Aboriginal Name -Not found
The Coast Track (Otford to Bundeena)
If you were to tell someone there’s a huge piece of pristine wilderness within walking distance from the southern suburbs of Sydney, they’d probably dismiss you as batshit crazy. While The Coast Track may not be the most isolated trail out there, what it lacks in seclusion it makes up for in sheer beauty.
Spanning 27 kilometres from Otford to Bundeena, this walk weaves through a variety of ecosystems and provides some of the best views of Royal National Park’s rugged coastal landscape. Dense palm forests reminiscent of Jurassic Park give way to breathtaking windblown cliff faces and escarpments, which provide excellent whale watching opportunities from May to August.
Wealthy in cultural heritage, Royal National Park is the second oldest National Park in the world and was one of the first areas in Australia set aside for conservation, due to its high levels of biodiversity. For thousands of years prior to European settlement the Dharawal people inhabited the coastline, prospering in the abundance of food and rich diversity of flora.
Around five kilometers into the walk, as the trail rounds the headland to Burning Palms, a number of beach huts can be seen nestled amid the rolling headlands. While odd to see this sort of development in a National Park, the shacks have been passed down through the families who built them and are now listed on the NSW State Heritage Register. Mostly used by these families as holiday cabins, a few residents can be seen chilling in front of their huts enjoying a tinnie or two at almost any time of the year.
alexpikecreative.com
@alexjpike
2015
LFRF acknowledges all the Traditional Owners of the land [or country] and pay our respects to the Elders, past and present of all of New South Wales and urges you to please do the same.
