Национальный парк Линкольн в Южной Австралии

the protected area in South Australia

Lincoln National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about west of the state capital of Adelaide and about south of the municipal seat of Port Lincoln. It consists of a mainland area on the Jussieu Peninsula on the south eastern tip of Eyre Peninsula and a number of nearby islands. The national park contains significant sites of natural, indigenous and early European heritage.

Lincoln National Park is located on the Jussieu Peninsula on the south eastern tip of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia as well as an adjoining portion of Eyre Peninsula and a number of islands adjoining the coastline. The part of the national park located on Jussieu Peninsula is located within the gazetted localities of Lincoln National Park and Sleaford.

Lincoln National Park occupies the majority of Jussieu Peninsula. The remainder of the Jussieu Peninsula is occupied by the Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area. The western gateway to the national park is via the isthmus which connects the Jussieu Peninsula to the mainland. The Sleaford Mere Conservation Park abuts the western border of the national park. Land based park entry is made by road at both the northern and southern sides of the isthmus. The south road is 4WD access only. The northern coastline of the peninsula curls northward to Cape Donington, where the Cape Donington Lighthouse is situated. Cape Donington is the southern point at the mouth of Port Lincoln, the large, sheltered deep water harbor on which the city of Port Lincoln is located. The eastern coast of the national park which faces onto Spencer Gulf extends from Cape Donington to Taylor's Landing (opposite Taylor Island). The southern boundary of the national park curls southward from Mary Ellis Wreck Beach in the west to the east side of Jussieu Bay in the east. The coastline varies from extensive sand dunes behind Sleaford Bay to limestone cliffs on the east side of Jussieu Bay. The seas in this exposed area are very rough, with dangerous rips leading to numerous drownings.

The Aboriginal tribes of Barngarla and Nauo were the first people to have lived in the region. Archaeological digs have found sites of stone working, including fish traps, and middens throughout the national park.

Subsequent to the survey by Flinders, the land was settled by a small number of Europeans, mainly along Cape Donington (named after the birthplace of Flinders), where the first grain crop was sown in 1875. Other industries that occurred in the early parts of European settlement were woodcutting, grazing and guano mining. Donington cottage, which still stands and is accessible to the public, is a relic of that era. The Cape Donington Lighthouse was built in 1905. A hexagonal concrete tower, it stands 32 m high and is still in operation. On 5 April 1907 the ketch Mary Ellis, on its way from Port Adelaide to Venus Bay, got caught in a gale and was wrecked on a beach along Sleaford Bay, now named Mary Ellis Wreck Beach. Despite total destruction of the ship, no casualties were recorded.

The national park is largely covered by coastal mallee eucalypts around outcrops of granite. The sand dunes on the southern coastline have smaller shrub coverage.

The national park is home to a number of resident as well as migratory bird and animal species. Numerous kangaroos, wallabies and emus reside in the national park. Feral foxes were once common in the national park, endangering the existence of many native animals, however after an extensive baiting and culling program, their numbers have diminished. With the reduction in fox numbers, a rebound in goanna and bush stone curlew populations have been recorded. Brush tailed bettongs and malleefowl have been reintroduced in the national park and are now becoming common. Migratory birds such as stints and sandpipers spend summer in the national park as part of their seasonal migrations from places as distant as the Arctic Circle and Siberia. Southern right whales are visible in the water surrounding the national park during their seasonal migrations between July and November and Australian sea lions can be seen on rocks and small islands off the coast.

The national park hosts a range of activities including bushwalking, four wheel driving, camping, snorkelling, scuba diving, swimming and fishing.

As of 2010, a total of 19 bushwalking trails with a length of over were available within the national park. The trail system is also part of a regional walking trail known as the Investigator Trail which extends outside of both the national park and the Jussieu Peninsula to North Shields via Tulka and Port Lincoln.

Much of the national park is only accessible via four wheel drive tracks including the Sleaford to Wanna sand dune track.

Accommodation consists of one building at Spalding Cove, four formal camping grounds at Fisherman's Point, September Beach, Surfleet Cove and Taylor's Landing, and eight unserviced camping grounds.