The Great Southern Walk.
This 67–kilometre walk, from Kamay Botany Bay National Park through Royal National Park and into the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area, will take visitors through stunning coastal landscapes and places of national heritage significance.
Featuring dramatic coastal views, a range of stunning natural environments and opportunities to stay overnight, this new walk has an abundance of experiences for individuals, couples, groups and families.
What is the Great Southern Walk?
In June 2021, the NSW Government announced the Great Southern Walk, a 67-kilometre track that stretches from Sydney's south to the Illawarra. This will use existing walking tracks through the Kurnell Peninsula, the iconic Royal Coast Track and the Illawarra Escarpment. It will also include new connecting tracks in Royal National Park and the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area, along with upgraded tracks in Kamay Botany Bay National Park.
The Sydney section of the walk starts at Kamay Botany Bay National Park in Kurnell. It crosses the peninsula to Cronulla, goes through Royal National Park from Bundeena to Bald Hill and continues through the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area. Camping is already available at Bonnie Vale campground, and new small sustainable camping locations will be provided at Wattamolla, Garie and Garawarra Farm. These campgrounds will offer a mix of camping platforms, basic hiker huts, amenities and catering to range of visitors from independent walkers to school groups and Aboriginal cultural camps.
The Illawarra Section of the Great Southern Walk links Bald Hill and Stanwell Park, near the southern entrance to Royal National Park, and goes through the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area to the Southern Gateway Centre at Bulli Tops. A new campground with camping platforms and basic amenities is planned for Maddens Plains.
New South Wales's coastal national parks between Sydney and Wollongong are some of the most popular in the state, with high visitation and diverse environmental and cultural values. We aim to provide sustainable access to these parks for a range of visitors. This investment will enable visitors from independent walkers to small, guided groups to experience Sydney's southern coastline and the Illawarra Escarpment.
What can visitors expect?
Visitors can enjoy a multi-day walk along the Sydney and northern Illawarra coastline.
Accommodation will be available at both new and existing campgrounds. Bonnie Vale campground, which has welcomed campers for decades, offers powered and unpowered sites and upgraded amenities.
Three new campgrounds are proposed for Royal National Park at Wattamolla, Garie and Garawarra Farm. These sites will offer camping platforms, basic hiker huts, amenities and shelters for eating. These areas are suitable for small campgrounds as they are located on previously disturbed land.
A walk-in campground is planned for the Maddens Plains area of the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area. The infrastructure design will undergo environmental and cultural heritage assessments.
What's special about this walk?
Visitors can enjoy with an iconic experience on the NSW south coast, including camping in coastal national parks. The Great Southern Walk is located on Dharawal Country. It is important to the Gweagal people of the Dharawal language group and other Aboriginal family groups with an association of Kamay (Botany Bay), such as the Bidiegal (Bidjigal) and Gadigal peoples.
- Kamay Botany Bay National Park is Dharawal Country. The land is important to the Gweagal people of the Dharawal language group and other Aboriginal family groups with an association of Kamay (Botany Bay), such as the Bidiegal (Bidjigal) and Gadigal peoples. The Kurnell side of Kamay Botany Bay National Park is significant for its association with HMB Endeavour and Lieutenant James Cook, who arrived on these shores in 1770. This park is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register, and the Kurnell Peninsula is registered on the National Heritage List for its natural and cultural values.
- Royal National Park is located on the southern fringe of Sydney. It is Australia's oldest national park and one of the busiest in New South Wales. Royal National Park has recently seen a significant and sustained increase in visitors coming to enjoy the beaches, sandstone cliffs, wetlands meet grassy woodland, rainforests, coastal heathland and eucalypt forests, lagoons and waterfalls, especially on sunny weekends and holidays.
- The Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area contains the most extensive area of rainforest in the Sydney basin. It forms a crucial natural corridor between Royal National Park and the South Coast. The area is an important refuge for species affected by environmental disturbances such as development and bushfires. The Wodi Wodi Aboriginal people occupied these lands for 20,000 years. More recent colonial heritage can also be found, including buildings, rail tracks, and other features from former farming and coalmining.
This walking track will complement the important work we have been doing to upgrade infrastructure within these parks, including the Royal Coast Track, reopening of the Bonnie Vale campgrounds, improved facilities at Wattamolla, the new Cape Solander whale watching platform and the upcoming upgrades at the Kurnell area of Kamay Botany Bay, including a new visitors centre.

Great Southern Walk map
In 2025, we will complete assessments, deliver the remaining sections of the new track, and continue planning and designing the proposed campsites. The design and environmental assessment of the proposed campsites are underway. Work to construct new sections of track or upgrade existing sections in each national park and state conservation area is also underway.
For the latest information and track closures for individual areas, please check the current alerts.
We are committed to conserving the ecological integrity and biodiversity of our national parks and reserves and providing sustainable visitor use compatible with the conservation of natural and cultural values.
The Great Southern Walk will allow visitors to explore and experience one of the most stunning coastlines in the country in a sustainable manner. Right on the doorstep of Sydney, this walk will make it easier for a range of visitors, from inexperienced walkers and guided groups to experienced independent walkers, to experience the thrill of achieving an overnight trek in the bush. Limits on numbers, and modest facilities, will ensure that environmental sustainability is maintained.
This walk complements the important work we have been doing to make national park experiences more accessible to everyone, including the upgrade of the Royal Coast Track, restoration of the Bonnie Vale campgrounds, improved facilities at Wattamolla, whale watching facilities at Cape Solander and, coming soon, a new visitor and education centre at Kurnell in Kamay Botany Bay National Park.
The community supports improved camping in Royal National, as shown by the popularity of the Bonnie Vale campground and in feedback from the public exhibition of the draft plan of management for Royal National Park. The plan is now approved and in place.
A new campground providing camping platforms and amenities at Maddens Plains in the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area will offer new recreational. The amendment to the plan of management was on public exhibition in late 2022 and finalised in February 2023. Detailed assessments and stakeholder consultation will ensure any new facilities are low-impact and sustainable.
The proposed walking tracks in the Illawarra will benefit local communities by creating new linkages and recreation opportunities. The project will deliver new missing linkages to join Royal National Park to the Illawarra walking tracks networks. Improving camping in Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area is also needed to support the overnight multi-day walk. The Illawarra section is consistent with the Illawarra Escarpment Walking Tracks master plan.
We manage our national parks and reserves to protect their unique values and provide for sustainable visitor use and enjoyment. This includes providing visitor experiences and, where appropriate, new visitor facilities, including tracks and trails.
We are undertaking the appropriate planning and environmental assessment to ensure that the new facilities, either during construction or during operation, will have minimal environmental impacts – whether to biodiversity, Aboriginal sites, heritage sites or recreational values.
This walk will use existing tracks with a few new linkages (around 3 to 4 kilometres) in the southern section of the walk, both on and off park. Care has been taken to avoid unnecessary impacts. For example, new facilities proposed for Wattamolla, Garie, and Garawarra Farm in the Royal National Park are in historically disturbed areas with most infrastructure, including public amenities, already in place.
The Maddens Plains area of the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area is planned as the new walk-in campground site for the Great Southern Walk. It offers a suitable location to support overnight options for walkers on the track. Environmental and cultural heritage assessments will be conducted before any construction takes place.
Access to the national parks that are part of the Great Southern Walk will remain unchanged. Existing walking tracks will stay open, although there may be temporary closures for improvements and maintenance. Once the new walking track links in Royal National Park and Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area have been completed, they will open for use.
Access to the Bonnie Vale campground will be unaffected by this project – you can continue to book sites online. Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area tracks will be subject to progressive closures to enable upgrades to sections of the track. These will be locally notified and updated on the National Parks and Wildlife website.
During the past decade, we have consulted with the community on the management of our national parks and on planning documents that inform this project:
- Royal National Park plan of management (2022)
- Wattamolla master plan (2017)
- Kamay Botany Bay National Park master plan (2019)
- Kamay Botany Bay National Park plan of management (2020)
- The Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area plan of management (2018) was amended in February 2023 to enable the establishment of accommodation (campground) as part of the Great Southern Walk. This amendment was on public exhibition in 2022.
We routinely engage with Registered Aboriginal Parties on works that may affect Aboriginal cultural heritage, such as upgrading the Royal Coast Track and the remediation of Bonnie Vale campground.
This webpage will be the main source of information and will be regularly updated as the project progresses. Questions and feedback are welcomed at any time by completing the online form below.
We will circulate project newsletters to our stakeholders. If you're interested in receiving this newsletter, please complete the online form below.
We will manage the planning, construction and establishment of these new campsites, ensuring all environmental and related considerations are carefully handled.
From November 2022 to January 2023, the NSW Government eTender website hosted an Expression of Interest (EOI) to find a suitable delivery partner for guided walks and camping experiences using the new facilities. Royal National Park has a long history of using delivery partners to provide recreational experiences, such as the Audley Boatshed, the Audley Dancehall Café, the Royal holiday cottages and the Bonnie Vale kayak operation.
This approach allows us to use industry experts to deliver activities that best suit the visitors' needs and helps us manage visitors while conserving the park's natural and cultural values. This EOI will not affect visitor access to the Royal Coast Track, which will remain open for walkers.
National Parks and Wildlife Service will continue to own the new facilities.
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