Royal National Park

For other places with the same name, see Royal National Park (disambiguation).

The Royal National Park is a New South Wales national park on the southern fringe of Sydney in New South Wales, around 35 km (22 mi) south from the CBD. It is the world's second national park after Yellowstone, and the first to hold the "national park" title.

Understand

History

The Royal National Park is the second oldest national park in the world, proclaimed in 1879 just after Yellowstone. Though it may be proclaimed as the second, it was the first place to use the term national park as Yellowstone was initially called Yellowstone Public Park, while Yosemite, albeit it being claimed in 1864, only being called Yosemite National Park in 1890. But Royal is not often considered as such since a) Australia did not federate until 1901, meaning it was still a part of the Colony of New South Wales and b) due to Australia's unusual national park system, is still managed by the NSW Government, with some federal involvement as part of Australia's National Reserve System, so it's often why Yellowstone is considered the world's oldest national park, not Royal.

It is easily accessible from Sydney and is popular for picnics, walking and other recreation. The picnic areas within the park are largely at Audley, next to the Hacking River. The Audley Boatshed and Visitor's Centre are there too. However, there are many other picnic areas within the park, and many other areas to explore.

Today, Royal National Park is on the Australian National Heritage List, along with the Garawarra State Conservation Area not only for its flora and fauna, but also because it was the starting point for conservation in Australia.

Landscape

Royal National Park was once a quiet and secluded part of Sydney is now well and truly on the international tourist trail. Sites like Figure Eight Pools, Wedding Cake Rock, and Wattamolla can attract crowds of all nationalities. And the park may reach capacity and close on summer weekends and holidays.

Climate

Royal National Park is mostly cool during winter, and warm during summer. See the forecast for the next seven days by the Bureau of Meteorology

Visitor information

• Park website
• 1 Royal National Park Visitor Centre, 2 Lady Carrington Drive, ☏ +61 2 9542 0648. 8:30AM-4:30PM. Tourist information, maps, day and season National Park passes.  

Get in

This is general guidance how to get in to the park. The park itself is large (for Sydney standards), so check your plan your itinerary carefully, especially if you are not driving, to ensure you can get to where you want to be. Information on accessing specific destinations within the park is contained within the destination information, below.

You can drive or walk through the park at any time, but the picnic areas close at sunset and people staying late will be ejected by the private security employed in the park.

By train

• There are train services from Sydney City to 1 Loftus, 2 Engadine, 3 Heathcote, and 4 Waterfall stations which are on the western perimeter of the park (go on the T4 Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra line). From each of these stations you can access several signposted bushwalks. Given time, you can even walk between them. At each of these entry points there are shops to purchase food and drinks. However it is not straightforward to access Audley, the main picnic areas, or the coastal areas of the park from these access points. The services run to these suburbs at 30 minute frequency and take 45 minutes for the trip.

To access Audley from Loftus, walk east from Loftus following the tramline and the 45-minute easy walk to Bungonia Lookout over the river and Audley. Consider whether you want to walk down the hill to Audley (or more to the point, consider if you want to walk back).

To access Audley from Waterfall follow the Uloola track for 3 hours to Audley passing Uloola falls, follow the signs from the station carpark.

• There are hourly train services to 5 Otford on the southern boundary of the park. This is an access point to the southern end of the coast walk. It is a 10-minute steep uphill walk from the station to the park boundary at Bald Hill, it is signposted. It is about an hour walk to Werrong beach (nudist) or two hours to Burning Palms beach from this point.

Ferry from Cronulla to Bundeena

• There are also train services to 6 Cronulla to meet a ferry to 7 Bundeena. This is an access point to the northern end of the coast walk. The trains run every 30 minutes and the ferries run every hour. Don't expect them to connect. Turn left out of the exit to the station, and then left through the railway underpass to get to the ferry. About 5 minutes walk. It is 15 minutes walk from the ferry wharf at Bundeena to the park. You will need to know where you are going, and consult a map.

Topographic maps of the park can be viewed online at the New South Wales Lands Department. Bundeena has a nice beach by the side of the wharf, and nice cafes. It is not in the park, but it is surrounded by it.

By tram

Tram at The Royal National Park station

Loftus Tramway Museum runs hourly trams from Loftus station to 8 Royal National Park station at the top of the hill at Audley every hour on Sundays. From the end of the tramline there is a 1-km sealed path (Bungonia Track) to walk to the lookout at the top of the cliff. It is a steep 30-minute walk (Honeymoon Track) down to the main picnic areas at Audley. The tram line is only about 2 km long, and it is possible to walk the length of the tram line from Loftus on the days the tram isn't running. However, you will need to take great care crossing the Princes Highway from the station - and you may choose a different walk for just this reason.

By car

You can drive into the park at Audley, at Waterfall and at Stanwell Tops. Follow the signs from the Princes Highway.

A flat daily entry fee of $12 applies for all parked cars up to and including 8 seats (you do not have to pay if you are just passing through the park and do not stop). Beyond 8 seats you will need to pay a fee of $4.40 per adult and $2.20 per child. Options for purchasing are:

• attendants at park entry points
• the Audley Visitor Centre
• parking pay machines at some carparks
• the NSW Park'n Pay app (for the flat $12 fee only, and be aware there is poor mobile reception in the park, pay using the app before you leave the highway)

If payment points are closed or unstaffed, you are still expected to pay. Rangers will check cars for payment and issue fines if you have not paid.

Alternatively, you can purchase a National Parks annual pass for your vehicle from $65 which will give unlimited access to Royal National Park.

Get around

There are well developed roads to get around by car within the park, and these can be used to access the walking trails and the major picnic areas. There is plenty of parking at the main picnic areas.

Cycling is permitted on the trails but not the tracks unless marked (trails designed for ranger or fire access by 4wd, tracks are narrow, with steps, designed for walkers). Bicycles can access many trails that are closed to cars. The main sealed through roads through the park are steep and hilly, with many bends, and with cars that invariably exceed the speed limits and advisory corner speeds. See cycling in New South Wales.

There are still many areas of the park can only be accessed by walking.

Maps of the park are available for purchase from the visitors centre in Audley, or many map and bookshops around Sydney. Individual brochures for the walks and beaches are available at no charge.

See

History

• 1 Audley Boat Shed, ☏ +61 2 9545 4967. The historic boat shed at Audley dates from late 19th century. Audley was a popular spot for visitors from Sydney at that time. (updated Jul 2019)

Scenery

Bungoona Lookout

• 2 Bungoona Lookout. The Bungoona Lookout is an easy to access, paved path walk, suitable for strollers and wheelchairs. The view over the Hacking River valley is impressive. (updated Jul 2019)
• 3 Wedding Cake Rock, Coast Track. It's a rock that literally looks like a wedding cake as the sandstone stands out from the coastal cliffs. (updated Nov 2021)
• 4 Figure Eight Pools. It's a mix of two pools that look like a figure eight hence the name. Its formation is quite unusual. Unfortunately, the Figure 8 pools aren't always accessible because it's sometimes underwater. Check here whether it's open or not. (updated Nov 2021)
• Governor Game lookout. (updated Nov 2021)

Flora and fauna

A lace monitor in Royal National Park

• Lyrebirds, Crimson Rosellas are common within the park. The Lyre birds tail fans out like a peacock, and they can often be seen in pairs. Crimson Rosellas common, some are used to being fed and they will eat out of your hand (although strictly speaking, you probably shouldn't feed them).
• Goannas can be seen around Audley (and elsewhere). Large monitor lizards.
• Kangaroos and Wallabies, are rarer in the park then they used to be before the last bushfire. Wallabies can be seen in the bush by the Hacking River. Kangaroos on the open plains around Era.
• Turtles and fish can often be seen in the rocks from the weir at Audley. If you are canoeing up Kangaroo Creek from the boatshed, look on the logs that have fallen on the waters edge.
• Kookaburras, Cockatoos, and Galahs are common all over the park, as in most of Sydney.

Do

Walk

Stay safe. Carry enough water for your trip, water is not usually available in the park, and what water there is often not safe to drink. Let someone know where you are going and when you will be back. Although the park is not of the scale of other Australian National Parks, it is still possible to become lost.

The park is one of the best places to do day walks from Sydney. You can walk along spectacular sandstone cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean with views to the north to Sydney or to the south to Wollongong. Alternatively you can walk in the river valleys behind the headlands. There you will find tall rainforest trees such as the Lilly Pilly Acmena smithii or the fragrant Celery wood Polysias elegans.

• Lady Carrington Drive from Audley or Forest Island. This is a well marked trail from Audley, and probably the most popular walk in the park. You can cycle this trail as well with a mountain bike. It is mostly flat, wide and follows the Hacking River.
• Coast walk. The Coast walk is a 30-km walk starting at Bundeena and ending at Otford. See the section above on how to access these points. Along the way it passes most of the Park's significant beaches, including Wattamolla, Garie, Era and Burning Palms. It climbs headlands, goes along sandstone cliffs and around rocky foreshores. It passes depression-era huts set in a valley with deer at Era, and no shortage of kangaroos. This walk is recommended to take 2 days. You can camp at North Era with a permit. If you are fit and keen the walk can be done in one day. If you plan your walk during the migration of the humpback whales you might get lucky and see a mother and her calf.

• 1 Figure 8 Pools. Deep figure-8-shaped pool on a shelf of rock in a spectacular setting, below the second headland south of Burning Palms. The pools are accessed by clambering over rocks for 20 minutes from Burning Palms Beach, and both the pool and the path are only safe if the tide is low (below 1 m) and the swell is relatively low. Signs along the way show photos of an enormous wave crashing over tourists who turned their back on the sea. (updated Jul 2019)

• 2 Uloola Falls. A relatively easy walk from Waterfall station, mostly along a fire road. (updated Jul 2019)

A comprehensive list of the walks available, and details of the routes can be obtained from the Visitor Centre.

Swim

View over Burning Palms

• 3 Wattamolla Beach (To access Wattamolla by car, follow the signs to the National Park from the Princes Hwy at Loftus. Continue straight ahead through Audley on Sir Bertram Stevens Drive until you get to the Wattamolla turn. Around 15 minutes' drive from the Highway.). Wattamolla lagoon and surf beach is a popular safe swimming spot that you can drive to. It is a truly beautiful spot and the combination of lagoon and surf swimming between rugged cliffs is fantastic. However you will not be the first person to discover the location, and it is quite popular on summer weekends; on summer weekends or public holidays, you should aim to be parked in the carpark by 9:30AM or earlier as once the carpark fills, the rangers will close the access road entirely. At many times Wattamolla is simply a paradise lost, now with too many people, tourists, groups and crowds to truly relax. Try a weekday evening to have more space to yourself, arriving at 4PM during the summer still gives you 3 full hours to enjoy the beach. You will no doubt see people jumping from the cliffs into the lagoon below, and swinging from ropes and jumping. The lagoon is very variable depth, and people have had serious injuries jumping here, and the activity is not allowed. The surf beach and lagoon are patrolled by paid lifesavers in summer months only, from 9am–5pm. Wattamolla is also around the halfway point on the Coast Walk from Otford to Bundeena. (updated Jan 2023)
• 4 Garie Beach. Garie is a surf beach also accessible by road. It is patrolled on weekends in summer from 10AM. Good for whale watching and birdwatching. There is a kiosk selling ice-cream, coffee, etc., on weekends in summer. Toilets available. (updated Nov 2022)
• 5 North Era Beach. North Era is patrolled Sundays in summer. You can camp there, right on the beach, with a permit. The shortest walk to car access is to Garrawarra Farm, around 30-45 minutes down the hill. Most people camping there are doing the coast walk from Bundeena to Otford. (updated Jul 2019)
• 6 Burning Palms Beach. The quickest way to access Burning Palms by car is to park at Garrawarra Farm and walk down the hill to the beach. The walk will take around 30 minutes or so, but its a steep hill on the way back up. Alternatively you can walk from Otford along the coast walk in around 90 minutes. Burning Palms is patrolled on Sundays in summer. The short walk ensures that Burning Palms is always nice and uncrowded. (updated Jul 2019)
• 7 Werrong Beach. Werrong is a beautiful nudist beach, accessible in about 45 minutes walk from the Otford trailhead. The steep hike down takes you through a variety of amazing forest habitats, including a "tropical" rain forest. The back of the beach includes some lovely soft grassy areas for sunbathing. The beach, whose visitors are mostly men, is not large but is big enough to have space and not feel crowded. Enjoy the sheer carefree pleasure of walking or swimming nude where nobody minds what you do as long as you don't bother others. But take care if swimming as there are strong rip currents. There are nice rock pools for bathing depending on the tide; in summer these are best in the afternoon. Be sure to bring everything you need as there is nothing available on the beach except what Mother Nature provides. That's Werrong's magic: this is the perfect place to connect with nature! And for that reason, please leave it as pristine as you find it. Enjoy! (updated Nov 2022)
• 8 Big Marley Beach. Big Marley and 9 Little Marley are unpatrolled beaches, and can be subject to rips, so take care. There is a lagoon behind Big Marley, but its not as nice as Wattamolla and not really suitable for swimming. These beaches are only accessible by walking, and you can usually expect to have them to yourself. (updated Jul 2019)

There is no swimming in the river at Audley.

Canoe, kayak and row

Audley Boatshed

The historic boatshed adjacent to the Audley picnic area has row boats, canoes, and kayaks for hire. From here you can paddle around the picnic areas and clearings of Audley. If you want a bit of a longer jaunt, load your boat or canoe with water and snacks, and head upriver. The right fork is a wider clearer trip up Kangaroo Creek, see sandstone cliffs, turtles and birdlife in an easy 1hr paddle. Take the left fork under the timber bridge to head up the river proper. How far you can get depends on recent rainfall and how overgrown with reeds the river is at the time. You can probably count on a good 2½ hours of paddling to reach the limit of canoe navigation. This fork is probably not as scenic, and a bit harder going, but after 45 minutes you can count on having the river to yourself, with the consequent increase in wildlife spotting opportunities if you are quiet. There are some muddy landing spots upriver you can stop at if you are keen, on the right of the river it is inaccessible except by canoe. Swimming is not allowed near the picnic areas at Audley, but there are a few nice spots to jump in after you have been canoeing for a while upriver.

Private craft (canoes & kayaks) are allowed. The boat rental operator has put up signs saying they are not allowed, but on checking with Park Rangers, this is not so, March 2012.

Cycle

You can use a mountain bike in the park on trails (wide roads with a barrier to prevent access by cars) except where signposted. Pick up the brochure on cycling in the park from the Visitor's Centre.

• Lady Carrington Drive is a popular family off-road easy cycling location, and bikes can be hired from the boatshed which is an easy cycle from the start of the track. They can give directions at the boatshed.
• If you have your own mountain bike you can catch the train to Waterfall and cycle along the Uloola Trail to the falls. Follow the cycleway south from the station past the primary school, and down the service trail. It is around 12 km return cycle along wide and mostly well graded trail. You can cool off by paddling in the water by the falls if they are flowing.

Eat

Kiosks and take-away

Dance Hall Cafe, Audley

• 1 Audley Dance Hall Cafe, 2 Lady Carrington Drive. The cafe at Audley is a delight. Well prepared food on the deck overlooking the clearing and the river. It is open from 8AM for breakfast, and if the sun is shining you may not feel like going anywhere for a while. (updated Nov 2021)
• 2 The Otford Pantry, 22 Lady Wakehurst Dr, Otford, ☏ +61 2 42941243. Sa Su 8AM–4:30PM. Pies, pastries, and gelato. The veggie pie is vegan (if you don't mind possible cross-contamination). Indoor and outdoor seating available, or take your food across the street to eat on the grass with lovely ocean views. (updated Nov 2022)

There is a kiosk at Wattamolla beach and at Garie beach usually open on weekends during peak times. Nice for an ice cream on a hot day, but don't rely on them being open for camping supplies as they seem to close up if the business isn't there.

There is a selection of coffee shops and take away places at Bundeena. There is a coffee shop and take away at Otford outside the park's southern boundary. On a sunny weekend you will likely find an ice-cream van or two at Bald Hill, near the southern exit of the Coast/Cliff Walk.

Picnics

The park is an excellent place for a picnic.

There are free electric barbecues provided at Audley, Wattamolla, with many picnic tables provided. There are still some fireplaces left for wood fires

There are picnic tables at regular intervals along the roads through the park.

Drink

Whatever you want to drink, bring it with you. Water for the walk or beer for the barbecue.

Although the streams run clear through the bush and look refreshing, they are not recommended for drinking without boiling. There isn't a single stream in the park that can be relied upon to be running without recent rainfall.

Sleep

Camping

The office here is the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Farnell Avenue, Audley Heights, ☏ +61 2 9542 0648. Contact the NPWS for camping permits if you intend to camp in any of the campgrounds. Camping elsewhere in the park is forbidden.

• Bonnie Vale campground. This campground has 40 sites. It is in the north-eastern corner of the park near Bundeena. You access it by road off Bundeena drive. The campground has excellent facilities including drinking water, toilets and hot showers, but there is no power. You can camp in caravans. The fee is $14 per night for adults and $7 per night for children. Bonnie Vale is a 15-minute walk from the Bundeena ferry wharf. Much of the camping area is closed for asbestos remediation.
• North Era campground. This campground is accessible by walking along the coast track from Bundeena or Otford, or by walking the much shorted walk from the parking lot adjacent to Garawarra Farm. The campground has composting toilets, but no other facilities, and wood fires are banned. The fee is $5 per night for adults and $3 per night for children.
• Uloola Falls camping ground. This campground is accessible by walking along the Uloola Track from Waterfall, Heathcote or Engadine. The campground has composting toilets, but no other facilities, and wood fires are banned. The fee is $5 per night for adults and $3 per night for children.

Stay safe

• Mobile phone reception is very limited in the park. There are no transmitters in the park. If you need mobile phone reception move around, and try and get to the highest ground possible.
• Most trails within the park are well developed and well marked. However some trails, particularly the coastal trails, include rocky ground, sea rocks, and beaches, where following the trail on the ground is difficult.
• Eastern Brown snakes are sometimes seen sunning themselves along the less well traversed tracks or rocks next to the tracks. Sometimes they can even be seen on Lady Carrington's Drive. They are a shy snake, and usually waste no time getting out of your way. Don't do anything silly like try to touch one, scare it away with a stick, or corner one. Give them space, and they will get out of your way. Their bites can be dangerous, even deadly. If you do get bitten, get help.
• Leeches come out when it rains. They don't hurt, they do you no lasting harm, and will drop off when they have had their fill. They do leave you a bit bloody though if you try to pull them off. If you don't want them on you, avoid walking in the rain, or wear thick long socks and long pants, checking them occasionally and avoiding brushing against plants. Insect repellent will deter them, but it also washes off in the rain, so it is a bit hopeless, really.

Go next

Tram 249 at Sydney Tramway Museum

Visit the Sydney Tramway Museum , open on Sundays and some holidays, just adjacent and North of the park turnoff from the Princes Hwy at Loftus. You can't enter the tramway going south on the Princes Highway, so if you are heading south, follow the Old Princes Highway through Sutherland.

Travel south along the coast road via the new Sea Cliff Bridge. A bridge built over the sea by the cliff edge, just south of the park and Stanwell Park.

Travel further south along the highway, and in around half an hour you will be in Wollongong.

Heathcote National Park is just to the west of the Princes Hwy, and without the coastal vistas or development of the Royal National Park. If you are looking for a natural landscape with walks, fewer people and no cars, then consider a bushwalk here. As you will have to park outside of the park, there are no admission fees either.