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Holiday, Outback NSW

Mungo National Park – Part 5

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It’s been awhile between posts (life got in the way) but I do have a few more things to say about Mungo National Park. Today, we’ll take a walk among the dunes that is the ‘Wall of China’. This was part of a guided tour – you are not allowed to walk among the dunes on your own as the environment is very fragile.

We first walk along the flat lake bed before ascending into the dunes. Surprisingly, we see some very hardy flowers growing there. The dunes comprise of different layers – the top is a very soft white sand, the layers underneath are ochre in colour. The elements have also create lots of interesting formations.

Interestingly, the top sand layer is constantly being eroded by the wind, hence ‘tidbits’ of the long buried past are constantly being revealed. We saw little fragments of bone and other things peeping up as we walked along. This was how Mungo Man and Woman were discovered. It was an interesting walk and I found it interesting as history, geology and palaeontology all came together here.

Holiday, Outback NSW

Mungo National Park – Part 4

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Next to the visitor’s centre at Lake Mungo National Park is the old wool shed. It was built in 1869 from local wood and was part of Gol Gol sheep station. The station had indigenous as well as Chinese labourers, many who came to Australia during the gold rush that had taken place across NSW and Victoria. By 1869, the gold fever had abated, so these former miners sought other work, frequently on pastoral properties across the country.

When these Chinese workers looked across the dry lake bed at the sand dunes on the other side, many were reminded of their homeland, and the wall that ran across it. Hence, the dune formations were called the ‘Wall of China’.

Next, we’ll take a walk amongst those dunes.