek with its many water features.

Land features

Even though Kings Plains National Park is not widely known but people enjoy the vast array of water features joining the Kings Plains creek from non-drying pools to rapids to waterfalls which lead to a gorge. The land itself is mostly made up of sandy soils with shrub. Around the creek the soil is more fertile.

Vegetation

Some vegetation in the Kings Plains woodland includes iron-barks, cypress pine, yellow box, stringy-barks, Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

 trees, and apple box. Among the shrubs are rare species such as the grey guinea flower, folded leaf waxflower and Rodd’s star-hair. During spring the park's wildflowers are at their most colourful.

Wildlife

Amongst the large variety of wildlife are Eastern grey Kangaroos

KangaROOS

KangaROOS are an American brand of sneaker originally produced from 1979 through the 1980s, with a later revival that continues in present. They were notable for having a small zippered pocket on the side of the shoe, large enough for a small amount of loose change, keys, or more recently,...

, Wallaroos, Wallabies

Wallaby

A wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod . It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name.-Overview:...

 and Koalas which live in the park near water and fertile soils. Also the rare Brush-tail wallaby has been in the park. Platypus

Platypus

The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...

 can be seen along the creek, but some of their habitat above the falls is considered fragile. A number of 82 bird species have been recorded in the area, including Eastern and Crimson rosellas, King parrots, Yellow-tailed black cockatoos, currawongs, wattle birds and many species of Honeyeaters. There are also the endangered Glossy black cockatoos, Turquoise parrots and regent honeyeaters. In and around Kings Plains Creek the Straw-necked Ibis

Straw-necked Ibis

The Straw-necked Ibis is a bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. It can be found throughout Australia, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia. Adults have distinctive straw-like feathers on their neck....

 can be found and high above 'birds of prey' such as the Wedge-tailed Eagle

Wedge-tailed Eagle

The Wedge-tailed Eagle , sometimes known as the Eaglehawk in its native range, is the largest bird of prey in Australia, but it is also found in southern New Guinea. It has long, fairly broad wings, fully feathered legs, and an unmistakable wedge-shaped tail...

 and the rare Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

are seen.

Activities

The main attraction of Kings Plains National Park is bushwalking along the creek to Kings Plains Falls is seen as an enjoyable trip of about 2.5 hours. The creek banks also make a good attraction. Kings Plains is not well known but I see this is a getaway from the insanity of being crowded in a boring trailer park. The park offers walks, camping, picnic areas and the old style non-flush toilets.

Sources

• http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au
• http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkHome.aspx?id=N0067
• http://www.australiannationalparks.com/newsouthwales/KingsPlains/default.htm