Australia's Green Cauldron
澳大利亚“绿色大锅”地带
Australia’s Green Cauldron landscape is a mysterious melting pot of rich volcanic earth, deep green rainforest, breathtaking scenery, shining blue waters and rare Gondwanan (prehistoric) wildlife. Its World Heritage-listed subtropical rainforests, along with 72 national parks and reserves, provide a spectacular environment for plants, animals and humans alike. At the heart of this landscape lies the majestic Wollumbin Mt Warning, the first point on the Australian continent to be lit up by the rays of the morning sun. To the Bundjalung Nation and other Aboriginal tribes, the name Wollumbin has several meanings, including cloud catcher. The magnificent landscape was created from an ancient caldera — the eroded remains of an extinct shield volcano. Captain James Cook gave the mountain its English name in May 1770 to warn other sailors of the dangerous offshore reefs his ship the Endeavour encountered while exploring Australia’s eastern coast.
UNIQUE AND DIVERSE WILDLIFE
Australia’s Green Cauldron is home to more than 230 different species of birds such as the powerful owl, marbled frogmouth and the eastern bristlebird. Over 200 threatened plants and animals can be found across the landscape, and more than 100 species are endemic — found nowhere else on earth.
The region is also home to the highest diversity of mammal species in Australia, including unique animals such the parma wallaby, the yellow-bellied glider and the golden- tipped bat.
WHERE GREEN MEETS BLUE
On heading east, mountain rainforests give way to a spectacular marine environment, home to secluded beaches and popular surfing spots. Off-shore, cold southern ocean currents and warmer northern waters meet in ancient underwater volcanic landscapes.
These currents provide nutrient-rich havens for species such as loggerhead turtles, bottle-nosed dolphins and the endangered grey nurse shark. Julian Rocks, also known as Nguthungulli, is a popular diving spot in the Cape Byron Marine Park and is estimated to contain more than 1000 marine species.
LINKING LANDSCAPES
The rainforests of Australia’s Green Cauldron protect the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world and are part of the World Heritage-listed Gondwana Rainforests of Australia — a chain of more than 50 rainforest reserves stretching some 1,000 kilometres along the east coast of Australia.
These rainforests are relics of ancient forests that existed before Australia broke away from the supercontinent some 80 million years ago. Few places on earth contain so many plants and animals that remain relatively unchanged from their ancestors in the fossil record — primitive tree ferns, cycads and hoop pines, freshwater crayfish and glow worms and reptiles including chelid turtles, the leaf-tailed gecko and angle-headed dragon.
Listen out for the lyrebird
Found only in the subtropical rainforests of Australia’s Green Cauldron is the unique Albert’s lyrebird. A reclusive bird with remarkable mimicry abilities, its talents are not limited to natural sounds — lyrebirds are also famous for their eerily accurate reproduction of human activities such as sound of engines and the clicking of cameras.
澳大利亚“绿色大锅”地带
澳大利亚“绿色大锅”是一处神奇的景观地带，富饶的火山土壤，郁郁葱葱的雨林，湛蓝的海水和罕见的冈瓦纳（史前）野生动物，共同组成了这里令人叹为观止的美景。其被列入世界遗产名录的亚热带雨林以及72个国家公园和保护区，为动植物和人类提供了优美的环境。 这处景观的核心地带坐落着雄伟的乌鲁宾沃宁山；每天清晨，澳大利亚的第一缕晨光从这里开始照耀。对于邦加隆民族和其他土著部落，“乌鲁宾”这个名字有多重含义，其中一个意思为“捕云者”。 在这里，从盾型死火山风化遗迹留下的火山口开始，展开了一幅异彩纷呈的画卷。 1770年5月，詹姆斯·库克船长给这座山取英文名“Warning”，因为库克船长指挥奋进号探索澳大利亚东海岸时，曾遭遇了危险的离岸礁，取此名也是为了警戒其他水手。
独特且多样的野生动物
澳大利亚的“绿色大锅”地带是230多种不同鸟类的家园，例如有猛鹰鸮、云斑蟆口鸱和东刺莺。200多种濒危动植物，100多种地方性物种仅能在此处循到踪迹。 该地区也是澳大利亚哺乳动物物种最丰富的区域，例如帕尔马沙袋鼠、腹袋鼯和巴布亚号耳蝠，很多奇特的生物仅栖息于此。
绿林与清水交汇之处
向东延伸，波澜壮阔的海洋美景展现在山地雨林的尽头，幽静的海滩和热闹的冲浪点尽收眼底。在海上，寒冷的南部洋流和温暖的北部水流在古老的水下火山区相逢。 这些海流为红海龟、瓶鼻海豚和濒危物种沙虎鲨等生物提供了资源丰富的安全居所。朱利安岩保护区是拜伦角海洋公园中著名的潜水地，生活着1000多种海洋动物。
澳大利亚“绿色大锅”地带的热带雨林涵盖了世界上最广阔的亚热带雨林，也是世界遗产名录中澳大利亚冈瓦纳雨林的一部分——这片雨林由50多个雨林保护区组成，沿着澳大利亚东海岸延伸约1,000公里。 这些热带雨林是古老森林的遗迹，在大约8000万年前澳大利亚脱离超大陆之前就存在了。生活在这里的很多动植物还保持着它们祖先的样貌，比如：原始树蕨、苏铁、铁甲松、淡水螯虾、萤火虫，包括长颈龟，叶尾壁虎和头角蜥在内的爬行动物等，地球上鲜少有地域能与此媲美。
聆听琴鸟高歌
独特的艾伯特琴鸟仅栖居在澳大利亚“绿色大锅”地带的亚热带雨林中。这种喜独居的鸟类具有非凡的模仿能力，不仅模仿自然界的声音，它的独特之处还在于能够准确再现人类世界的声音，例如引擎声和拍照声。
