Bundeena to Marley Beaches

Bundeena to Marley Beaches is a 6.6-mile out-and-back from the park gate at the end of Beachcomber Avenue to Little Marley Beach, passing Big Marley on the Coast Track. The stored line is the 3.3-mile route corridor one way; you walk it back to Bundeena. Allow three to four hours for the rough, rolling coast walk and time at the beaches. The payoff is the long cliff-top section and two very different stretches of sand. This is the Beachcomber Avenue approach, not the separate, shorter Bundeena Drive to Marley walk.

The trail begins at the Royal National Park gate at Beachcomber Avenue’s end. A fire trail crosses coastal heath before you join signed Coast Track toward Marley. An early turnoff heads toward Jibbon Head; leave it for another walk if your goal is the beaches. Starting from Bundeena’s ferry wharf or Brighton Street adds a town connector that is not included in the 6.6 miles.

The Coast Track keeps dipping and climbing rather than staying level. At Water Run it drops into a ravine, crosses the creek on stepping stones, then climbs steeply back out. The small falls and rock shelf are on a short side path; the rocks there get slippery, so don’t scramble down for a closer look. Elsewhere, the Balconies open onto layered sandstone shelves above the surf. Wedding Cake Rock, a pale block beside the route, is another landmark; stay on the formed path and obey any barriers.

Marley Head is the best place to pause before descending: both beaches sit below the headland, with the ocean beyond. Big Marley is the broad beach, backed by dunes and a lagoon or creek. Continue around the rocky shore for roughly 15 minutes to Little Marley, a smaller crescent cove with rock pools and headlands at either end. The return retraces the same track. Both beaches are remote and unpatrolled, with strong currents and steep shore breaks; don’t plan on a safe swim here.

The track crosses weathered, layered sandstone, then cuts through the Water Run ravine before opening onto the low heath above the beaches. At Big Marley, the wide dune field and lagoon make a different landscape from Little Marley’s smaller rocky cove. From Marley Head, frame both bays together with a bit of sandstone or heath in the foreground; stay well back from the edge for the photo.