Great South Coast Walk Stage 01: Bundeena to Wollongong

Stage 01 of the Great South Coast Walk is a 63 km point-to-point route from Bundeena to Wollongong. It follows the Royal National Park Coast Track to Otford, then continues over the Illawarra Escarpment and through the southern suburbs into town. This record covers that one stage; the regional Great South Coast Walk continues beyond Wollongong. Allow three days. About 20 hours of walking is a planning estimate, with overnight stops and breaks on top. This is a hard, loaded walk for people prepared for exposed tracks and a long one-way itinerary.

The route leaves Bundeena through coastal heath and reaches a long run of weathered sandstone cliffs above the Pacific. It crosses Big and Little Marley beaches and Wattamolla Inlet, then threads the heath and streams of Curra Moors, passing cliff-top waterfalls before dropping to Garie Beach. The coast section continues past North Era and the Era beaches to Otford; the full Bundeena–Otford Coast Track is about 27 km, with the first 17 km reaching Garie.

Wedding Cake Rock is one of the route’s signature sandstone shapes. For a photo, frame its pale, layered top with open water behind it. Long cliff-top stretches have little shade, and the beaches and inlet crossings can change with tides and water levels.

At Otford the walk leaves the Royal National Park track, follows road toward Bald Hill, then descends to Stanwell Park. From there Wodi Wodi Track and the Illawarra Escarpment Trail climb into forest high above the coast. The route alternates between rainforest, dry eucalypt forest and open escarpment views toward Wollongong. It descends from Sublime Point toward Austinmer by ladders and wooden steps, then uses leafy streets and a shared bike path for the final urban stretch into central Wollongong.

The mapped start is Bundeena Wharf; the Cronulla ferry is one way to reach the village. The finish is in Wollongong, so arrange onward transport separately. Carry food and enough water for a multi-day route; water at Garie’s shared camping amenities is untreated and needs treatment before drinking. Check tides and water levels for shoreline crossings, and plan the exposed sections within daylight. Dogs are not permitted on the national-park sections.