Ouraka Point loop
Download & Print Map and Notes
1 hr 15 mins
2.1 km Circuit
141 m
Hard track
(0km) Rumbalara Environmental Education Centre car park → Rumbalara Environmental Education Centre trackhead
40 m
1 mins
3m
0m
Easy track
From the car park, this walk follows the ‘Rumbalara Environmental Education Centre’ arrow along the paved foopath to the trackhead at the back of the buildings, signposted ‘Walking Trail’.
Rumbalara Environmental Education Centre
This centre is ‘a New South Wales Department of Education and Training facility that provides environmental education and field work opportunities to students, teachers and the community of the Central Coast’ . The centre is at the end of Donnison St, Gosford and is a good access point to some of the walking tracks in the adjoining Rumbalara Reserve. More info.
(0.04km) Rumbalara Environmental Education Centre trackhead → Int of Casuarina track and JWD link trail
140 m
4 mins
18m
-1m
Moderate track
Turn left: From the trackhead at the back of the Rumbalara EEC, this walk follows the ‘Walking Trail’ arrow up the steps and along the track. The track crosses a small wooden bridge and bends to the right, then climbs a little to an intersection with a management trail.
Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the management trail gently up the hill, leaving the bush track steps behind to the right. The trail goes gently up the hill for a short distance to an intersection at the bottom of a metal staircase, signposted ‘Casuarina Track’.
Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the management trail gently up the hill, leaving the bush track steps behind to the right. The trail goes gently up the hill for a short distance to an intersection at the bottom of a metal staircase, signposted ‘Casuarina Track’.
(0.17km) Int of Casuarina track and JWD link trail → Int of Casuarina track and Casuarina link trail
60 m
2 mins
8m
0m
Moderate track
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Picnic Areas’ arrow up the staircase. The walk then continues a short distance up the sandstone path and steps to an intersection with a management trail, marked by a track information board and a ‘Casuarina Track’ signpost pointing back to the ‘Field Studies Centre’.
(0.23km) Int of Casuarina track and Casuarina link trail → Car park at int of White St firetrail and John Whiteway Dr
60 m
1 mins
0m
-4m
Easy track
Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the management trail gently down the hill, towards the gate. After a short distance, the walk passes a ‘Rumbalara Reserve’ signpost, to the left, then passes around the gate, arriving in the middle of the parking area near John Whiteway Dr.
(0.29km) Car park at int of White St firetrail and John Whiteway Dr → Southern int of White St firetrail and Rainforest walk
440 m
10 mins
15m
-34m
Moderate track
Turn left: From the middle of the parking area, this walk follows the management trail down the hill, away from John Whiteway Dr, keeping the chain-wire fence to the right. The walk almost immediately levels out and passes around a gate, then follows the ‘White St’ arrow along the management trail. The trail winds around the hill, descending gently through a beautiful piece of forest until reaching an intersection beside a fenced-off area, with an ‘Interpretive Centre’ arrow pointing back the way you came.
Cappers Gully quarry
This old quarry site is beside Cappers Gully in the Rumbalara Reserve, Gosford. The area is fenced off for safety reasons. The neat, square-cut walls of the quarry make an interesting sight on the walks in the area.
(0.72km) Southern int of White St firetrail and Rainforest walk → Southern Int of Rainforest walk and Bayview firetrail
300 m
10 mins
54m
-7m
Hard track
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the management trail in the opposite direction to the ‘Interpretive Centre’ arrow, keeping the fenced area to the right. After a very short distance, the walk arrives at an intersection, signposted ‘Cappers Gully’.
Veer left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Ouraka Point’ arrow up the steps and along the bush track. The walk crosses some short metal footbridges and then climbs more steeply, through beautiful forest scenery. The walk climbs a lot of sandstone steps and some sets of metal stairs, and after some time arrives at an intersection, with a ‘Rainforest Track’ signpost pointing back to ‘Cappers Gully’.
Veer left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Ouraka Point’ arrow up the steps and along the bush track. The walk crosses some short metal footbridges and then climbs more steeply, through beautiful forest scenery. The walk climbs a lot of sandstone steps and some sets of metal stairs, and after some time arrives at an intersection, with a ‘Rainforest Track’ signpost pointing back to ‘Cappers Gully’.
(1.02km) Southern Int of Rainforest walk and Bayview firetrail → Int of Rainforest walk and Casuarina walk
440 m
11 mins
41m
-13m
Hard track
Turn left : From the intersection, this walk follows the management trail in the opposite direction to the ‘Bay View Ave’ arrow, leaving the steps of the ‘Rainforest Track’ behind to the left. After a short distance, the walk arrives at an intersection, with a bush track to the left, signposted ‘Rainforest Track’.
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Ouraka Point’ arrow down the steps and along the bush track. After descending for a short distance, the track bends to the right and levels out. The track meanders for some time through beautiful forest scenery, crossing two short metal footbridges, before climbing a long set of sandstone steps, then a metal staircase, arriving at an intersection with a management trail, with a ‘Rainforest Track’ signpost pointing back to ‘Cappers Gully’.
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Ouraka Point’ arrow down the steps and along the bush track. After descending for a short distance, the track bends to the right and levels out. The track meanders for some time through beautiful forest scenery, crossing two short metal footbridges, before climbing a long set of sandstone steps, then a metal staircase, arriving at an intersection with a management trail, with a ‘Rainforest Track’ signpost pointing back to ‘Cappers Gully’.
Casuarina
Commonly known as the she-oak, sheoak, ironwood, or beefwood, casuarinas have ‘delicate, slender ultimate branches and leaves that are no more than scales, making the tree look more like a wispy conifer’. There are 17 species of Casuarina ‘native to Australasia, southeastern Asia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean’. More info.
(1.46km) Int of Rainforest walk and Casuarina walk → Sculpture of Charles Sturt
30 m
1 mins
2m
0m
Moderate track
Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Picnic Areas’ arrow along the management trail, keeping the views of Gosford to the left. After a short distance, the walk arrives at a sculpture of Charles Sturt, to the right. At the end of this side trip, retrace your steps back to the main walk then Continue straight.
Sculptures in Rumbalara
There are four bronze figurative sculptures in the Rumbalara Reserve that were ‘commissioned in the series “Salute to Famous Australians”, which includes Captain Charles Sturt, Edward Eyre, and Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.’ Matthew Flinders is the fourth in the series. They were ‘commissioned by Sara Lee Kitchens (Australia) Pty Ltd and Gosford City Council for the State Bicentennial Celebrations 1987.’. Smith and Flinders are the most easily reached, at the Nurrunga picnic area. More info.
(1.46km) Int of Rainforest walk and Casuarina walk → Ouraka Point
220 m
4 mins
1m
-13m
Moderate track
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the ‘Ouraka Point’ arrow along the management trail, going gently up the hill. After a short distance, the walk passes an informal, unfenced lookout area with obscured but nice views over Gosford, to the right. The walk continues a little further, passing a boulder in the middle of the trail, and arriving at the signposted ‘Ouraka Point’, with beautiful views over Gosford and the surrounding areas and waterways.
Ouraka Point
This picturesque spot with fantastic views over Gosford and the surrounding areas, including Brisbane Waters, is located within the Rumbalara Reserve, along the Casuarina Walk. It is a beautiful spot to sit and enjoy the views for a while during a walk in the reserve.
(1.68km) Ouraka Point → Rumbalara Environmental Education Centre car park
420 m
12 mins
1m
-68m
Moderate track
Continue straight: From Ouraka Point, this walk goes down the paved steps, keeping the views over Gosford to the right. The walk passes some large boulders (to the right) and continues down the steps before crossing over the end of a management trail and going down a metal staircase, then some sandstone steps, to an intersection with a management trail.
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the management trail gently down the hill, leaving the steps behind on the right. After a short distance, the walk arrives at an intersection marked by an information board, and a ‘Casuarina Track’ signpost pointing back to the ‘Picnic Areas’.
Turn right: From the intersection, the walk follows the ‘Field Studies Centre’ arrow down the steps. After a short distance, the walk goes down a metal staircase, arriving at an intersection with a management trail, and a ‘Casuarina Track’ signpost pointing back to the ‘Picnic Areas’.
Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the management trail gently down the hill, leaving the metal staircase behind on the right. The trail goes gently down the hill for a short distance to an unmarked intersection with a bush track (going down some wooden steps to the left).
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the track down the steps and immediately bends to the right. After descending a little, the track bends to the left and crosses a small bridge, then goes down some more steps to the trackhead at the back of the Rumbalara EEC buildings, with a ‘Walking Trail’ arrow pointing back the way you came.
Turn right: From the trackhead, this walk goes across the timber deck and down the paved footpath to the nearby car park.
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the management trail gently down the hill, leaving the steps behind on the right. After a short distance, the walk arrives at an intersection marked by an information board, and a ‘Casuarina Track’ signpost pointing back to the ‘Picnic Areas’.
Turn right: From the intersection, the walk follows the ‘Field Studies Centre’ arrow down the steps. After a short distance, the walk goes down a metal staircase, arriving at an intersection with a management trail, and a ‘Casuarina Track’ signpost pointing back to the ‘Picnic Areas’.
Turn right: From the intersection, this walk follows the management trail gently down the hill, leaving the metal staircase behind on the right. The trail goes gently down the hill for a short distance to an unmarked intersection with a bush track (going down some wooden steps to the left).
Turn left: From the intersection, this walk follows the track down the steps and immediately bends to the right. After descending a little, the track bends to the left and crosses a small bridge, then goes down some more steps to the trackhead at the back of the Rumbalara EEC buildings, with a ‘Walking Trail’ arrow pointing back the way you came.
Turn right: From the trackhead, this walk goes across the timber deck and down the paved footpath to the nearby car park.
Maps for the Ouraka Point loop 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.
| Gosford | 1:25 000 Map Series | 91312S GOSFORD | NSW-91312S |
| Gosford | 1:100 000 Map Series | 9131 GOSFORD | 9131 |
Cross sectional view of the Ouraka Point loop bushwalking track
Analysis and summary of the altitude variation on the Ouraka Point loop
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 | 2.1 km | ||
| Time | 1 hr 15 mins | ||
| . | |||
| 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
810m of this walk has short steep hills and another 640m is very steep. Whilst another 600m has gentle hills with occasional steps and the remaining 50m is flat with no steps.
Quality of track
1.4km of this walk follows a clear and well formed track or trail and another 640m follows a formed track, with some branches and other obstacles. The remaining (80m) follows a smooth and hardened path.
Signs
Around 1.7km of this walk has directional signs at most intersection, whilst the remaining 450m is clearly signposted.
Experience Required
Around 1.8km of this walk requires no previous bushwalking experience, whilst the remaining 250m requires some bushwalking experience.
weather
This whole walk, 2.1km is not usually affected by severe weather events (that would unexpectedly impact safety and navigation).
Infrastructure
Around 1.4km of this walk is close to useful facilities (such as fenced cliffs and seats), whilst the remaining 680m has limited facilities (such as not all cliffs fenced).
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Plan your trip to and from the walk here
The Ouraka Point loop walk starts and ends at the Rumbalara Environmental Education Centre car park (gps: -33.427727, 151.34768)Your transport options to Rumbalara Environmental Education Centre car park are by;
Bus. (get details)
Car. There is free parking available.(get details)
Short URL = http://wild.tl/opl
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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