5BEST BUNDJALUNG EXPERIENCES
01 ILUKA
Situated at the mouth of the Clarence River and at the southern end of Bundjalung NP is the township and popular holiday destination of Iluka. The breakwaters and seawalls that form Iluka Bay and its marina are a major feature of the Clarence estuary, and it supports a thriving recreational fishing and boating scene, as well as a commercial fishing fleet and co-op.
02 ILUKA NATURE RESERVE
The reserve is a small but important remnant of what was once an extensive coastal rainforest, containing the largest remaining stand of littoral rainforest in NSW and the World Heritage-listed Gondwana rainforest. The ecosystem here is rich and diverse, the forest featuring strangler figs, ferns, epiphytes and vines protected by sand dunes, and tuckeroo and banksia trees.
03 ILUKA BLUFF
The Iluka Rainforest walk within the Iluka Nature Reserve is a great way to experience the ancient forest that ends at the Iluka Bluff lookout and nearby picnic area. The viewing platform comprises views of the entire Bundjalung area, with vistas of the Clarence River to the south and the ocean beaches to Woody Head in the north. It’s a great spot to watch the annual winter whale migration.
04 BLACK ROCKS
This camping area has to be one of the best along the East Coast, hosting campsites with an element of privacy, as well as fire pits, picnic tables and a handy clothes line at every site. It’s an easy 20km dirt-road drive to Black Rocks where all campsites run parallel to the coastline, with the farthest ones no more than a three-minute walk to the water’s edge over huge dunes. Book online through the National Parks’ website after choosing an empty spot.
05 HOLIDAYS
Bundjalung NP offers beach walking, fishing, mountain biking, canoeing, kayaking and several schoolexcursion options. Stay overnight in beach accommodation or camp out for a holiday by the water, with a combination of river, beach and freshwater lagoons. There’s canoeing along Evans River or Jerusalem Creek, mountain biking the Macaulays Lead or Serendipity fire trail, or walking Ten Mile Beach, plus boatlaunching facilities, snorkelling on the shallow reefs and fishing.