Last weekend we took the opportunity to visit the Wyrrabalong National

Park and walk the Coastal walk.

The Wyrrabalong National Park is divided into two parks, the North and South. Both are close to each other on the Central Coast of NSW Australia, in the Entrance / Bateau Bay area. We were planning on walking the Coastal track, located in the South park. The Coastal walk is a medium graded track that runs from Bateau Bay picnic area through to Forresters beach covering about 6 km return. the beauty of this track is that if you don’t want to walk the whole distance then you can access it via some of the side streets along the way.

Starting the walk we quickly realised that this wasn’t going to be a hard track to complete, in fact it was a great one to tackle on a lazy Sunday! We started off walking a basic, well defined track that had some slight inclination, moving our way through some gorgeous fernery and large gum trees. This part of the track also gave some access to the beach and I could imagine taking a swim to cool off form the walk during the warmers months! This first part of the track was about 1.3km and led us up to the Crackneck Lookout. The lookout gives sweeping views looking back to The Entrance and we could also see right up to the coal ships off the Newcastle Coast, and that was on a overcast day. The views from here would be amazing on a clear day! This lookout can also be accessed by car (if you don’t want to walk to it!) and has some picnic tables to have a lunch break at. You can also jump on the Coastal Track from here if you want to cut down on the walk.

The second part of the track winds through some more amazing landscape, and the track becomes very sandy. Its from this part of the track that you gain some more amazing coastal views and apparently there is an abundance of wildflowers during early spring here. This second part also contains some grated stairs, my son counted about 70… although i’m not convinced there was that many! and some other stairs leading up to the final lookout. After walking about another 1.7km you reach the Wyrrabalong Lookout, an awesome place to catch some more views out to sea, and a great place to spot some whales during their migration. We didn’t see any whales ( too early in the season) but we did catch a huge sea eagle as it glided past us, nearly within touching distance! I’m pretty sure you can drive up to this lookout as well, but don’t tell the kids if you want them to walk there!!

The Coastal walk is a track that is a great for families to complete. Its reasonably easy, well marked and you have the option to complete it in full or partly. The views are beautiful and if you are lucky you might spot some whales,wildflowers or some para gliders jumping of the cliff face.

Where: Staring at Bateau Bay Picnic area follow the marked trail.

Cost: FREE!!

Need to know: Wear covered walking shoes, take a picnic lunch to have at either of the lookouts, take binoculars during whale migration season (late may to August), take towels and bathers to enjoy a dip in the water during summer, don’t forget the camera!!!

Safe Travels

Kerrie