Wild and untamed

摘要

From bushrangers to ancient rainforests, take a step back in time in the New England high country.AMID THE ragged ravines and forests of the New England Tablelands, you can see how bushranger Captain Thunderbolt (Frederick Ward) evaded capture for solong. The ruffled skirt of the eastern escarpment is near impenetrable in places and could easily harbour the highwayman.These vast wilderness areas, protected within a corridor of spectacular national parks, speak of a more distant time, too — much earlier even than the arrival of the Aboriginal inhabitants - when Australia was part of the super-continent Gondwana. Largestands of old-growth forest and rare Antarctic beech survive within sections of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area. An extensive reserve system safeguarding more than 270 threatened species, the WHA reveals the evolution of our firstflowering plants and songbirds. Some natural wonders - grand blue gums and tallowwoods, rufous bettongs, delicate squirrel gliders and ancient buttressed coachwood trees - are little changed from their fossilised ancestors.