Victoria's three new national parks are officially on the map, adding more than 78,000 hectares of protected bush across the state's central west.
Pack the tent and charge the head torch, because Victoria’s three new national parks are now open.
Proclaimed on 5 October, the Wombat-Lerderderg, Mount Buangor and Pyrenees national parks stitch existing state parks and forests into one protected run of central-west bushland. It’s the biggest lift to the state’s park network in years, with threatened wildlife and weekend escapes both getting an upgrade.
Victoria’s new national parks
- Wombat-Lerderderg National Park – 44,000 hectares between Daylesford and Bacchus Marsh
- Mount Buangor National Park – more than 5,300 hectares near Beaufort
- Pyrenees National Park – 15,000 hectares north-west of Avoca
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Wombat-Lerderderg brings together the old Lerderderg State Park with slabs of the Wombat State Forest, while Mount Buangor folds in Mount Buangor State Park and parts of Mount Cole State Forest. Over near Avoca, the Pyrenees park pulls existing conservation reserves in with chunks of the St Arnaud-Pyrenees State Forest.
The shake-up runs well beyond the headline trio. Five regional parks have landed at Barkstead, Blackwood, Fingerpost, Spargo Creek and the Pyrenees, the Bendigo and Hepburn regional parks have both been expanded, and new conservation parks are locked in at Hepburn, Cobaw and Mirboo North. Close to 30 nature and bushland reserves round out the lot, all protecting habitat for threatened locals like the powerful owl, barking owl, swift parrot and southern greater glider.
There’s an economic angle too, with the Victorian government tipping the upgrade to draw more visitors into regional towns and give local jobs a lift.
How does it effect bringing dogs?
Got a dog that lives for the bush? There’s good news and a small catch. Walking the dog stays on the list of approved activities, but only in designated areas, so the whole park isn’t suddenly open slather for your pooch.
National park status tends to bring tighter rules than a state forest, so it’s worth checking which tracks allow dogs before you load up the car.
On the ground, you can still bushwalk, camp, horse ride, four-wheel drive, walk the dog and drop a line in designated spots, while seasonal deer hunting carries on in set areas of the Wombat-Lerderderg and Pyrenees parks.
For more information, head here.
