Washpool

Washpool National Park is an outstanding World Heritage-listed rainforest park on the New England Tableland of northern New South Wales, located east of Glen Innes near Grafton. Covering approximately 28,671 hectares, the park is renowned for protecting the largest single area of warm temperate coachwood rainforest in Australia. The park is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area and is widely recognised as one of the finest examples of warm temperate rainforest in the world. The ancient coachwood forest of Washpool is a living record of the Gondwana flora that once dominated the Southern Hemisphere.

Washpool National Park supports exceptional cool subtropical and warm temperate rainforest wildlife. The superb lyrebird is extremely abundant, with the park's large size supporting one of the densest lyrebird populations in NSW. Yellow-bellied gliders and greater gliders are common in old-growth forest. Spotted quolls have been recorded. The platypus inhabits permanent streams. The paradise riflebird, a bird of paradise species, reaches the southern limit of its range in the park's subtropical rainforest elements. Diverse rainforest birds are present throughout.

Warm temperate rainforest dominated by coachwood (Ceratopetalum apetalum) is the park's defining vegetation community, with some of the largest and most extensive coachwood forest in Australia filling the deep gullies and moist slopes. Sassafras, lilly pilly, and diverse ferns and mosses create a lush understorey. Subtropical rainforest elements occur on the warmer slopes. Tall wet sclerophyll forest transitions to the rainforest across the moisture gradient. The Antarctic beech forest elements connect Washpool to the broader Gondwana rainforest landscape.

The park is underlain by Permian and Carboniferous sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the New England Orogen, with metamorphic rocks in the deeply incised valleys. The New England Tableland escarpment creates the orographic rainfall conditions that maintain the coachwood rainforest.

Cool subtropical to warm temperate climate at elevations of approximately 800 to 1,200 metres. Annual rainfall is approximately 1,200 to 1,800 millimetres, with the moist escarpment conditions maintaining the rainforest year round. Winters are cool with occasional frost. Summers are mild and moist.

The Gumbaynggirr people are the traditional custodians of the Clarence Valley hinterland. The escarpment ranges were significant cultural landscapes. The coachwood forest was logged commercially in the early 20th century before gazettal.

Washpool National Park was gazetted in 1983 and became part of the Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage Area in 1986. The park is jointly managed with neighbouring Gibraltar Range National Park.

The Coachwood Nature Walk provides a short introduction to the coachwood rainforest. The Washpool Walk Circuit provides a longer walk through diverse rainforest. Camping at Bellbird camping area provides overnight access. Birdwatching for lyrebirds and rainforest species is outstanding.

Bellbird camping area provides basic camping. The park is accessed from the Gwydir Highway west of Grafton. Grafton provides visitor services. The park is approximately 620 kilometres north of Sydney. A national parks pass applies.

Protecting the coachwood rainforest from invasive weeds is critical. The park's World Heritage values require ongoing monitoring. The extensive coachwood forest is a significant carbon store. Managing the lyrebird population monitors the health of the rainforest ecosystem.