Parks

One of the major tourist attractions of the area, our National Parks and State Forests are dominated by spotted gums and burrawangs. Other tree species found here include silvertop ash, turpentine, Sydney blue gum, Sydney peppermint, coastal grey box, bloodwood, ironbark, brown barrel, woollybutt and the stringybarks are yellow, white and blue leafed.

The waterways are suitable for salt and freshwater fishing, canoeing and swimming. Camping sites are not hard to find in these forests and visitors are free to choose their own spot.

Recreational facilities for picnicking and walking are located in numerous spots including Kioloa Rest Area, Meroo Head, Long Gully, Blue Gum Flat, Pigeon House, Corn Trail, the Bodalla Forest Park, Wagonga Scenic Drive, Mount Dromedary, Red Creek Picnic Area, Wagonga Picnic Area and Hanging Mountain Forest Reserve.

These forests can be enjoyed by tourists, motorists, bushwalkers, campers, fishermen, swimmers, picnickers or by those who simply want a refuge from the stresses of urban living. 4WD tours of these spectacular areas are available.
Excellent maps and brochures are available showing forest roads and points of interest and are available from the State Forestry Offices in Batemans Bay and Narooma, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Shop in Narooma, as well as the Batemans Bay Visitor Information Centre and the Narooma Visitor Information Centre. More information on National Parks and their attractions can be obtained from the National Parks and Wildlife Office at Narooma on 02 44 762888.

Murramarang National Park

Murramarang National Park protects 1754 ha of coastal land between Kioloa and Batemans Bay. The villages of South and North Durras divide the park.

This coastal park is located 10km north of Batemans Bay and is noted for its largely undisturbed coastline embracing sand and shingle beaches, rugged headlands, rock stacks and fossil-bearing rocks and provides a valuable habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals. The many walking tracks provide a rich environment for all to explore.

Camping areas in the park are at South Durras, North Durras, Pebbly Beach (noted for its kangaroo population) Pretty Beach and Merry Beach.

Bush camping is only permitted 100m away from any road, walking track or parking area. Also, due to the fragile nature of beaches within the park and their associated sand dunes and headlands, camping is prohibited in these areas.

Situated just outside the park is Murramarang Resort at South Durras together with Beagle Bay and Lakesea Caravan Parks.

Access to these areas is by a number of spur roads leading off the Princes Highway north of Batemans Bay.

A NPWS brochure and map of Murramarang together with topographical maps are available from the Batemans Bay Visitor Centre.

Aborigines found a rich food resource amongst the abundant wildlife, rock platforms and reefs. Relics and sites of Murramarang's significant aboriginal heritage lie along most of the southern walking trails.

Spotted gums with an understorey of Burrawangs (cycads) are the most common plant community in the park and run throughout its length. In the sheltered gullies around Durras Mountain, rainforest pockets can also be found.

Some of the rock strata in the park is spectacular. Massive beds of sedimentary rock have uplifted, folded and eroded, leaving enormous rock walls sculpted through time. Wasp Head provides a walk around a rock platform which reveals uncovered fossil beds and south of this is Dark Beach which is the most southern point of the Sydney Basin sandstone revealing intensely folded ancient chart and phyllite metamorphic rocks.

Bushwalking is a major feature of both South and North Durras. Walks are clearly marked and brochures and maps are available from the Batemans Bay Visitor Information Centre.

The most popular is the Durras Discovery Trail which will guide the visitor in a 1.5 kilometre loop through three types of forest from wet spotted gum and blue gum forest into dry blackbutt forest and into a rainforest gully all in less than an hour.

The Durras Lake Walking Trail links with the Discovery Trail for people who want a longer walk around the northern shores of Durras Lake. For the more intrepid walker there is Durras Mountain which can also be approached from North Durras.

The Eucalypt Trail is located by a 15 minute drive north of Batemans Bay on the Princes Highway at the Kioloa Rest Area. The area has several BBQ's, tables and bins with pit toilet facilities provided. The trail is a 500 metre loop walk winding through a tall wet schlerophyll forest environment boasting eleven different eucalypt species with signage interpreting the eucalypt species of the area.

Many old tracks are found in the North Head area. The track from North Head Beach to the trig station, past Honeysuckle Beach and back again, allows a close examination of the various vegetation types in the area and affords views of Batemans Bay, the Tollgate Islands and further south.

Cullendulla Creek Nature Reserve

Cullendulla Creek Nature Reserve was reserved in 1999 over the lower reaches of Cullendulla Creek and associated wetlands, situated south of Batemans Bay.

It is the site of an important complex of coastal landforms and habitats including the only known example of beach cheniers in NSW.

The Reserve will also provide protection of habitat and populations of threatened migratory wader species.

The preservation of the Aboriginal heritage of the area, including middens, mounded middens and camp and burial sites, is another specific objective of the Reserve.

Deua National Park

The largest park on the Eurobodalla Coast, the Deua National Park, covers a massive area of over 117,557 ha, most of which is relatively undisturbed, pristine wilderness.

The best access is by the Moruya to Araluen Road following the course of the Deua River. Access to the western edge of the park is via the Krawaree Road south of Braidwood. Access to the south east of the park is difficult. Within the park, vehicular access is generally confined to 4WD tracks and forest roads.

There are camping facilities at Deua River Camping Area, Bakers Flat and Dry Creek. Bendethera Camping Area (4WD access only) and Berlang Camping Area (2WD gravel roads) have fireplaces, pit toilets and a car park. Rivers provide a water supply. Accommodation is available at Moruya, Araluen, Majors Creek and Braidwood.

Wild and scenic rivers are a feature of Deua National Park which protects extensive areas of wild country located in the rugged coastal ranges.

The park provides for wilderness recreation activities including bushwalking, abseiling, canoeing and adventure caving. With the exception of Bendethera Main Cave and the first 200m of Wyanbene Cave, permits are required for caving from the NPWS Narooma Office, phone 02 44 762888.

Ensure that you are well equipped if you plan to go walking, as there are no constructed paths. Vegetation and climate within the park changes markedly with altitude.

The remarkable Big Hole lies in the Berlang section of the park. Its near-vertical sides drop about 96 metres and span 50 metres and is thought to have been formed by the collapse of sedimentary rock into a hollow limestone cavern. The Big Hole is reached after a 2 kilometre walk from the Berlang Rest Area on the Krawaree Road, south of Braidwood. Please note that this access involves wading across the Shoalhaven River. The track to the Big Hole may therefore become inaccessible as a result of higher river levels following periods of rain.

Over 90 species of birds have been recorded in the park with bellbirds and lyrebirds commonly seen. Both wet and dry open forests, mainly of yellow and white stringbark and forest red gum cover the lower slopes while at the heads of the coastal valleys wet niches support small pockets of temperate rainforest dominated by pinkwood, sassafras and lillipilli. The Deua is home for many mammals including swamp wallabies, red-necked wallabies, grey kangaroos, echidnas, possums and wombats.

Maps:

The Batemans Bay Forestry Project Map provides a good overall coverage of the park. The CMA 1:25 000 maps which cover the park are from north to south: Kain, Krawarree, Snowball, Badja, Monga, Araluen, Burrumbela, Bendethera and Nerrigundah.

Wadbilliga National Park

South of the Deua National Park lies Wadbilliga covering an area of 76,400 ha to the west of Narooma and extending southwards for 48 km. It is one of the largest undisturbed river catchment areas in the state and includes parts of the Tuross, Wadbilliga and Brogo River systems.

Access is difficult. Access to the Tuross River and Tuross Falls is via the Tuross Falls Rd which leaves the Badja Forest Rd about 4.5km along from the Countegany Rd. The final section of this road leading to the Cascades Camping Area is rough and probably best suited to 4WD vehicles. From Cascades a path leads off to a viewpoint overlooking Tuross Falls. The Wadbilliga Road runs through the centre of the park to Lake Creek Camping Area, however river crossings along this route can be a problem after heavy rain.

Like the Deua, Wadbilliga is perfect for long bushwalks and overnight camping but there are no constructed paths.

Camping facilities are at Wadbilliga crossing, Lake Creek Camping Area and Cascades Camping Area.

Containing the Brogo Wilderness Area, Wadbilliga National Park protects a rugged coastal escarpment providing an isolated area where animal populations have remained relatively undisturbed. There is a diversity of birdlife here with 122 native bird species having been sighted. The park also contains fine examples of open forest, woodland, heath, swamp, bogs and numerous rainforest pockets.

Wadbilliga Crossing Picnic Area has tables, toilets and fireplace facilities. Lake Creek Camping Area is in a bushland setting adjacent to the Wadbilliga River. There are basic facilities such as picnic tables, toilets and BBQs at both Lake Creek and Cascades Camping Area.

Maps:

The Eden and Batemans Bay Forestry maps provide a good overall coverage of the park. The CMA 1:25 000 which cover the park are (from north to south): Belowra, Yowrie, Puen Buen.

Eurobodalla National Park

This is one of a series of new national parks established across NSW during 1995/96.

Located approximately 20 km south of Batemans Bay and extending from Moruya Heads in the north to Tilba Tilba Lake in the south, the park conserves 30 km of coastline including wetlands, estuaries and catchment systems.

The park provides opportunities for camping, swimming, surfing, scuba diving, bushwalking, birdwatching and some of the lakes provide fishing, boating, water skiing and canoeing.

At present visitor facilities in the park are limited to the existing camping ground at Congo and picnic facilities at Shelley Beach at Moruya Heads. There is a caravan park at Blackfellows Point just north of Potato Point. Accommodation is available at Moruya, Tuross Head, Narooma and Bermagui.

Access to the park is via the Princes Highway with minor access gravel roads which are of 2WD standard.

Eurobodalla National Park conserves plant communities such as spotted gum forest, littorial scrub, wetlands and lake fringes. Migratory species such as the eastern curlew, green knot, whimbrel, greenshank, turnstone and bar-tailed godwit visit the park. Australia has entered into treaties with Japan and China to protect the habitat of these migratory waterbirds.

Endangered species such as the long-nosed potoroo, white footed dunnart, little tern and hooded plover are also found in the park.

Aboriginal sites including shell middens, stone working areas and quarries are located at Bingie Bingie Point which is also a significant geological site due to its complex formations of igneous rocks.

Maps:

The Batemans Bay Forestry Project Map provides a good overall coverage of the Park. The CMA 1:25 000 maps which cover the area are (from north to south): Moruya (8926-3-S): Bodalla 8925-4-N); Narooma (8915-4-9) and Central Tilba (8926-3-N).

Montague Island Nature Reserve

Montague Island Nature Reserve is located 9km south east of Narooma with a total area of 82ha.

Second only to Phillip Island in Victoria for its numbers of little penguins it is also one of Australia's major shearwater breeding sites. The Australian fur seal colony is the northern-most in eastern Australia, and New Zealand Fur Seals are also regular visitors. The island provides a breeding habitat for crested terns, silver gulls and three different species of shearwaters.

Known as Barunguba by the Aboriginal people of the Walbanga and Djiringanj tribes the island was a fertile hunting ground. Archaeological sites on the island indicate that the area was an important seasonal resource as well as having social and cultural significance for the indigenous people.

In order to protect this unique environment, public access is only permitted by regular organised tours run by licensed operators from Narooma and guided by NPWS rangers. The guided tours include a tour of the historic buildings and lightkeeping facilities. The Montague Lighthouse was first lit in November 1881 eventually being converted to a fully automatic system in 1986 and remains part of a mainstay of our coastal navigation system.

From September to November tours extend to include whale watching. All tours offer you the opportunity to learn about Montague's remarkable plants and animals together with the island's geographical, Aboriginal and European history.