KURINGAI NATIONAL PARK – a new walk (for me)

Resolute Bay, Kuringai National Park. Where are all the people?

‘We do live in an amazingly beautiful city, don’t we?’ says my friend and hiking companion Duncan.

How could I not agree? We’re sitting on rocks by a beautiful beach with spotless sand, surrounded by spectacular forest. We’ve just been admiring millennia-old Aboriginal rock carvings. It’s the peak summer holiday period and we’re less than an hour’s drive from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, technically still inside the city limits.  Yet we have it all to ourselves.
It’s been a few years since I last visited Kuringai National Park, north of the centre of Sydney. In the past I’ve often driven visitors out to West Head to admire the view across Pittwater.

From West Head, looking across to the lighthouse on Barrenjoey.

I’ve ridden the loop out here on the bike – a superb, almost car-free road with an excellent surface and some challenging hills.

But this is the first time I’ve ever walked here. That’s a ridiculous state of affairs, because Kuringai boasts many kilometres of walking trails, connecting secluded harbours and beaches.

A few minutes walk from the Resolute Day picnic area is an exposed rock shelf…

…where after some searching we found these remarkably well-defined examples of Aboriginal rock art. The significance of the ‘man with no neck’ has long been lost in the sands of time.

 

‘It’s lucky no-one ever found a use for angophora wood,’ says Duncan. The twisted branches of the Sydney Red Gums are presumably no good for building, so the trees have survived to frame our beach shots.

Spot the intrepid explorer hiding in the jungle.

 

That’s Palm Beach across the water – some of Sydney’s most expensive real estate. You can visit this side for a $12 National Park fee. 

Mackerel Beach. We weren’t alone here, but it was far from crowded.

Entry to Kuringai National Park costs $12 per car for a day pass. Our loop from the picnic area to Mackerel Beach and back via West Head took us an easy three hours to walk.

There are no shops or cafes along the way, and only private houses at Mackerel Beach. It was over 35 degrees, so thanks very much for the kind lady who filled our water bottles – with iced water from her fridge. Much appreciated!