HattahLakesNatureDiscovery
Drive-Cycle-Walk
30-40min 1-1.5hr2-2.5hrs
Distance6.5km
Hattah-KulkyneNationalPark
Drive,cycleorwalkthisself-guidedtrailandenjoysomeoftheMalleeandMurrayfloodplainsecretsfoundinthisgreatNationalPark.
RangerInCharge,PhilMurdoch
LakeHattahDayUseArea
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Thisself-guidednaturedriveisanexcellentintroductiontotheparksoftheMallee.Itgivesyouaninsightintosomeofthenaturalfeaturesoftheareaandrevealssomeofthechallengesthisgreatlandscapeendures.Althoughdesignedasadrive,thetrailisalsoaneasyandpleasantwalk.So,ifyouhavethetime,why
notparkyourcarandexploretheHattahLakesNatureDiscoverytrailonfootorbybicycle.Ifyoudotakeyourcar,pleasedriveslowlyandcarefully,andstayonthetrackatalltimes.
1.Restoringthe landscape
Look around and seethe naturallandscape.Whatappears naturalisnot alwaysso.Beforethis areawas declaredaNational
Parkin1960,sheep,cattle andrabbitsheavilygrazed thenativevegetationcover.Bushfiresandtimber-cuttingadded totheimpactandthevegetationcover insomeareaswascompletelychanged.
Restoration ofnativevegetationto itspre-1960’sconditionwilltakealifetime,butworksto restoreits formervalueshasbegun.
2.Plant-lifereturns
ThetallbushesfoundherearethenativeSlenderHopbush(Dodonaeaangustissima).TheHopbush getsits namefromthe paperywings of itsseeds,which aresometimescalled‘hops’.Thecommon namesofmanyAustralian plantsoften reflecttheiruniquefeatures.
FormoreinformationcalltheParksVictoriaInformationCentre
on131963orvisitourwebsiteat
Nativeplants, liketheSlenderHopbush, have re-establishedonthissand duneasaresult oftheremovalof stock,activecampaignstocontrolrabbitsand,morerecently,kangaroomanagement.
3.Waterandsteam
OntheleftofthetrackstandtheremnantsofaVictorian Railway pump house. Intheearly partofthe1900’s,thefacilitypumped waterfromthelaketotheHattahrailwaylinetorefilltheboilersofsteam locomotives. The originalbuildingswerereplacedbytinshedsinthe1940’s,whenthepumps wereused tosupplywatertothe townshipofHattah.
Today,water isprovided toHattahand surroundingpropertiesviapipelinefrom theMurrayRiver.
4.Sanddunetofloodplain
Noticeachangeinthevegetation?Thetrackhasleftthesand duneandmovedontothefloodplainwheretheclaysoilsarehometomagnificent RiverRedGums(Eucalyptuscamaldulensis).
FurthertotherightareRiver RedGumsthataregrowinginan unusualposition.It’slikelythattheseedfromwhichthesetrees grewwas depositedonthesand dunebyalargeflood,possiblymorethanacentury ago.Theseed germinatedinthemoistsandandthetreesgrew,fedbyrainfallrunoffcapturedbythedune.
RiverRedGums, particularly theolder trees aroundthelakeedge,are important habitatastheyoftenbearlargehollowswhichareusedbyavariety ofbirds and arborealmammals forshelter and nests.
Thehollowsofoldtrees provideshelter andnestsforavariety ofanimals,including theSulphur-crestedCockatoo
5.Hardyinhabitants
OntheshoreofthelakegrowsastandofEumong(Acaciastenophylla),aspeciesofwattlewith
longnarrowdrooping‘leaves’which arenottrueleavesbutflattened leaf-stalks or‘phyllodes’. Theabsenceoftrueleavesisaspecialadaptationbyacaciastoreducetheamountof water-lossduetotranspiration.
Beingabletoreducewaterlossis animportantsurvival mechanism for both plantsandanimalsthat live indesertconditions.
Phyllodes areflattened leafstalkswhichsomeAcacias haveinplace ofleaves
6.Claimingnew territory
Totheleft ofthetrackareafewmatureHookedNeedlewood(Hakeatephrosperma)trees.Theyareprobablythe remnants ofaoncelargerstandoftrees.TheHookedNeedlewood isamemberoftheHakeafamily,agroup ofplants renownedfortheircurious,buteffective,methods ofseeddispersal.Most Hakea have seed enclosedin
impenetrable pods whichopen onlyafterexposuretofire,heatorsmoke.Oncetriggeredthepodburstsopenandtheseed,bearingavariety
ofwinged-appendages,float throughtheair,eventuallysettlingon new groundawayfromtheparenttree.
TheyoungHookedNeedlewoodtreesontheleftofthetrackarethoughttobeseedlingsfromthematuretreesontheright.
Hakeaseedpod
7.Unexpectedtreasure
GarlandLilies(Calostemmapurpureum)whicharerareinVictoria,canbefoundtotheleftofthetrack.Theselilieswillbemostnoticeableinlatesummerwhen they produceyellowflowersandgrape-likeclustersofberries.
Likethe otherherbaceousplants ofthe park,theregrowth ofthe lilies havebeenencouragedbytheremovalofgrazing, alongwiththecontrol
ofweeds whichwouldotherwiseprevent theirgrowth.
8.“OldLady”Buloke
Justoffthetracktotheright,isanoldpine-liketreecalledBuloke(Allocasuarinaluehmannii).TheBulokeisoneoftheCasuarina(Sheoak)family,
agroup oftreeswithhighlymodifiedleaves.The“needles” areactuallybranchletsand theleavesareminutescalesor‘leaf-teeth’carriedinringsonthebranchlets.
Unlikemostflowering plants,membersoftheSheoakfamilyhave separatemaleandfemaleflower-parts.Thistreeisa female,withflowersthatdevelop into woodyconesthathousetheseed.
Asaresult ofgrazingbyrabbitsandkangaroosandlowseedfertility ofthisspecies,therearefewyoungBulokesinthepark.A numberoffenceshavebeenerectedthroughthe parktohelppreservethethreatenedBulokeWoodlandplantcommunity fromgrazingdamage fromkangaroosandrabbits.
9.Undoing thedamage
Thelarge,almostbare,expanseontheright ofthetrack probablydeveloped in thefollowingway:
•Theoriginalcover of nativeplants wasovergrazedby sheepandrabbitsintheearlydaysof non-indigenous settlement.Thedisturbedvegetation loosenedthe sandtopsoilandsandblownbythewindhelpedcutdowntheremainingvegetation
•Theclaysubsoilwaseventuallyexposedandfurther erodedbyrainwaterrunoff.Saltconcentratedatthesurfacethroughupwardseepage andevaporation,and the areabecameawasteland
•Restorationbegan in1960 whentheHattahLakesNationalParkwascreated.Grazingstockwasremovedand rabbitsgraduallybroughtundercontrol.Salt-tolerant plantsbegan to re-colonise the area
•Inthe1990’sbare areas wereploughed totrapmovingsoil andseeds, assistingintherevegetationprocess
•Regrowthisevident,but recoveryis slow insuchaharshenvironment.
Ducks andotherwaterfowlfrequentthelakeswhenwater ispresent
10.RamsarWetlands
HattahLake,ontheleft,isoneoftwelvelakeslocatedinHattah-KulkyneNationalPark thatare listedunder the RamsarConvention.The
conventionisaninternationalagreement,signedinRamsar,Iran,in1971,whichaimstoconservewetlandsof internationalimportance.
11.TheHattahLakessystem
Beyondthepeg youcanseethechannelwhichconnectsLakeHattahwithLakeBulla.In1956, asmall weirwasbuiltatthenorthernendofLakeHattahtopreventwaterfromflowingback intotheMurrayRiverwhenfloodwatersreceded.
TheLakesintheHattahKulkynesystemfillviaChalkaCreekwhenthereisamajorfloodintheMurrayRiver.Thishasonlyoccurredafewtimessincetherecordfloodlevels of1956,andincludetheyears1960,1964,1966andonseveraloccasionsinthe1970’sand late1980’s.Inflowsmaybefrequentenoughtokeep waterinthesystemforyearsonend,but oftenthelakes dryupcompletely.
TheHattah-KulkyneLakesystem
12.Flood legacy
Thegroveof Black Box(Eucalyptuslargiflorens),saplingsalongthetrack atthispoint wascreatedbytherecordfloodsof1956.BlackBoxtreesgrowhigherupthe slopes(andfurther awayfromthelakes)thanRiver RedGumandindicatetheheightoffloodwatersinthepast.Onlyoneortwooftheseseedlings needtosurvive tomaturity toensurethecontinuationofthe forest here.
Furtheralongthetrack,ontheright,are smallerBlackBox trees.These treesgerminated hereafterthe1973flood.
13.Toleratingsalt
Totheright ofthetrackgrowglasswortsandotherlow-lyingsucculentsthatstore water intheirfleshyleaves. Theglasswortsare salt-tolerantand soilstabilisers,playinganimportant rolein holding soil togetherandminimisingerosion.Over timethe glasswortsandother soil stabilising plantshelpto improvesoil fertilityby addingnutrients
For furtherinformation
Parks Victoria InformationCentre
Call131963
orvisitthe ParksVictoriawebsite
VisitorInformationCentres MilduraVisitorInformation (AlfredDeakinCentre)
180-190DeakinAve
MilduraVic3500
Tel:(03)50214424
Email:
Caringfortheenvironment HelpuslookafterHattahKulkyne NationalParkbyfollowingthese
guidelines:
Pleasetakerubbishawaywithyou
forrecyclingdisposal.
Camponlyindesignated campgroundsorat least20metres fromthewaterlineofthelake.
Dogsandotherpetsarenot permittedinthenationalpark.
Allnativeplants& animalsare protectedbylaw. Pleasedonot disturbtheminanyway
Vehicles,includingmotorcycles andbicycles,mustnotbedriven offformedroads.Driversmustbe licensedandvehiclesregistered.
Theuseof chainsawsisprohibited
inthenationalpark.
Fires may only be lit in the fireplaces
provided.
No fires (including gas or fuel stoves intents)maybelitondaysofTotal FireBan.Hattah-KulkyneNational
Parkisinthe
NorthWestern TotalFireBanDistrict.
ItisyourresponsibilitytoknowifitisadayofTotal
FireBan.IfindoubtcalltheVictorianBushfire Information Line:
1800240667.
MobilePhonesCAUTION:Youmaynotbein networkrangeinsomeareasofthepark.If notinrangeyoucan connectto Police,Ambulanceor CFA-keyin112then pressthe
YESkey
throughdecomposition. Eventually soilconditionisimprovedallowingless-tolerantplantstoestablish.
Amongthefewplantsthatthrivehereistherounded Noonflower(Disphymaclavellatum),a staple food oftheShinglebackLizard.
14.BlackBoxWaterhole
AtthislocationthetrackpassesastandofMoonah(Melaleucalanceolata)asitskirtsaroundBlackBoxWaterhole.The
waterhole isa shallowclay-pan that retainswaterverywell,filling quicklywhenitrains.Herons,cormorants,ducksandotherwaterfowl,along withfrogsandtortoisesappearasiffromnowherewhenrainarrives.
Rainfall bringslifeto the otherwisearidlookinglandscape
15.Rejointhetwowaysectionofthetrailatthispoint
16.Returnofthe saltbush
Inthisarea the dominant low-growingshrubwith succulent leaves isRubySaltbush(Enchylaenatomentosa). Thisnativeplant has spreadrapidly inrecentyearsasaresultofreducedgrazingpressure.The redberriesofthesaltbushwerean importantfoodsource fortheLlatji-Llatjipeopleandwerealsoeatenbynon-indigenoussettlers.
17.Canoetree
Takeastrolldowntothe‘canoetree’onthebankofthelake.ItispossiblyacenturyormoresinceAboriginalpeoplecutawaythelivingbarkofthetreetomaketheircanoe,leavingthecharacteristic‘canoetree’scar.Smallerscarscanalsobeseenon othertrees alongtheriversystem.These werecreatedfrom barkcut away tomake dishescalled‘coolamons’tocarryfoodand,sometimes,infants.
Ahome,ameal,ashelter
This concludestheHattah-KulkyneNature Discovery trail. Asyou’ve travelledaround, you havevisitedthehomesof
manyanimals,eventhoughyoumaynothaveseenthem.Did youknowthateventhelogsand deadbranchesscattered ontheground formimportant habitat andarealinkinthefoodchainforawiderangeofspeciesincludinginsects,otherinvertebrates,reptiles,birdsandsmall
ground-dwelling mammals?Thisiswhyweaskvisitorstousefire woodsparinglyandnottocollectonthistrail,tohelpensuretherewillalwaysbehabitat forouruniqueandpreciousAustralianfauna
Please note:To conserveimportanthabitat,pleasedonot tocollectfirewoodfromaround thecampground areasor inside thepartofHattah-KulkyneNationalParkwhichis surroundedbythekangaroo-prooffence.
CaringforCountry
IndigenousAustralianshavebeenconnectedtothislandscape fortens ofthousandsofyears. Theancestorslivedin harmonywith the environmentandnurtureda deep and abiding respect forCountry.CaringforCountrycontinuestobe anintegral part of present-dayIndigenoussocial,spiritual, economicandphysical life.All Australianssharearesponsibility tocreateacommunity that
sharesandvaluesthisrespect forourland.
Spoonbills,wadethroughshallowwaterfiltering food via theirbroadspoon-shapedbill.
Ifyouhaveenjoyedthis drive youmightliketotrytheHattahNatureWalkoroneoftheother walksinthispark(seetheHattah-Kulkyne NationalPark/ Murray-KulkyneParkvisitorguidefor moreinformation).There areother self-guidedwalksanddrivesinNationalParksthroughoutVictoria,includingneighbouringWyperfeldandLittle Desertnationalparks.
PLEASE RETURNTHESENOTESTOTHEBOXPROVIDEDFOROTHERSTOUSE.THANKYOU.