Ocean forest: Bundjalung National Park, NSW

The North Coast of NSW has many diverse and unique areas all linking back to when the East Coast volcanoes erupted 30 to 60 million years ago.

If it wasn’t for that major upheaval, we wouldn’t have the Great Dividing Range holding rainforest pockets, rich-soil farmlands and wilderness areas. Luckily, on the North Coast we have access to the majority of these areas in some way.

One of these places is Bundjalung National Park, just 90 minutes south of the NSW-QLD border. On paper the park has a wide variety of things to do and, reminiscing from 20 years ago, I thought I’d head back for a few days.

The NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service states Bundjalung covers 21,000 hectares with a variety of different environments including wetlands, coastal, rainforest and much more. One significant feature is the Esk River system which, apparently, is the longest natural coastal river ecosystem on the North Coast.

Southern gateway

My plan was to start at the southern end of the park at the coastal community of Iluka and four-wheel drive to the main camping area of Black Rocks, spend a few days here and then continue north.

That was the plan and, going off current maps, it was doable, but after heading off the highway in to Iluka and finding the designated track, I was met with a very locked gate and signage stating ‘No Entry’ – so it was decided to instead explore this coastal region and surrounds.

Iluka is the Yaygir or Bungjalung Aboriginal word for ‘near the sea’, and everything around this quaint coastal community is defined by the sea. The town sits at the entrance of the mighty Clarence River that starts hundreds of kilometres inland and has one of the biggest catchments in NSW.

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History states that in 1799 Matthew Flinders investigated the river mouth and landed on the northern side of the Clarence, where Iluka is settled today. In his log he wrote that the river mouth was shallow and he believed the whole river was not worth investigating. Little did he know that he was in the river’s first bay and it actually opened up into a mighty river. It wasn’t until 1830 that the first schooner sailed up the Clarence and it was officially named in 1839 by Governor Gipps.

Over the years Iluka was settled and developed, major breakwalls were built with a local tramway constructed out to Iluka Bluff for the sandstone blocks, and hoteliers served the town with around 200 workmen employed for the harbour works. After the works were completed in 1890, the town soon declined with only a few staying on to become professional fishermen.

Today Iluka is filled with fishermen and holidaymakers who enjoy the simplicity of the area, exploring and working the river. There are a few little shops, a museum to check out and, of course, some local seafood by the sea.

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For the nature buffs are the Iluka Nature Reserve and Iluka Bluff, the former is 136 acres of protected reserve that has a world heritage listing as the largest area of sub-tropical littoral rainforest by the sea in NSW. It’s a great place to wander through on a hot day and spot the many varieties of birds and plants this forest holds. At the end of the walk to the north is Iluka Bluff, where man-made lookouts on the headlands give uninterrupted 180-degree views along the coast and out to sea.

On my way back to the highway (due to the 4WD track having a locked gate) I popped in to a couple of the southern Bundjalung local spots: Woody Head, which is a commercial camping area right on the beach, and a couple of day areas where you can explore the coastline on foot.

A few years ago it was possible to drive along the beach right up to the Black Rocks camping area, but that’s been closed due to coffee rock on the beach being too unstable to drive across. With these obstacles in the way, the only access point in to Bundjalung is to head farther north towards Woodburn and then back to the coast along Gap Road. The frustrating part was seeing nearly 40km of thick bush all locked up beside the highway.

Black Rocks

Getting to Black Rocks is via a well maintained dirt road which, for most of its 20km length, is an easy drive, passing through a variety of landscapes from rich farmland, rough sandstone areas, swamps and heathlands. Dense rainforest pockets surround massive gums that survived the timber cutters, but there are scars left by past sand-mining activities.

The runoff creeks feeding the Esk River look dark and gloomy but are actually tannin-stained from the heathland, coastal cypress stands and paperbark forests. These days you have to book online for most National Parks, with Bundjalung being no different, so I decided to head in and check out the quality of the campsites before locking it in.

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The camping area has to be one of the best along the East Coast, with massive sites with an element of privacy, fire pits and picnic tables, plus a handy clothes line in every site for beach towels and cozzies. Booking online through the parks website is pretty simple after choosing one of the empty spots. All of the camping spots run parallel to the coastline, where the farthest ones away are no more than a three-minute walk to the water’s edge over the huge dunes.

Reading the info boards around the larger group areas, Bundjalung is all about nature, Aboriginal heritage and the loads of flora and fauna across the area. With all of the 4WD tracks locked up nearby, it’s all about throwing on the walking shoes to take either the 3km Emu Loop hike, the bigger 8km Jerusalem Creek hike, or head down to the long stretches of coffee rock-lined beach to take in all of that salt air. Ironically, the Emu Loop walk is named after the endangered coastal emus that may be spotted in the area. I have seen them in past years, but have spotted them in another NP to the south.

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The Jerusalem walk follows the river to the ocean, where there are plenty of spots to dip your feet in the water to cool off. On both walks, check out the coastal banksia, grevillea and twisted trees lining the river bank. The still water of the Esk River provides amazing canoeing for the enthusiast in the protected waters.

If you’re keen for an early morning or evening stroll through the heathlands, it will reveal many delightful sights including rare plants and animals. A total of 205 bird, 30 mammal, 38 reptile and 13 amphibian species have been recorded in the park.

Evans Head gunnery

I was surprised to see three concrete war bunkers right in the heart of the main camping area, and apparently they were used significantly in WWII. It’s reported that thousands of soldiers used these bunkers to gain the skills needed to protect Australia from invasion. They were part of the nearby RAAF’s bombing and gunnery school that still operates at Evans Head to the north.

This was one of 10 schooling areas that were urgently built and established across Australia in 1939. The Evans Head bombing range that adjoins Bundjalung in the north is still used today by jets operating out of Amberley Air Force Base in Queensland.

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The park lies within the traditional lands of the Bundjalung Nation, which has many significant Aboriginal sites indicating that the area has been used intensely for more than 6000 years. Inland tribes would journey to the coast in winter, trading seeds for fish caught by coastal groups.

Also recorded in the park are Aboriginal campsites, middens and ceremonial grounds. To the north, Goanna Headland is an important mythological site which was the subject of one of the first Aboriginal land claims in NSW.

So would I head back to Bundjalung? Yes! The park is extremely relaxing, and getting back to nature definitely has its benefits.

Five best Bundjalung experiences

ILUKA: Situated at the mouth of the Clarence River and at the southern end of Bundjalung NP is the township and popular holiday destination of Iluka. The breakwaters and seawalls that form Iluka Bay and its marina are a major feature of the Clarence estuary, and it supports a thriving recreational fishing and boating scene, as well as a commercial fishing fleet and co-op.

ILUKA NATURE RESERVE: The reserve is a small but important remnant of what was once an extensive coastal rainforest, containing the largest remaining stand of littoral rainforest in NSW and the World Heritage-listed Gondwana rainforest. The ecosystem here is rich and diverse, the forest featuring strangler figs, ferns, epiphytes and vines protected by sand dunes, and tuckeroo and banksia trees.

ILUKA BLUFF: The Iluka Rainforest walk within the Iluka Nature Reserve is a great way to experience the ancient forest that ends at the Iluka Bluff lookout and nearby picnic area. The viewing platform comprises views of the entire Bundjalung area, with vistas of the Clarence River to the south and the ocean beaches to Woody Head in the north. It’s a great spot to watch the annual winter whale migration.

BLACK ROCKS: This camping area has to be one of the best along the East Coast, hosting campsites with an element of privacy, as well as fire pits, picnic tables and a handy clothes line at every site. It’s an easy 20km dirt-road drive to Black Rocks where all campsites run parallel to the coastline, with the farthest ones no more than a three-minute walk to the water’s edge over huge dunes. Book online through the National Parks’ website after choosing an empty spot.

HOLIDAYS: Bundjalung NP offers beach walking, fishing, mountain biking, canoeing, kayaking and several school-excursion options. Stay overnight in beach accommodation or camp out for a holiday by the water, with a combination of river, beach and freshwater lagoons. There’s canoeing along Evans River or Jerusalem Creek, mountain biking the Macaulays Lead or Serendipity fire trail, or walking Ten Mile Beach, plus boat-launching facilities, snorkelling on the shallow reefs and fishing.