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Mungo National Park

Mungo National Park is located in south-western New South Wales and is located approximately 875 kilometres (544 miles) west of Sydney and 580 kilometres (360 miles) northwest of Melbourne. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Willandra Lakes Region, an area of 2,400 square kilometres (930 sq mi) that incorporates seventeen dry lakes.

The Mungo landscape is composed of ancient dry lake basins (playas), dunefields, sand plains and lunettes. The lakebed soils consist of grey and red heavy clays, whilst the sandplains consist of  sandy loam red, brown and pale soils. But it is the lunettes that are the most iconic landscapes in the region, composed of four major layers of sediment, representing different geological eras. Wind and water have carved lunettes into spectacular formations, with the dramatic Walls of China one of the best examples.

Australian Aboriginal People have lived and hunted beside Lake Mungo for 50,000 years and is the traditional meeting place of the Muthi Muthi, Nyiampaar and Barkinji Aboriginal Nations. Significant archaeological remains have been discovered in the region, with the Mungo Man, the oldest human remains discovered in Australia, and Mungo Lady, the oldest known human to have been ritually cremated.

Mungo National Park offers a unique insight into climate change, its effect on human habitation and the environment over many thousands of years. Mungo National Park is also home to many arid land animals and birds including kangaroos, rare parrots and cockatoos, birds of prey, reptiles and many others. Skeletal remains of extinct marsupials, the forebears of Australia’s unique suite of wildlife, are still found around Lake Mungo. Today the land boasts 2 of Australia’s 5 species of great kangaroos, many rare and beautiful parrots, birds of prey, reptiles and a rich arid land flora.