Royal National Park

Gazetted in 1879, the Royal is the second-oldest national park in the world after Yellowstone, covering sandstone plateau, rainforest gullies and thirty kilometres of coast immediately south of Sydney. Its best-known feature is the Coast Track, a twenty-six-kilometre route from Bundeena to Otford past sea cliffs, empty beaches, heath and the Wedding Cake Rock formation, walked over two days or in demanding sections. The Figure Eight Pools, rock pools eroded into a wave-cut platform near Burning Palms, have become famous through photographs and dangerous through the same, since reaching them requires timing with low tide on an exposed shelf. Wattamolla and Garie beaches are reachable by car.

What you actually see

• The Coast Track - clifftop walking between Bundeena and Otford.
• The Figure Eight Pools - circular rock pools on a tidal platform, tide dependent.
• Wattamolla - a lagoon, waterfall and beach in one sheltered inlet.
• The rainforest gullies - palm and fern valleys inland from the coast.

When to go

April to November for walking; summer is hot and the park closes in extreme fire conditions. The Figure Eight Pools are only safe on a low tide with a small swell, and the park publishes a safety rating. Weekends fill car parks by mid-morning.

Honest expectations

People have been seriously injured and killed at the Figure Eight Pools by waves washing across the platform; the walk in is an hour of rough ground each way. Wedding Cake Rock is fenced off after collapse risk was identified. Vehicle entry fees apply, and mobile coverage is poor.

Nearby

Bundeena is reached by ferry from Cronulla; Stanwell Tops and the Sea Cliff Bridge lie south.