Moondarra

Moondarra State Park encompasses approximately 6,700 hectares of forested hills and dam catchment country in the Strzelecki Ranges, Gippsland, northeast of Moe. The park surrounds Lake Moondarra, a large reservoir that supplies water to the Latrobe Valley's industrial and urban areas, and protects the forested catchment that maintains water quality and quantity in the reservoir. The park offers walking, camping, and nature-based recreation in the forested ranges adjacent to the heavily industrialized Latrobe Valley.

Moondarra State Park supports diverse forest wildlife typical of the Strzelecki Ranges. Common wombats, swamp wallabies, eastern grey kangaroos, and echidnas are regularly seen. Greater gliders and common brushtail possums inhabit the mature eucalypt forest canopy. Platypus have been recorded in the streams flowing into the reservoir. The reservoir provides habitat for waterbirds including cormorants, herons, and duck species. Powerful owls and spotted owls are present as nocturnal predators. Lyrebirds perform in the moist gully environments. The park provides important wildlife habitat connectivity in the Strzelecki Ranges conservation landscape.

The vegetation of Moondarra State Park is dominated by mixed wet and damp sclerophyll forest, with mountain ash, alpine ash, and messmate the dominant eucalypts in the moister areas, transitioning to narrow-leaf peppermint and mountain grey gum on drier ridges. Moist gullies support tree ferns and a lush understorey of ferns and mosses. The park's forest provides important catchment protection services for the Moondarra reservoir.

Moondarra State Park is underlain by Devonian granite and Silurian sedimentary and metamorphic rocks of the Strzelecki Ranges. The reservoir was constructed in a natural valley system in the ranges.

The park experiences a cool temperate climate with high rainfall typical of the Strzelecki Ranges. Annual rainfall averages approximately 1,000 to 1,200 millimetres. The forested catchment provides important water regulation services for the reservoir.

The Gunaikurnai people have traditional connections to the Strzelecki Ranges. European timber operations in the ranges were extensive from the late nineteenth century. The reservoir was constructed in the 1950s to supply water to the growing industrial Latrobe Valley.

Moondarra State Park was established primarily to protect the catchment of the Moondarra reservoir and to provide recreational opportunities in the forested ranges adjacent to the Latrobe Valley. Parks Victoria manages the park with an emphasis on maintaining forest health and providing recreational facilities.

Lake Moondarra provides opportunities for fishing and non-motorized boating. Walking tracks through the surrounding forest provide birdwatching and bushwalking experiences. Camping is available near the reservoir. The forested landscape provides a pleasant contrast to the industrial character of the adjacent Latrobe Valley.

Moondarra State Park has camping and picnic facilities near the lake. The park is accessed from Moe via Moondarra Road. Moe provides comprehensive visitor services. The park is approximately 130 kilometres from Melbourne.

Conservation management focuses on maintaining forest health in the reservoir catchment and controlling invasive species. Deer management programs address the damage caused by sambar deer in the understorey. Weed control is ongoing. Water quality monitoring supports the management of the reservoir catchment.