The Coast Track (Otford to Bundeena)
Download & Print Map and Notes2 Days
1244 m
Hard track
(0km) Otford Train Station → Otford Lookout
800 m
24 mins
97m
-37m
Moderate track
(0.8km) Otford Lookout → The Squeeze Way and Burning Palms Tracks
1.9 km
43 mins
118m
-58m
Moderate track
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the Coast Track along the bush track, winding up the long hill the the top, where it flattens out and continues along a well-managed bush track through a rather beautiful section of ferns. After quite a while, the track joins onto a flat service trail which it follows, undulating gently until it comes to the signposted intersection of the North Era bush track.
(2.69km) The Squeeze Way and Burning Palms Tracks → Burning Palms Beach (southern end)
3 km
1 hr 20 mins
83m
-307m
Hard track
Continue straight: From the end of the palm jungle and the start of the grasslands, the walk heads through the grasslands and along the coast for a while before winding down to the signposted intersection with the Burning Palms track, near the rangers’ hut.
(5.68km) Burning Palms Beach (southern end) → Figure 8 Pools
900 m
16 mins
15m
-17m
Hard track
Figure Eight Pools
(5.68km) Burning Palms Beach (southern end) → North Era Bush Campground
2.1 km
45 mins
99m
-100m
Moderate track
Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘North Era’ arrow along the bush track heading down the hill, keeping the ocean to the right as it winds down to the intersection with the faint bush track in the large grassy clearing on the side of the hill, above some of the cabins at Era.
Continue straight: From the intersection, the walk heads down the hill past the cabins to the bottom where it comes to South Era beach. From here, the walk continues around the back of the beach, keeping the ocean to the right as it continues up the other side to the top of the ridgeline where it comes to the intersection with a faint bush track (heading off to the left).
Continue straight: From the top of the ridge, the walk crosses the headland and open grassy area, down towards the beach (keeping the ocean to the right), coming to a ‘North Era Bush Campground’ sign just before the beach.
North Era camping ground
End of day 1
(7.75km) North Era Bush Campground → Little Garie
850 m
23 mins
74m
-62m
Moderate track
(8.59km) Little Garie → Garie Beach Car Park
750 m
20 mins
47m
-59m
Moderate track
Garie Beach
(9.34km) Garie Beach Car Park → Int. Garie Beach YHA Trk
310 m
6 mins
6m
-5m
Moderate track
(9.66km) Int. Garie Beach YHA Trk → Garie Beach YHA
340 m
10 mins
48m
-9m
Moderate track
YHA Garie Beach – Destroyed
(9.66km) Int. Garie Beach YHA Trk → Garie Beach Lookout
880 m
20 mins
110m
-17m
Hard track
Continue straight: From the end of Garie Beach, this walk heads up the short hill and through the grassy clearing to the base of the large hill. The walk continues up the steep bush track, winding up the steep rock and wooden steps as it climbs to the top of the hill.
(10.54km) Garie Beach Lookout → Int of North Rill and Coastal Track
440 m
9 mins
11m
-22m
Moderate track
(10.98km) Int of North Rill and Coastal Track → Eagles Rock Lookout
2.2 km
48 mins
57m
-116m
Moderate track
Continue straight: Keeping the ocean to the right the track follows the bushtrack through the scrub and along the coast for a short while before coming to the information signpost with views of Eagle Rock.
Eagle Rock Lookout
(13.21km) Eagles Rock Lookout → Curracurrang Cove
1.9 km
44 mins
82m
-108m
Moderate track
Curracurrang Cove
(15.16km) Curracurrang Cove → Overflow Carpark
1.4 km
26 mins
49m
-28m
Moderate track
(16.57km) Overflow Carpark → Northern End Wattamolla Picnic Ground
340 m
8 mins
4m
-21m
Easy track
Turn left: From the toilet block, this walk follows the path down the hill and through the car park to the northern end of the picnic area, near the creek crossing.
Wattamolla Picnic Area
Wattamolla Kiosk
(16.91km) Northern End Wattamolla Picnic Ground → Wattamolla Dam
650 m
13 mins
31m
-17m
Moderate track
Wattamolla Dam
(17.56km) Wattamolla Dam → Int. Coastal Trk NE of Wattamolla Ck
720 m
14 mins
59m
0m
Moderate track
(18.28km) Int. Coastal Trk NE of Wattamolla Ck → Little Marley Beach
2.1 km
54 mins
96m
-174m
Moderate track
Little Marley Beach
(20.37km) Little Marley Beach → Int. Coastal Trk and Chimney Trk
440 m
8 mins
11m
-5m
Moderate track
(20.81km) Int. Coastal Trk and Chimney Trk → West Marley Beach
240 m
4 mins
4m
-4m
Moderate track
(21.05km) West Marley Beach → East Marely Beach
400 m
7 mins
8m
-9m
Moderate track
(21.44km) East Marely Beach → Bundeena Lookout
3.5 km
1 hr 12 mins
148m
-127m
Moderate track
Veer right: From the intersection, this walk follows the bush track heading north-east along the coast, winding through the high heath for about 1.5km until the track descends into a large gully along hardened path. At the bottom, it crosses a small bridged stream. From here, the track continues up the other side of the gully, using the rock steps to the top. From here, the track follows the post markers along the track to the clifftop coastline, however on a few occasions the track will split into two and meet up again a short while later – just stick to the track closest to the coast. After several hundred metres, the track comes to an unsignposted vantage point at the end of the rock platform, where the bush track turns inland.
Bundeena Lookout
(24.92km) Bundeena Lookout → Int of Beachcomber Rd Servicetrail and Coast Walk
690 m
12 mins
27m
-4m
Moderate track
(25.61km) Int of Beachcomber Rd Service Trail and Coast Walk → Bundeena Ferry Wharf
1.8 km
34 mins
23m
-71m
Moderate track
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk heads north around a sweeping left-hand bend along the sealed management trail. Soon, the trail leads past a track (on the right) then passes around a locked gate at the end of of Beachcomber Ave and a ‘Coast Walk’ information sign[4].
Continue straight: From the end of Beachcomber Ave, this walk heads along Beachcomber Ave north-west and gradually around to the north, until turning left into Scarbourough St. The first right is taken into Bournemouth St, then left into Loftus St. The walk continues along this road until turning right into Brighton Rd. Bundeena Ferry is located at the end of Brighton St.
Bundeena
Maps for the The Coast Track (Otford to Bundeena) walk
You can download the PDF for this walk to print a map.These maps below cover the walk and the wider area around the walk, they are worth carrying for safety reasons.
Otford | 1:25 000 Map Series | 91294S OTFORD | NSW-91294S |
Port Hacking | 1:25 000 Map Series | 91294N PORT HACKING | NSW-91294N |
Port Hacking | 1:100 000 Map Series | 9129 PORT HACKING | 9129 |
Cross sectional view of the The Coast Track (Otford to Bundeena) bushwalking track
Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the The Coast Track (Otford to Bundeena)
Daily actual walking time estimates
Day | Walking Time | Length |
---|---|---|
1 | 3 hrs 28 mins | 8.6 km |
2 | 7 hrs 12 mins | 20 km |
Overview of this walks grade – based on the AS 2156.1 – 2001
Under this standard, a walk is graded based on the most difficult section of the walk.
Length | 27.4 km | ||
Time | 2 Days | ||
. | |||
Grade 4/6 Hard track |
AS 2156.1 | Gradient | Very steep (4/6) |
Quality of track | Formed track, with some branches and other obstacles (3/6) | ||
Signs | Directional signs along the way (3/6) | ||
Experience Required | Some bushwalking experience recommended (3/6) | ||
Weather | Weather generally has little impact on safety (1/6) | ||
Infrastructure | Limited facilities, not all cliffs are fenced (3/6) |
Some more details of this walks Grading
Here is a bit more details explaining grading looking at sections of the walk
Gradient
19km of this walk has short steep hills and another 3.5km is very steep. Whilst another 3.5km has gentle hills with occasional steps and the remaining 1.5km is flat with no steps.
Quality of track
16km of this walk follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles and another 9km follows a clear and well formed track or trail. The remaining (2km) follows a smooth and hardened path.
Signs
Around 15km of this walk is clearly signposted, whilst the remaining 12km has directional signs at most intersection.
Experience Required
Around 17km of this walk requires no previous bushwalking experience, whilst the remaining 10km requires some bushwalking experience.
weather
This whole walk, 27km is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation).
Infrastructure
Around 17km of this walk has limited facilities (such as not all cliffs fenced), whilst the remaining 10km is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats).
Similar walks
Other Nearby walks
Plan your trip to and from the walk here
The The Coast Track (Otford to Bundeena) walk starts at the Otford Train Station (gps: -34.210782, 151.00562)Your transport options to Otford Train Station are by;
Train. (get details)
Car. There is free parking available.
(get details)
The The Coast Track (Otford to Bundeena) ends at the Bundeena Ferry Wharf (gps: -34.082703, 151.15107)
Your transport options to Bundeena Ferry Wharf are by;
Ferry. (get details)
Car. There is free parking available.
(get details)
Fire Danger
Each park may have its own fire ban, this rating is only valid for today and is based on information from the RFS Please check the RFS Website for more information.Weather Forest
This walk starts in the Illawarra weather district always check the formal BOM forecast or pdf before starting your walk.Forecast snapshot
Park Information & Alerts
Short URL = http://wild.tl/tcttb
Gallery images
There are other downloads I am still working on.
You will probably need to login to access these — still all free.
* KML (google earth file)
* GPX (GPS file)
Special Maps/ brochures
* A3 topo maps
* PDF with Lands Topo map base
* PDF with arial image (and map overlay)
I wanted to get the main site live first, this extra stuff will come in time.
Happy walking
Matt 🙂
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