Wetlands are areas of land that remain wet for a substantial period of time. Certain plants and animals are dependent on these moist conditions for all or part of their life cycle.

This environment is perfect for birds, as there are many suitable habitats and food sources for them. Wetlands are a bird watcher's paradise!

NSW national parks are home to a number of woodland environments, from coastlines to inland deserts. Woodlands support many different types of vegetation and wildlife.

Woodlands are different from thicker forest areas and rainforests due to the wider spacing between trees. This space lets more light through the canopy, so different shrubs and grasses are able to grow underneath.

Coastal environments include beaches, estuaries, rocky outcrops, sand dunes, seagrass meadows and mangrove forests. These areas experience cycles of erosion or growth in response to tides, wind and waves.

These coastline areas are full of life, including pelicans, sea-eagles, crabs, rainbow fish, penguins, turtles and dolphins. People also love these places for recreational activities such as swimming, surfing, walking and fishing.

There are 34 national parks, reserves and conservation areas in NSW where you can find this type of environment.

Cave and karst environments are some of the most spectacular and fascinating areas to visit in NSW national parks. These include the famous Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains – which are the oldest known open caves in the world.

Karst systems are created by the dissolving action of water on carbonate rocks, such as limestone. This process typically occurs over thousands or millions of years. It results in amazing features such as caves, stalactites, stalagmites, sinkholes and underground rivers.

Eucalypt forests have a high number of gumtree species and can be found throughout NSW.

Gumtrees can be up to 70 metres tall and are the preferred home of one of Australia's iconic native species – the koala. The high open-tree canopy attracts many other species as well, including gliders that like to seek shelter in gum tree hollows. There are over 30 eucalypt species commonly found in NSW, including northern and southern blue gums, mahoganies and green-leaved ashes.

Rainforests in NSW are characterised by a ‘closed canopy’. That means the tops of the trees block out at least 70 percent of the sky and sunlight. The closed canopy means that sunlight levels are lower and moisture levels in the soil remain higher. This helps create a cool, damp and calm atmosphere you instantly feel when you enter a rainforest.

While rainforests only cover about 0.25 percent of Australia, they contain about half of all Australian plant species. Rainforest animals include many different mammals, reptiles, birds and amphibians.

NSW national parks are home to huge, sweeping plains of native grassland. Grasslands are constantly changing environments. Because of this, they play an important role in balancing the ecosystem and providing food for wildlife.

A lack of woody plants means that many animals use grasslands as foraging grounds. Native grasslands in the state stretch all the way from the exposed, humid coastline to the hot, arid interior of western NSW.

Heathlands are areas where soil and wind conditions prevent the growth of tall trees, leaving only small shrubs. Heathlands are associated with some of Australia’s most distinctive and inspirational coastal and mountain scenery.

The plants in heathland produce large amounts of pollen and nectar, which attract a large variety of animals. This makes them excellent places to visit to see wildflowers and for birdwatching.

Deserts and arid shrubland environments form in areas that have very little rainfall and low soil moisture. This limits the growth of plants to small shrubs and grasses because there isn't enough water for other plants to grow.

NSW deserts and arid shrubland environments are home to lots of interesting animals. National parks in these areas boast a colourful range of desert plants and animals, including marsupial mice, many types of lizards, wallabies, kangaroos and bats.

Alpine environments are particularly unusual in NSW, as they only occur very high up in cold mountain regions.

Plants and animals in alpine environments have the ability to survive at high altitudes and in extreme cold temperatures.

Adapted animals include the mountain pygmy-possum, southern corroboree frog and migratory bogong moths. Plant communities include fern-filled forests and snow gum woodlands, to open expanses of alpine meadows dotted with wildflowers in summer.

Koscuiszko National Park is the only national park in NSW with alpine environment.

Looking after Country [11:15]

This video explores some of the stunning protected natural environments NSW has to offer. This includes Montague Island Nature Reserve, Cape Byron State Conservation Area and Arakwal National Park.

Explore NSW national parks online with Google Trekker [0:35]

Visit NSW national parks at home using Google Trekker and explore areas not usually open to visitors. Discover all NPWS virtual tours.