Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park

Rinyirru National Park
Queensland
Rinyirru National Park, July 2011
Nearest town or cityCooktown
Established1979
Area5,370 km2 (2,073.4 sq mi)
Managing authoritiesQueensland Parks and Wildlife Service
WebsiteRinyirru National Park
See alsoProtected areas of Queensland
Rinyirru National Park map

Rinyirru (Lakefield) is a national park in Lakefield, Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia, 1,707 km northwest of Brisbane and 340 km north-west of Cairns by road, on Cape York Peninsula. At 5,370 km2 (2,073 sq. miles) - making it bigger than Trinidad and Tobago and almost as big as Brunei - Rinyirru is the second largest park in Queensland[1] and a popular place for fishing and camping.

The park stretches from Princess Charlotte Bay in the north to the town of Laura. It covers 537,000 ha of land, and includes sections of the Normanby River, Morehead River and North Kennedy Rivers,[1][2] as well as lakes, billabongs and wetlands. There are more than 100 permanent riverine lagoons in the park.[3]

There is one main, unsealed road (Lakefield Road) through the park but it is impassable through much of the wet season, when the park closes.[4] There is a ranger station within the park which can assist with information or give help in emergencies.

  1. ^ a b Explore Queensland's National Parks. Prahran, Victoria: Explore Australia Publishing. 2008. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-1-74117-245-4.
  2. ^ "Lakefield National Park: Nature, culture and history". Department of Environment and Resource Management. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference naq was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference noex was invoked but never defined (see the help page).