Great South Coast Walk


Quick Stats

Distance: 63 km from Bundeena to Wollongong

Time: 3 days

Highlights:

  • Traversing Royal National Park, the oldest in Australia and second oldest in the world
  • Walking the edge of wind-sculpted and ochre-tinted sandstone cliffs
  • Crossing sandy beaches of Big and Little Marley
  • The heathland and cliff-top waterfalls of Curra Moor
  • The serenity of Wattamolla Inlet and big surf at Garie Beach
  • Heritage fishing shacks at Era Beach and Burning Palms
  • Climbing up through rain forest to the escarpment
  • Watching hang-gliders and paragliders at Bald Hill
  • Exploring the forest and plants of the Illawarra Escarpment while enjoying superb views out over the coast
  • Following the local bike path through the quiet beachside suburbs of Wollongong

Where to stay:

  • North Era Beach (camping)
  • Stanwell Park (B&B)
  • Bulli (camping, cabins)
  • Wollongong (hostels, hotels)

Alternative Way to cross Wollongong:

  • If you want to cross the 30 km of urban fringe landscapes of Wollongong and Port Kembla in a few hours rather than a long day, consider renting a bike. Wollongong Bike Hire will deliver the bike to you at Bulli Tourist Park and pick it up at Windang Tourist Park (see Stage 2) for a very reasonable rate.

Legend

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Tent sites
Camping & cabins
Hostel / B&B
Shop / kiosk
Information
Water crossings
Low tide routes
Track issues
Track variations

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Jan 2023

Go to the Resources page to download the entire route in either GPX or KMZ file format

Strictly speaking the walk starts in Bundeena on the southern shore of Port Hacking, but it makes for a pleasant beginning to catch the ferry from Cronulla across to Bundeena. It is also good for the soul - as the ferry takes you away from the city and towards the bushland of Royal National Park, civilisation slips away and the future lies ahead.

2sc6The holiday village of Bundeena is quickly left behind as the first part of the walk follows the Royal National Park Coast Track across the heathland to the long line of sandstone cliffs that line the northern end of the park. The beauty of weathered sandstone and the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean quickly get you into the mood of the Great South Coast Walk.

Crossing the isolated beaches of Big and Little Marley and the peaceful Wattamolla Inlet begins to show the diversity of this coastline. From Wattamolla, the track crosses the heathland and streams of Curra Moors, passing cliff-top waterfalls and more sculpted sandstone cliffs, before descending to Garie Beach. Here the big surf rolls in over sandy beach and rock platform. A little later on is North Era campsite, where most people spend the night.

From North Era, a climb over a grassy headland brings you to the heritage-listed fishing shacks of South Era Beach and Burning Palms. The track heads south between densely-vegetated escarpment and rocky coastline before climbing up through the temperate rain forest to reach the sclerophyll forests on top of the escarpment. Winding south along a long ridge, the Royal National Park Coast Track eventually finishes at the southern end of the park.

The route continues south, following a road from Otford Lookout to Bald Hill Reserve, a favourite take off point for hang-gliders, before descending to the picturesque village of Stanwell Park, a possible overnight stop.

Stanwell Park signals the start of the Escarpment section, climbing first via the Wodi Wodi Track and then the Illawarra Escarpment Trail to reach the richly-vegetated sandstone habitats high above the coast. The track follows the edge of the escarpment with several superb views over the scalloped coast line and down towards the city of Wollongong.

Reaching Sublime Point, it descends via a series of ladders and wooden steps, through a variety of forest types, to reach Austinmer, a northern suburb of Wollongong. The last part of this section is urban-fringe walking, through leafy suburban streets and a quiet bike path, passing beach, rock pool and park to end the section in the centre of Wollongong.

issue01For the main, there are few issues as this section uses well-marked walking tracks (Royal National Park Coastal Track, Wodi Wodi Track, Illawarra Escarpment Walk), some suburban streets and a mixed walk/cycle-way.

  • Walking down Lawrence Hargraves Drive from Bald Hill into Stanwell Park is illegal. However, there is a well-walked but rough and steep path down the face of Bald Hill.

    The start of the descent is a faint track starting 40 paces south west from the edge of Lawrence Hargrave memorial, at the edge of the short grass section. Look for a couple of white wooden posts once over edge, after which the track becomes clearer and is easy to follow to the bottom. The track will be slippery in wet conditions. Be aware the track start is from the hang glider landing zone so care must be taken not to put pilots in danger. Thanks to Graham Burgess and Graeme Lawless, this is now included in the GPX file for this stage.

  • A second "issue" is the lack of camping accommodation at Stanwell Park. There are a number of delightful B&Bs, but a cheaper option would be desirable.

Can you suggest a solution?
Do you know of any more issues on this stage?


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