Mornington Sanctuary

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Mornington Sanctuary, formerly Mornington Station, is a 3582 km² nature reserve in the Kimberley region of north-west Western Australia. It contains the Mornington Wilderness Camp and is owned and managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC). It lies in the Pentecost subregion of the Central Kimberley Bioregion.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Mornington is a pastoral lease that was run mainly as a beef cattle station for most of the 20th century. It was named after Victoria's Mornington Peninsula by Bob Maxted. It was acquired by AWC in 2001 for biodiversity conservation.[2]

[edit] Landscape and climate

Much of the landscape of the reserve is rugged; it contains a section of the King Leopold Ranges and the upper catchment of the Fitzroy River, as well as the mesas of the Baulk Face Range and Fitzroy Bluff. Tributaries of the Fitzroy River flow through vertically-walled gorges, such as Dimond Gorge. Lake Gladstone, the largest wetland in the Kimberley, lies in the north-west part of the reserve. Vegetation is predominantly various forms of tropical savanna woodland and grassland regulated by frequent wildfires. Fragments of rainforest communities such as Livistona palm forests may be found in gullies and other areas protected from fires.[3][4]

The climate is tropical and monsoonal with distinct wet (November-April) and dry (May-October) seasons. Average annual rainfall is about 700 mm.[5]

[edit] Wildlife

Threatened animal species recorded from Mornington including the Freshwater Crocodile, Northern Quoll, Red Goshawk, Grey Falcon, Australian Bustard, Purple-crowned Fairy-wren, and Gouldian Finch. Other threatened species likely to occur are the Spectacled Hare-wallaby, Ghost Bat and Orange Leaf-nosed Bat.[6]

[edit] Access

Mornington Sanctuary is remote. Road access to the Wilderness Camp is by 4WD vehicles only, via the Gibb River Road and the 90 km no-through Mornington Road, and may be closed during the wet season. Driving distances and estimated times are:

The Wilderness Camp has a 1,000 m airstrip; charter flights can be arranged.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mornington: Location
  2. ^ Mornington: History
  3. ^ Mornington: General
  4. ^ Mornington: Ecosystems
  5. ^ Mornington: Climate
  6. ^ Mornington: Wildlife

[edit] External links


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