Thursday, February 10, 2011

Southern Journey / Whistle Duck Creek Davenport Range National Park

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The new Davenport Range National Park lies along the main route approximately 470km by road to the north-east of Alice Springs and 240km south-east of Tennant Creek. It encompasses a biological inter -zone between the tropical north and the arid south of the Northern Territory. Stretching in a north-west/south-east direction the Murchison Range, lying south-east of Tennant Creek, joins up with the Davenport range and forms a barrier between the woodland savannah of the north and the arid desert of the south.

The Frew River flows through the Davenport Range and there are many permanent water holes which are an important refuge for a variety of fauna especially water birds. Seven specie of fish are found in the river system as well as fresh water crabs. Desert mice, Antechinus, Dunnarts, Spectacled Hare Wallabies, Northern Nail-tailed Wallabies, Black-footed Wallabies, Euros and Kangaroos all play a part in the ecosystem of this area.

The park area envelops the traditional lands of the Warumungu, Alyawarre and Kaytetye aboriginal peoples. Artefacts relating to an earlier occupation of the land may also be found and areas close to water have small flint quarries dating back to an unknown era. In more recent history missionaries came along to save souls, then pastoralists settled in the area, next came the miners to dig for wolfram, gold, copper, bismuth, tin and scheelite along the tributaries of the Frew River and especially at Hatches Creek.
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Amyema sanguineum
Whistle Duck Creek Davenport Range National Park
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Binns Track Road Sign
Whistle Duck Creek Davenport Range National Park
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Butterfly Bush Petalostylis cassioides
Whistle Duck Creek Davenport Range National Park
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Coral Tree Erythrina variegata
Whistle Duck Creek Davenport Range National Park
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Feral Cattle
Whistle Duck Creek Davenport Range National Park
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Grey Rattlepod Crotalaria dissitiflora
Whistle Duck Creek Davenport Range National Park
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Scaevola basedowii
Whistle Duck Creek Davenport Range National Park
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Solanum quadriloculatum
Whistle Duck Creek Davenport Range National Park.
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Spinifex Pigeon Geophaps plumifera
Whistle Duck Creek Davenport Range National Park
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Yellow-throated Miner Manorina flavigula
Whistle Duck Creek Davenport Range National Park
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