THE CARAVAN YOU WANT IS NOW EASIER TO FIND tradervs.com.au^103
TRAVEL
RIVERSLEIGH WORLD
HERITAGE SITE, QLDFUELLEDBYFOSSILS
Between 25 and 10 millionyearsago,the
Riversleighareawascoveredinrainforest
anddottedwithspring-fedlakesand
freshwaterpools.Caveshoneycombedthe
surroundinghills.
Animalsseekingwatersometimes
drownedorwerepreyeduponbyother
creatures,andtheirskeletonsbecame
entombedinthelimeymudandfossilised
byminerals.Millionsofyearsoferosionby
windandwaterhavescouredanddissolved
theancientlimestonerockstoreveala
three-dimensionalrecordoflifeinthislong-
lostworld.
Over60,000fossilspecimensofmorethan
300 kindsofanimalshavebeenrecovered
fromRiversleigh.Someareunusualand
newtoscience,suchasmarsupiallions,
carnivorouskangaroos,giganticfreshwater
crocodilesandhugeflightlessbirds.Many
specimensaretheoldestknownancestors
ofuniqueAustralianfaunasuchaspossums,
wombats,platypusesandkoalas.
Thearea’slimestonecaveshavealso
yieldedthefossilremainsoflargecolonies
ofbatswhichcover 35 species— therichest
fossilbatrecordintheworld.Fossilinsects
andplantshavealsobeendiscovered.
Collectively,thesefossilsprovide
valuableinsightintotheregion’sclimatic
changes over the millennia, from tropical
rainforest to semi-arid grassland, and
how some animals evolved by adapting to
environmental pressures, while others did
not and became extinct.
Fossils were first discovered in the area in
1901 and, since 1976, Riversleigh has been
systematically explored by palaeontologists
from the University of New South Wales.As part of Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill)
National Park, Riversleigh is managed on a
day-to-day basis by the Queensland Parks
and Wildlife Service, while management
of the World Heritage property is
coordinated through a partnership between
the Commonwealth and Queensland
governments, the local Waanyi Aboriginal
people and the wider community.TOP TO BOTTOM Lawn Hill Creek runs through this impressive gorge into thick riparian forest; the Gulf roads approaching Boodjamulla are long and dusty