Hat Wanakon National Park

Hat Wanakon National Parkicon Hat Wanakon was opened by royal decree on 30th December 1992. The park covers a total area of 38 km which also makes it as the smallest marine national park. The park is relatively close to Bangkok being 31 5 kms south. Prior to becoming a National Park, Hat Wanakon was an Arboretum as Silviculture Station, and has long been asso­ciated with forestry. The park consists of a terres­trial and marine section, the landward part ( 5 9.5 %) is dominated by beach forest and plan­tations. The marine section (40.5%) is nearshore sandy beach and the deeper water surrounding two islands 6 km offshore. The park is located in Thap Sakae and Mueang districts of Prachuap Khiri Khan province. The headquaters is situated 23 km south of Prachuap

Khiri Khan town. The turn to the park is about 1 km after Khlong Hin Chuang village, this road is followed for 3 km to the park headquaters. Hat Wanakon is located on a narrow coastal plain which stretches from the mountains of the Tennessarim to the gulf of Thailand. The deposits are of Quaternary origin and consists of layers of material laid down in horizontal beds. The depos­its are dominated by Quartz sands, with a particle size ranging from sand to pebbles. Some of the beds also have sandstone rock fragments. The particles in the beds show a degree of rounding probably produced by fluvial action. The degree of rounding, <40% is quite low and indicates the de­posits are youthful, probably only having been transported 1 1 km from the mountains inland. These deposist can be clearly seen forming the cliffs surrounding Makha Bay.
Terrestrial Environment
The terestrial section of the park covers a total of 22.6 km'. The majority of this area is occupied by plantations of Eucalyptus and lronwood (Casua­rina equisetifolia). These trees are now well es­tablished and native scrub vegetation has invaded any available space. Areas of bamboo, Swamp tea (Melaleucca leucadendra) and Neem (Azadirachta indica var. siamensis) are now com­mon. This naturalisation has resulted in several species of wildlife colonising the park. The park is a good place for nature walks as the access roads between the tree plots are easy to follow and it's very difficult to get lost. Bird species which may be.

encountered include; Pacific reef-egret. Red-wattled lapwing. Edible-nest swiftlet. Chestnut-headed bee-eater, White-throated kingfisher and Streaked-eared bulbul. Many more species are probably present.
Marine Environment
The marine environment comprises 9.4 km 2 of nearshore sandy beach habitat and 6 km 2 of water surrounding Chan and Thaisi islands. The maximum depth recorded is about 1 6 m but the average depth is less than 5m. The faunal assemblage present in these waters are sandy soft bottom and shallow water communities. In the sea off the island, there are some small patches of coral, but not very spectacular.

For reservation please call Huai Yang Sub-District. Thap Sakae district. Prachuap Khiri Khan 77130 Tel. 0 3260 2654

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