Bundjalung National Park
- Introduction
- Fact file
- A look at the past
- Aboriginal culture
- Natural features
- Native plants and wildlife
- NSWNPWS 1300 361 967
- NPWS Alstonville (02) 6627 0200
- NPWS Grafton (02) 6641 1150
- SEE Aboriginal shell middens at Gumma Garra
- FOLLOW the Iluka Rainforest walking track
- TAKE your binoculars and a fi eld guide to birds
Introduction
Bundjalung National Park protects a superb 38-kilometre stretch of the state’s far north coastline, including secluded beaches, rolling sand dunes and low rocky headlands. The landscape is a mosaic of heathlands, coastal cypress, freshwater lakes, mangrove mudfl ats and wetlands, with remnants of subtropical coastal rainforest. In the south, the beautiful Esk River fl ows through undisturbed countryside – a marvellous area for self-reliant bushwalkers.
Fact file
Access
From Grafton via Pacifi c Hwy then Iluka Rd or further north at Gap Rd; from Ballina via Pacific Hwy then Woodburn–Evans Head Rd
Best Season
All year
Location
703 km north of Sydney; 50 km south of Ballina; 60 km north of Grafton
Park Information
Size
20 116 ha
Where to Stay
Evans Head/Iluka/Yamba
(02) 6645 4121
www.tropicalnsw.com.au
A look at the past
European settlement did not affect this area to the same extent as elsewhere in New South Wales. In the 20th century, apart from some mineral sands mining and defence agency activity, this stretch of coast has seen only limited occupation. A miner, Henry Hammond, built a cottage for his family in 1923 near Woody Head, and the dwelling has been preserved and stands at the base of the headland. Areas of the park have been used by the military since 1940 for target practice – a section in the north is still operational – and concrete bunkers from World War II remain at Black Rocks camping area. The town of Evans Head, at the northern entrance to the park, was the fi rst prawning port in Australia and is still very much a fi shing village, as is the small hamlet of Iluka in the south. The national park was gazetted in 1980.
Aboriginal culture
The Bundjalung people are the traditional owners of this coastal region and believe their ancestors came from the sea. Trees were used to mark out their territory and initiations were carried out in bora ceremonial grounds. The sea and river estuaries provided the people with plentiful supplies of fi sh and shellfi sh, and the pockets of rainforest provided fl ying-foxes, possums, wallabies and smaller animals. Settlements were comparatively permanent because of the abundant resources but the people did travel north for the bunya nut feasts. Substantial shell middens attest to the Bundjalung people’s long occupation of this region – large middens, indicative of permanent settlement, around the Clarence River estuary have been dated from around 4000 years ago; smaller shell middens, evidence of more transitory campsites, along the coast suggest occupation within the last 1000 years. Visitors to the area are asked to respect the signifi cance of these sites and not to disturb them in any way. Today the Bundjalung have a signifi cant culture and have been able to preserve their language through language courses and cultural centres.
Natural features
The national park extends from Evans Head and the Evans River in the north to the Clarence River in the south. Along the coast the long crescent of Ten Mile Beach stretches between the two river estuaries. The park protects a large sand dune system, heathlands that are part of a discontinuous coastal chain along which animals migrate, coastal wetlands and foreshores, ancient rainforest, and the unspoiled Esk River, which is the largest untouched coastal river system on the north coast. Rocky headlands are a feature of the Iluka peninsula while in the north some dunes rise to around 70 metres above sea level.
Native plants and wildlife
Plant life in the park is varied. Paperbark and banksia species are among those dominating the wet and dry heathlands, samphire grows on the salt marshes, sedges and rushes dominate the swamps, while scribbly gum, blackbutt and red bloodwood are a feature of the dry sclerophyll woodlands. Wattle, banksia and she-oak species are dotted amid the dunes. In the remnants of subtropical rainforest around Woody Head camping area, broad-leaved lilly pilly is common, while Livistona and bangalow palms dominate around Gumma Garra. The coast and wetlands are especially important for birdlife, providing important feeding and nesting sites for migratory and other birds. More than 200 species have been recorded – in particular, large numbers of raptors such as the wedge-tailed eagle and white-bellied sea-eagle, brahminy and whistling kites and osprey. Along the shoreline plovers strut along on their dark red legs, and near wetlands long-legged egrets, bitterns and herons feed. Honeyeaters dart through the fl owering heathlands. The hinterland is home to swamp wallabies, brushtail possums, long-nosed bandicoots and many smaller marsupials, and at night you may hear some of the park’s more than two-dozen frog species.
Featured Activities in the National Park
Introduction
The beaches are terrifi c for beachcombing, swimming, snorkelling and surfi ng (take care as they are not patrolled). There is safe swimming at Iluka Bluff Beach and Goanna Headland is a favourite spot for serious surfers. Anglers will find good beach and estuary fi shing, and boats can be launched from Woody Head. From nearby Yamba, on the southern bank of the Clarence estuary, deep-sea fishing charters depart from Boatharbour Marina. Canoeing is popular in the sheltered waterways. There are several short walking tracks and bushwalkers and cyclists can use management tracks. There is a cluster of lovely picnic spots with good facilities along the southern coast. Rangers run regular Discovery activities including whale-watching, rock rambling and torchlight tours to see nocturnal wildlife. Razorback Lookout offers inspiring views up and down the coast. On a clear day you can see as far as Cape Byron Lighthouse, way to the north.
Campsites
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