| Nattai National Park | |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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| Nearest town/city | Oakdale |
| Area | 489.44 km² |
| Established | December 13, 1991 |
| Visitation | 1000 (in 1997) |
| Managing authorities | New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service |
| Official site | Nattai National Park |
Nattai is a national park in New South Wales (Australia), 150 km southwest of Sydney. It is part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, and primarily encompasses the valley of the Nattai River, which is surrounded by spectacular sandstone cliffs. The park is covered in dry sclerophyll (hard leafed) forest - mostly eucalypt, and has fairly frequent forest fires. It is largely an untouched wilderness area.
The park adjoins the Kanangra-Boyd National Park (which is to the north). Lake Burragorang (water supply for Sydney) also borders the northern side of the park, and there is a 3 km exclusion zone surrounding into which entry is prohibited.
The Nattai receives very few visitors, as it has virtually no facilities and is fairly remote, despite its proximity to Sydney.
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The area now known as Nattai National Park has limited impact from Europeans. Several early expeditions attempting to cross the Blue Mountains passed though the area at the end of the 18th century, and settlers settled in the lower Nattai and Burragorang Valleys in 1827.[1] Early conservationists Myles Dunphy and Herb Gallop went on bushwalks in the region from 1912 onwards. An area held in high regard was a forest of Sydney blue gum around Blue Gum Creek. Dunphy lobbied for the stand to be preserved upon becoming aware of plans to log the area, but was unsuccessful and the area was logged in the 1920s and 30s. Dunphy put forward a plan for a Greater Blue Mountains National Park, which incorporated what is now Nattai National Park in the southeast in 1932. The creation of Warragamba Dam in 1960 limited access for development of land upstream, but it was not until 1991 when plans for permanent protection and national park status looked to become realised.[2]
Nattai National Park has several worthwhile hikes, however it is a remote area, and also very dry. Bush camping is allowed anywhere outside the Lake Burragorang exclusion zone, but destruction of plants is not allowed, so choose your campsite well, and use tents with smaller footprints. At the Mittagong visitors information center you would should try to get a copy of a yellow covered book that discusses in depth walks in the Nattai, it is invaluable. The book was published in 1998 but hopefully it is still available, it is a great reference for this little known and isolated area.
In summer it can be extremely hot walking along the fire roads, and at camp sites is far too hot to get inside a tent until quite late.
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