The Royal National Park, located on Sydney’s southern fringe is an expanse of bushland bordered by beaches on the left and the Princes Highway on the right.
The drive through can be either quick or slow depending if you detour off the main road.
I spent the time driving down all of the sealed roads to explore the small towns and the hidden recreation areas within.
For a more detailed look at the area see Google Maps or the Royal National Parks website.
More adventurous and/or active people will find many other things to do in the park. There’s many walking trails and hidden beaches etc. Unfortunately I am quite limited to the car.
Audley Weir
Audley Weir is located at the beginning of the Royal National Park on the Sutherland end. It borders Audley Road and Sir Bertram Stevens Drive. This area floods after heavy rainfall and isn’t always accessible but on a normal day it’s an awesome spot to stop by and watch the water flow.
Wattamolla Falls and Beach
After driving down an un-interesting road (Wattamolla Road) I finally landed in a huge car park with hundreds of people milling about. Access to the falls and beach seems like it’d take a little effort however there are lots of open spaces where people have setup camp fires, picnics and family gatherings.
The beach is in a small inlet and looks gorgeous, hidden away from the coastline.
There was a large group of people standing on the cliffs about the lagoon jumping down into the water. Not for me I’m afraid but it still looked like fun.
Bundeena
Bundeena is a small beach town located on the coast of the Royal National Park. There’s a shopping area and beach. I didn’t stay very long but got a couple of photos.
Garie Beach
Garie Beach is a very small beach (about 1km long) which can be found down a long windy road. There’s a Surf Life Saving Club and a big carpark but there weren’t too many people when I drove down.
The beach looks great and seems quite secluded so might be a nice peaceful place for some R&R.
Driving Through The Trees
The latter part of the drive becomes quite dense with trees and is very beautiful. It has a very rain forest quality to the air. Unfortunately there aren’t many places to stop the car and take photos.
Stanwell Tops
The final stop is Stanwell Tops, perched above Stanwell Park it has a gorgeous view of the ocean from it’s steep location. On a good day you can see people hang gliding or parasailing from here (and as you can see from my photos, even on some bad days). It was raining when I arrived but there were still a lot of people around. The local council is upgrading the facilities so there’s a lot of fencing and construction going on at the moment. I’m sure it’ll be great when it’s finished.
