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Tag: National Park

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Tomaree Head Summit Walk

Xenith Beach Tomaree Head Summit Walk

Tomaree Head Summit Walk

The Tomaree Head Summit Walk is part of the Tomaree National Park near Nelson Bay New South Wales, Australia. This is a great bush walk to the summit of Mount Tomaree, which can be very steep in places, so take your time. Rest and enjoy the fantastic scenery and stunning views from the top as well as along the way. From the summit you can see out to the surrounding islands and waterways.

The walkways are very well constructed and maintained by the 
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.  At the base of the mountain they are paved changing to metal gratings, railings and natural rock paths as you get higher. There are several stairways and narrow walkways, so be patient and let others pass.

  • Tomaree Head Summit Walk
    Tomaree Head Summit Walk
  • Steps on the Track Tomaree Head Summit Walk
    Steps on the Track
  • Metal Walkways Tomaree Head Summit Walk
    Metal Walkways

Parking

The car park at the start of the track is quite small and on weekends and during school holidays it can become full quickly. Some people park on the road or on one of the side-tracks, but even these can become full.

Xenith Beach

The entrance for Xenith Beach is a near the start of the Tomaree Head Summit Walk. If you don’t want to go onto the beach you get fantastic views from the top of the walk.

  • Xenith Beach Tomaree Head Summit Walk
    Xenith Beach

World War 2 Gun Emplacements

The track to the World War II gun emplacements leads off from the Tomaree Head Summit track. We took this track after coming back down from the top of the mountain. The walk around to the gun and placements is flat and consists of an old bitumen road, so is very easy after the climb to the summit. The emplacements themselves date from World War II and are of concrete construction. Although dismantled, leaving only the outer shells, they are still interesting to visit.

If you’re interested in World War II and the fortifications built in Australia at that time this is a great place for you to visit. As an additional bonus you get some great views over the surrounding ocean and out to the islands.

  • Fort Tomaree Tomaree Head Summit Walk
    Fort Tomaree

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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Newington Armory

Buildings Behind Earth Bunds Newington Armory Sydney Australia

Newington Armory

Newington Armory was originally a storage facility for the Australian Army and Navy’s explosives and weaponry. Now disused, many of the buildings have been re-purposed and the whole site is part of a museum and national park.

If you are travelling with children, there is a huge playground, just before you reach the entrance to the Armory. This looks like a great place to let them work off some excess energy either before or after your visit.

Wharf Area

The wharf area is now quiet, but this was where explosives were shipped from. Some old cranes and buildings are still present, giving a great backdrop to the area. The old wharf office is now a small cafe, which is where we started our day, sitting on the wharf having a coffee in the morning sunlight was very peaceful.

  • Crane at the Old Wharf Newington Armory Sydney Australia
    Crane at the Old Wharf

Armory Buildings

The armory site itself is extensive and it is free to walk around examining the old buildings and going into those that are open. Many of the buildings are locked up, but you can walk around the outside and examine them and take the photos.

It’s interesting to see the precautions that were set up to protect each building in case of an explosion. Surrounded by concrete walls or large earthworks to contain any mishaps, many buildings are partially hidden.

Buildings near the entrance are in use so you can go inside. Make sure you go around the back and between them to see the explosion protection.

  • Concrete Blast Protection Newington Armory Sydney Australia
    Concrete Blast Protection
  • Blast Protection Newington Armory Sydney Australia
    Blast Protection
  • Buildings Behind Earth Bunds Newington Armory Sydney Australia
    Buildings Behind Earth Bunds

Armory Train

The train tracks that were set up to move items around of the armory are still in place and on Sunday a train runs so people can travel and have a look around the site while enjoying a ride.

There is a bird sanctuary discovery area in the centre of the park, where you can learn about the bird life in the area. If the birds interest you, there is a great bird watching area not far away in the wetlands.

Nearby are the train loading stations which are still in place and make a good photo opportunity. You can also walk over the old explosives’ magazines with their earth coverings but can’t go inside.

  • Explosives Magazine Newington Armory Sydney Australia
    Explosives Magazine

A throw disc golf course has been set up which visitors can use. Rules are provided and although we didn’t play it looked like fun. Something families would enjoy.

  • Golf Course Newington Armory Sydney Australia
    Golf Course

From the Newington Armory, we walked to the Homebush shipwrecks before catching the ferry from Sydney Olympic Park Wharf to Circular Quay.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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Royal National Park

Wedding Cake Rock Royal National Park Sydney

Royal National Park is located south of Sydney. To drive there from Singleton took us 4 hours, because we drove through Sydney and hit rush hour traffic . Once we arrived however it was worth it because of the fantastic scenery. 

  • Royal National Park Map
    Royal National Park Map

Visitor Information Centre

Our first stop was the Visitor Information Centre which caters for the national park, where we got directions to the Wedding Cake Rock car park.. After a coffee we set off to Bundeena where we parked in the small car park and set of for our walk.

The Balconies

Our first track took us to the balconies which was only 800 metres from the car park. As well as fantastic views along the coast, you can see the cliff faces going down into the ocean. There are also some fantastic weathered rock formations and we spent some time looking around them and taking photos.

  • Coastal Cliffs Royal National Park Sydney
    Coastal Cliffs
  • Weathered Rocks Royal National Park Sydney
    Weathered Rocks
  • Weathered Rocks Royal National Park Sydney
    Weathered Rocks

Royal National Park  Walking Tracks

The next destination was nearly four km away and the walking track changed from dirt and rock to a mostly metal foot way which made walking easy. However, there were some very steep sections with steps cut into the rocks and stairs constructed so you get up or down. There is one very large valley, where a creek runs down into the sea. with some fantastic sandstone stepping-stones to get from one side to the other. These are as interesting as your destination and we stopped it take some photos.

  • Metal Walk Way Royal National Park Sydney
    Metal Walk Way
  • Banksia ericifolia Royal National Park Sydney
    Banksia ericifolia
  • Sandstone Stepping Stones Royal National Park Sydney
    Sandstone Stepping Stones
  • Sandstone Stepping Stones Royal National Park Sydney
    Sandstone Stepping Stones

Wedding Cake Rock

The most famous part of this section of Royal National Park is the Wedding Cake Rock. The rock itself is unstable and fenced off with warning signs, because several people have fallen. However, there an ample opportunities and places where you can take photographs of the rock without having to climb the fence and put your life at risk.

  • Wedding Cake Rock Royal National Park Sydney
    Wedding Cake Rock

Lunch

The walk back to our car took about 45 minutes as we didn’t stop for many photos. We drove back to the Visitor Information Centre and sat outside at the Ironbark Flat Picnic Area, where we had lunch. This is a great picnic area set up next to the Hacking River, where we also took some photos of the birds that flocked around when we ate.

  • Sulphur Crested Cockatoo Royal National Park Sydney
    Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
  • Purple Swamphen Royal National Park Sydney
    Purple Swamphen

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.