Outdoor adventures

My experience & recommendations

Start: Train, T4 line to Heathcote Station, or drive and park at the Karloo Track starting point ↗ / along Wilson Parade.

• Get there early, ideally by 9am, then follow the Karloo Track straight down to Karloo Pools.
• Turn it into a loop by crossing the river at the pools and following the path with the river on your right, then take the (unmarked) left back up to the Bottle Forest Trail. Want it simpler? Just follow the Karloo Track back the way you came.
• One of the nicest trails I've done in ages, gum trees, stunning forest, and colourful plants and flowers the whole way down.
• Moderate to hard. The way down is a little steep with uneven ground (but stunning), the loop back up via Bottle Forest Trail is extremely steep.
• Make a full day of it, bring a picnic down to the pool and jump in and out. Cold, but crystal clear and magical.

My experience & recommendations

Park: Warumbul Road, Audley ↗, just past Audley Village.

• The track down to Winifred Falls is steep and pretty direct, about 20 minutes each way. You'll reach a shimmering emerald pool right beneath the falls, cold water, but clear, deep and great for a swim!
• A few hidden rock platforms around the falls are perfect for a break, a snack and some sun. Get there early if you want a peaceful spot to yourself.
• Importantly, once you're done there, follow the hidden, faint track to the left along the river for about 300m to reach South West Arm Pool, you'll know it when you see it.
• This one's genuinely different: crystal clear, turquoise water, deep enough to jump into. A little whimsical, unlike anything else on the walk.
• Spend the day here, bring a picnic and your book. Don't pack too heavy, the walk back up is short but very steep!

My experience & recommendations

Park: Beachcomber Avenue, Otford ↗

• From the end of Beachcomber Avenue follow the fire trail into Royal National Park, easy going and mostly flat for the first stretch, with a few rockier and stepping-stone sections further along.
• Wedding Cake Rock is stunning in photos, but stay off the actual ledge. It's genuinely unstable and slowly cracking away, that's why NPWS and police keep an eye on it.
• ~3.5km one-way to the rock, so ~7km return if that's as far as you go, around 2 to 2.5 hours.
• Keep an eye out for all the other rock formations along the way too, some really cool shapes and textures to explore, nothing like what I'd seen on other walks.
• Push on past the rock and down to Marley Beach, wide, wild and usually close to empty. Add this on and it's closer to 9km return and a good 3 hour outing.
• No shade and no facilities the whole way, so bring plenty of water, sun protection and your swimmers for a dip at Marley.

Getting back: Same track back to Beachcomber Avenue.

My experience & recommendations

Park: Garawarra Farm car park, Garie Road ↗

• Steep descent down from the car park, consider it your warm-up.
• The view on the way down is an insane view of Burning Palms Beach. A true coastal Australian experience. Well worth the knee-jarring descent.
• Once you're at the bottom, walk along the rocks around two headlands to reach the pools. It's not incredibly easy, but it's 100% doable.
• Low tide only, no exceptions. Check the NPWS forecast before you go, that rock shelf sweeps people off even when it looks calm. No phone reception either, so pack water, food, and tell someone your plan!
• Bring swimmers and a towel. Once you start the walk down, there's no turning back!

Getting back: Same track back up, straight to the car.

My experience & recommendations

Park: Wattamolla car park, off Sir Bertram Stevens Drive ↗. $12 a day, covers you for the whole of Royal National Park.

• Get there early, like 9–10am, especially if it's sunny. The car park at Wattamolla fills up that fast...
• From the picnic ground, take the trail marked Coast Track South and follow the path.
• Expect a very exposed walk along the clifftops, with a few little creek and river streams running through the track at different points too.
• I walked to Eagle Rock and turned back, about 7.4km return, so give yourself around 2.5 hours. Keep an eye out for wildlife too, I spotted an echidna wandering through the heath and whales breaching!
• Save the swim at Wattamolla Beach for the end of the walk. Trust me, you'll want it.

My experience & recommendations

Park: Basin Track car park, West Head Road ↗

• First, swing by West Head Lookout for the view, then hit the steep West Head Army Track down. Worth it if your legs have the climb back up in them.
• For the walk to the Basin campground, take Mackerel Track, veering left, from the car park. A mix of ocean glimpses, heathland and dry eucalypt forest.
• No official track links Mackerel to the Basin, but you can loop it anyway. Walk the coastline at low tide, or take the rough unofficial bush track (about 25–30 min) at high tide.
• Detour to Currawong Beach for a swim if you're up for it, then you'll land at the Basin. Genuinely gorgeous, low-key, and crawling with wallabies.

Getting back: Loop back on the Basin Track. Steep, but a clear path the whole way (about 30-45mins back up).

My experience & recommendations

Start: Harry's Cafe de Wheels, Cowper Wharf Roadway ↗

• You'll begin right at the head of the Woolloomooloo Wharf. You can walk it either direction, but I like starting here.
• Keep left and follow the coastal path around the bay, not the road, for about 20 minutes to Mrs Macquarie's Chair. This is one of the best sunset spots in Sydney, though it's just as good as a leisurely daytime walk.
• Keep walking and the path leads on into the Royal Botanic Garden, all the way to the Opera House if you want to make more of a day of it.
• The garden itself is worth slowing down for. Big fig trees, manicured lawns running right down to the water, and if you're lucky you'll spot the resident fruit bats hanging in the branches.

My experience & recommendations

Start: Hermitage Foreshore Reserve ↗

• Walk down Tivoli Avenue and keep following it to the left until you meet Bayview Hill Road, that's where the trail actually starts.
• Best swim along the way is Parsley Bay. Something magical and still about the water there, my top recommendation.
• Camp Cove Beach is an absolute must, a little beach right in Watsons Bay.
• Short lighthouse walk from Watsons Bay too (Hornby Lighthouse). Out and back, not exactly a loop, but worth doing.
• Watsons Bay itself is stunning, feels like a different country entirely.

Getting back: Catch the 324 or 325 bus straight back to Rose Bay.

My experience & recommendations

Park: Governor Phillip Park ↗

• The Barrenjoey Lighthouse walk is a ~2km loop, up the main track and down Smugglers Track for a change of scenery on the way back.
• The iconic insta shot of the two beaches isn't actually at the lighthouse, it's the rock platform 5 minutes before it! As seen in the images above.
• You've two beaches to visit: surf and swell on the ocean side, dead-calm water over on the Pittwater side.
• Cool off at the Palm Beach Rock Pool, man-made, 50m, and yes, THE Home and Away pool.
• No agenda kind of day. Walk, swim, eat, repeat.

My experience & recommendations

Park: on Lumsdaine Dr, just before the boardwalk ↗

• Start at the boardwalk and follow the path all the way along Curl Curl Beach. It adds a bit of length to the walk, but it's stunning and worth it.
• One of the quieter coastal walks around, a mix of headland lookouts and coastal bush track.
• Plenty of beaches and spots to swim or chill along the way if you want to turn it into a full day out.
• Finishes at Dee Why Beach, one of the more low-key, less crowded ones on this stretch.

Getting back: Get the 166 bus back to Curl Curl, about 15–20 minutes. Or grab a Didi if you don't fancy the wait.

My experience & recommendations

Start: Bus 178/180 from Wynyard to Spit West Reserve, or drive & park at Spit West Car Park ↗ and walk over the bridge.

• Begin at Ellery's Punt Reserve ↗ (east side of the Spit bridge) and follow the Spit to Manly signs the whole way. Expect a truly beautiful coastal walk.
• Cute coves and beaches the whole way through: Reef Beach, Forty Baskets, Fairlight, all worth a dip if you've got time!
• Path itself is great, well marked, a few short climbs, nothing technical.
• The reward at the end is real. Manly is unreal, and its own little world.

My experience & recommendations

Park: Kentlyn Reserve Parking, Georges River Road ↗

• Follow the dark blue arrows for "The Basin" and it'll lead you straight there.
• It's short, only about 2km return and roughly 25 minutes down depending on your pace (quicker than I expected), but there are lots of steps, so it's quite steep on the way back up, very doable, just take your time!
• The reward is a large natural swimming hole on the Georges River with a little waterfall cascading into it. We crossed the river at the top of the waterfall to the other side, there's a little gap between the rocks that gets you safely into the water.
• Feeling adventurous? You can jump off the rocks into the basin, it's deep enough.
• Top tip: if you don't fancy getting into the basin (fair enough, some people just aren't into it), there are a bunch of smaller swimming holes at the top of the waterfall, deep enough to sit right into for a smaller dip.