High hopes. A little altitude provides a lot of perspective on Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary. From atop 706 m Mt Leake, AWC staff Richard Faulkner and Debbie Portuges show foundation supporter Julian Burt what his donations help protect.

Biologist Mal Kennedy.

An interpretive walk weaves through a stand of termite mounds near the Mornington campsite, introducing visitors to the complex biology of these social insects, which are vital to the Kimberley’s ecology.

Mornington is an increasingly important haven for the mulga or king brown snake, one of the world’s deadliest reptiles. Unfortunately, its venom is no match for the toxin of the introduced cane toad, which is thought to be decimating the species to the east, in the NT.

Silver cadjeput, wingnut trees and Pandanus aquaticus line the banks of the Fitzroy River and Mornington’s Cadjeput Waterhole.

Purple-crowned fairy-wren at Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary.

Conservation, al fresco. Visitors are occasionally treated to sunset dinners on the savannah.

Spider Gorge, Mornington Station

A tree in the remote central Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Kayakers seem small in the grand scale of Mornington Station, WA.

Mornington, in the remote central Kimberley region, is the second-largest non-government and non-indigenous property in Australia’s National Reserve System.

The location of a ‘bush breakfast’ on Mornington Station, Australian Wildlife Conservancy.

The private, not-for-profit Australian Wildlife Conservancy bought the 3207 sq. km pastoral lease in 2001 for less than $2 million, largely through donations from supporters and some NRS program funds. Ever since, the AWC has been managing it for the purposes of biodiversity conservation, research and public education.

A kapok flower in the Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary, run by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. AWC sanctuaries are more than just wildlife havens, fenced off and left alone. Just as a pastoral property might be managed to produce beef cattle, AWC sanctuaries are run to conserve and restore biodiversity, by identifying and removing threats and by reintroducing species.

Beyond the Kimberley, the AWC sees much of the continent’s northern third as strategically significant for Australian bio-diversity conservation.