Arriving in Sydney, after a 12 day road trip from Perth to Exmouth in Western Australia, I really have the desire to do a proper hike again. After a quick online research I decide to hike the Royal Coast Track in Royal National Park, close to Sydney, on 8.12.2016. A roughly 30 km hike along a beautiful coast in New South Wales should be what I get.
Getting to the trailhead from Sydney Central is pretty easy: board a train to Cronulla, take a ferry to Bundeena and there you are! Just keep following the signs. The track then leads 26 km, along a stunning coast, to Ottford. If you decide to visit the popular Figure of 8 Pool and explore the area, the distance sums up to roughly 30 km. Getting back to Sydney is easy as well, the track ends at Ottford train station.
Most people do the Royal Coast Walk in 2 days and camp at North Era Campground close to the beach. If you plan to spend your night there, booking in advance is required (all infos here: http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/walking-tracks/the-coast-track).
Prepare for your hike: you are in Australia = sun and heat! Bring enough water! Even if you have to cross some creeks, bringing enough water is advisable. If you are familiar with the outdoors you potentially could use the water along the track (treatment, etc.), but don’t blame me if the creeks are seasonal dry or water quality is poor!
I want to keep this entry short and let the pictures do their job. I did the Royal Coast Walk in 1 day, hence not many things to prepare or tell.
BUT: what i clearly want to state ist he following: I want to say sorry that I thought Australia doesn’t have top notch hiking (compared to European or North American standards!). While I really prefer mountaineous regions over flat terrain, this walk really blew my mind in some sections and it was more demanding than I thought!
Stunning views of the deep blue ocean, a huge variety of walking surface, vegetation and secenery! Beautiful cliffs, pretty cool beach parts and splashing waves! If you ever have the opportunity to walk this track while visiting Sydney (even if it’s just a section of it), please do yourself a favour and HIKE IT!
