With only about 500 permanent residents everyone tends to know everyone else. Although, the population doubles during the summer months, but with about 7km of beach there is plenty for everyone. Most of the time though it is just a sleepy little town where people stop to say hello, barter with each other for fresh fish, prawns, lobsters, crabs, oysters, fruits and vegetables in season and go about their business. The kangaroos graze on the football field in the middle of town only disturbed by someone practicing their golf swing.

Wooli Wooli in aboriginal means many waters. Besides the ocean and river we also have two fresh water lakes, Hiawatha and Minnie Haha, that supply the local towns with their water.

Pristine Waters Council is the largest coastal Council in New South Wales, Australia covering an area exceeding 6,800 square kilometres and serving a population of more than 10,700.

The Council is located on the North Coast of New South Wales between Coffs Harbour  and Yamba.

60 Km of striking cliffs, rocky headlands, isolated beaches and quiet lake systems set against a backdrop of forests, heaths, estuaries and wetlands make Yuraygir the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in NSW:

Activities: Boardwalks, walking tracks and picnic spots scattered throughout the park provide a range of opportunities to appreciate the scenery. There’s car-based and caravan camping at Red Rock , Sandon River and Illaroo, and car based camping at Station Creek. Camping fees apply.

Features
Imagine 60km of the beautiful NSW northcoast, with striking cliffs and rocky headlands, isolated beaches and quiet lake systems, where you can go swimming, fishing, walking, canoeing and surfing. Yuraygir National Park has all that, plus a backdrop of natural beauty in forests, heaths, estuaries and wetlands.

Yuraygir National Park History
In 1975 Angourie National Park and Red Rock National Park were created and in 1980 the two areas were renamed Yuraygir National Park . Additions to the park since then have joined up the separate areas into a sizeable reserve of undeveloped coastline in New South Wales .

Natural Communities
The park sits in a region where temperate south and tropical north overlap. Great richness and diversity of habitat and wildlife result. The vegetation of the park ranges from coastal dunes, mangrove areas, swamps and heathlands right through to tall open forests. The low, sandstone coastal ranges provide a backdrop clothed in eucalypt woodland and forest.

Nectar and insect-eating birds and mammals inhabit the flowering heaths, woodlands and forests. Seed-eaters find plenty in the heath and sedge while eagles and hawks hunt the lake shores, beaches and low vegetation.

More information: NPWS North Coast Region, 49 Victoria Street , Grafton 2460

Phone: (02) 6641 1500

www.npws.nsw.gov.au

Activities
If you’re a water enthusiast, Solitary Islands has everything – diving, snorkeling, swimming, surfing, beach walking, whale watching, bird watching, fishing and boating.

The solitary Islands Marine Park extends for 75 kilometres from Muttonbird Island in the south to the Sandon River & Plover Island in the North.

What are Marine Parks?
Marine parks are special type of reserve, created under the Marine Parks Act 1997. The waters of a marine park, from highwater mark to three nautical miles out to sea, are protected as are the organisms that live in that environment, including plant life, fish species, other animals and even the birds that feed in the waters.

Why do we have parks?
Too often, we forget that the sea is a vital component in the fragile balance on the Earth’s surface, and is a vital part of the whole climatic cycle. Marine reserves play an important role in protecting the sea much as land based reserves, such as national parks, protect the land.

Biological Diversity
The marine environment supports many thousands of species, many of which have not been described and many others that are waiting to be discovered. The main reason for having marine parks is to protect the biological diversity of these unique aquatic environment.

The sea and people
The sea and its resources have been central to the development of NSW. Whether as trade routes or fishing grounds or tourist destinations, people have used the coastal waters of NSW for thousands of years. Creating marine parks will allow continued sustainable use of marine resources so that people can enjoy marine areas while at the same time protecting marine biodiversity.

In NSW, marine parks have been established in areas that are recognised for their unique characteristics. This protection ensures we will continue to use and enjoy these areas now and in the future.

Zoning Plan
The Marine Parks Authority aims to conserve this outstanding marine environment through a multiple-use zoning plan where recreational, cultural, scientific and commercial activities are managed to protect plants and animals. The park secures the social, cultural and economic values of this special place for present and future generations. A large range of recreational activities are permitted in each zone of the marine park.

Sanctuary zone. Sanctuary zones cover the most sensitive and ecological important areas. All animals and plants and their habitats are totally protected in sanctuary zones. Only passive, low impact activities are permitted, such as snorkeling, swimming, diving and sight seeing.

Habitat Protection Zones protect all estuaries, beaches and headlands lying outside sanctuary zones. High impact commercial activities, such as trawling, are not allowed in habitat protection zones. However, recreational fishing is permitted.

General use zones allow for most traditional recreational uses to continue.

Special Purpose Zones cater specifically for areas requiring special management such as oyster farming.

Wooli Wooli River System
Much of this beautiful estuarine system flows through Yuraygir National Park . Good boat launching facilities are located on the river south of the township and picnic and camping facilities are available. Rock walls stabilise the sands in the river mouth, however conditions can be dangerous for boating during rough seas and low tides. Accessing offshore areas by boat across the Wooli Wooli River bar is potentially hazardous and requires caution. Good weather and sea conditions, appropriate tides and local knowledge are required to attempt the bar.

Special Features
Extending some 32 kilometres inland, the Wooli Wooli River passes though a catchment of flat scrub and undulating hill country followed by stretches of coffee rock on the riverbank. The lower reaches near Wooli are banked by ancient sand dunes, interspersed with gullies of lush subtropical vegetation. Much of this catchment is protected within Yuraygir National Park . At ‘The Forks’, approximately five kilometres upstream of its mouth, the river separates into several tidal arms, which are considered to be in pristine condition. The river is also one of the most important Sydney Rock oyster spat catching areas on the North Coast of NSW.

Extensive mangrove forests are present along most of the river’s tidal arms, including a large mangrove and salt marsh area on the western arm. Seagrass beds, which support an abundance of juvenile fish, also occur in sections of the river. Diggers Camp headland has a large rock platform with rockpools containing eight species of hard coral and an occasional Spanish dancer mollusk. Important breeding habitat for the threatened pied oystercatcher can also be found above the high tide mark amongst the rocks and sand. A NSW National Parks and Wildlife service walking track from Diggers Camp to Wooli Beach features wetlands, sea-cliff views and coastal rainforests.

Commonwealth Waters
The following description of the reserve is largely drawn from the report on the state of the Environment of the Solitary Islands Marine Park (Zann 2000), the Solitary Islands Marine Park and the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve Planning Issues and Options Paper (NSW MPA 2000) and the Coffs Harbour City Council Draft State of the Environment Report 2000 (CHCC 2000).

Conservation Values – Abiotic

Climate
The north coast of NSW experiences a subtropical climate with a mean air temperature ranging from 13.7°C to 23.2°C. This is characterised by warm humid conditions in summer when the easterly trade winds dominate from January to March, and dry cool conditions in winter. Average annual precipitation for the area is 1,700mm, with the majority of rainfall occurring between December and May.

Geomorphology
The geological structure of the coastline adjacent to the Reserve consists of the Clarence Morton Basin , which is a sedimentary structure formed during the Triassic to early Cretaceous period. It comprises a sequence of Mesozoic sediments and volcanics resting on a basement of folded Palaeozoic rocks. Quaternary fluvial sediments are extensive around major rivers. The New England fold belt is the most eastern  geological province of mainland Australia and it is composed of late Paleozoic complexes intruded by Permian and Triassic granites.

Continental Shelf
The physical environment of the Australian Continental shelf is almost entirely soft sediments with offshore rocky reefs comprising a very small proportion of the shelf.

The continental shelf near the Reserve is around 12-20 nautical miles wide. Beyond the shelf break, the continental slope falls steeply into deep abyssal waters. The shelf sediments consist mainly of terrigenous material from rivers and streams, and relic quartzose and carbonate rich sands.