Spring Tours in the Royal National Park

We are now half way through Spring in the Royal National Park and visitors have been rewarded with some wonderful native flowers.

It is at this time of year that ordinarily non descript plants come alive with exceptional flowers. Until this point of time you may not be that interested in identifying a plant. A striking flower changes everything.

The Gymea Lily, a native to Sydney and surrounds can be counted on to perform. Its bright red flowers are on display all over the park. If you miss seeing this plant you are not looking very hard!

Whilst on the colour red some wonderful waratahs may be spotted by carefully scrutinising the bush whilst driving through the park. We noticed some fine examples on the road to the parking area for figure 8 pools.

The Sydney Boronia (Showy Boronia) was blooming in patches whilst the thin and thick leaved drumsticks could be seen on the side of the road.

Many plants in the Royal National Park belong to the Fabaceae family and some of these are stunning.

The handsome bush-pea was seen extensively on the road between Flat Rock Creek to Wattamolla. A bright and colourful yellow flower with a dash of red.

The parrot-pea has an intense yellow flower and was frequently spotted.

These two plants are legumes and take nitrogen from the air and convert it with the help of bacteria into ammonia. This occurs in nodules in the plants root system. When the plant dies and decomposes the soil is enriched by nitrogen that is returned to the soil.

The Golden Wattle, Australia’s floral emblem, is also a legume.

Grass trees (Xanthorrhoea) are flowering in the park and you may observe flower spikes that have a yellow colouring. The yellow or golden colour is created by pollen attaching to the small flowers on the spike.

Further into the rainforest area of the park the yellow flower of the cabbage tree was on display.

Gymea Lily flower

A Waratah, the NSW floral emblem

A sea of showy Boronia

Pultenaea stipularis, known as Fine-leaf Bush-pea or Handsome Bush-pea

Dillwynia Floribunda, otherwise known as a parrot-pea

swamp honey myrtle

thin leafed drumstick

so many fantastic colours

grass tree flower spike coated in yellow pollen

yellow flower of the cabbage tree palm

The Marley Track takes you from the road into Bundeena down to Marley Beach. The track is 3.6 kilometres long and if walked without stopping it will take around 75-90 minutes to reach the beach, depending on your walk speed.

On the way to Marley Beach the delights of the Deer Pool await. There were no deers in sight on our visit.

Sydney Nimble has only encountered a deer in the Royal National Park on one occasion and that was later in the day on the road to Garie Beach. The deer looked at us and we looked at the deer, both a little stunned, and then we drove on.

The Deer Pool is small freshwater pool with a sandy bank and the refreshing waterfall that allows, should you so choose, to emerge yourself underneath.

Go on, enjoy the splash.

After having lunch at this lovely spot we headed to Marley Beach and walked over the rolling sand dunes behind the beach.

Don’t underestimate what appears to be a relatively short walk, as sand dunes are an arduous surface to walk on.

At the end of the dunes a sparkling lagoon awaits with many reeds.

When we returned to the beach the surf was powerful and a potential swim was left for another day.

Time to head back but as it was a hot day why not have another swim at Deer Pool, which we did.

this pool is dear

and loving it

So pretty! Marley Beach Lagoon

thundering waves - south end of Marley Beach

yellow power

Marley Beach surf

Returning to the Royal National Park yesterday was like seeing an old friend.

This park never ceases to provide a wonderful natural environment. And fortunately the park has been spared from devastation of recent bushfires.

The tour group was impressively hatted up and had no trouble with the Eagle Rock walk. The walk was followed up with a visit to Symbio Wildlife Park.

We also noticed a few late season blooming banksias and wildflowers.

A blooming banksia is easy on the eye

marching to Eagle Rock

Symbio Wildlife Park - hanging on a branch all day can be hard work

Our Eagle Rock walking tour is a popular option for visitors.

Sydney Nimble Tours visited Eagle Rock on Friday, walking north from Garie Beach. The walk provides fantastic views from the headland of Garie Beach to the south and the coastline facing east.

The walk finished at Eagle Rock and the waterfall just near it. This place is spectacular and when a large wave hits the cliff a loud thunderclap can be heard for hundreds of metres.

The ocean near the Eagle Rock is not deep and the sand can be seen when you look down from the cliffs.

The water on a sunny day takes on a light emerald green colour.

A walk to Eagle Rock takes around 2 and a half hours return.

If you would like a Sydney hike there are so many options - easy and short up to longer and more expansive.

Talk to us and we can work out what is best for you.

up the creek

the eagle is stranded

green machine

Looking south from Garie Beach headland

Yesterday Sydney Nimble took a visitor on our Royal National Park Tour. The main game was to see Wedding Cake Rock.

The construction work at the site, which detracted from the ambience of the rock as construction work does, has finished and the new fence is in place.

The new fence is a significant improvement.

It is less clunky than the previous fence and allows visitors to get a much closer look at the rock. The rock still has the goods and the walk to the rock provides the chance to see some spectacular coastal scenery.

The naming of the rock came from its white appearance and cuboid shape, that can be compared to a piece of wedding cake.

Wedding Cake Rock is best seen on a sunny day and yesterday we had the sun. It is also preferable if rain doesn’t precede a visit as surface puddles form and these may detract from the rock’s appearance.

There are numerous interesting sandstone formations on the way to the rock if you take a few detours. Sandstone is found around the world and has many natural variations in colour, shade, tone and grain.

Variation in sandstone colours is on display in the images below, ranging from white, grey through to yellow, orange, brown and tan.

A visit to Wedding Cake Rock is one of the highlights of our Royal National Park Tour. Join us and keep rocking.

the rock, there and fair

and again in case you missed it

between a rock and a hard face

watch your step

layered for perfection

Sydney Nimble Tours visited Wedding Cake Rock today. Wedding Cake Rock is a unique sandstone formation, located in the Royal National Park south of Sydney.

The only way to access Wedding Cake Rock is to repetitively put one foot in front of the other.

Vehicular access is not possible and the closest track starts at the backstreets of the small town of Bundeena (Eric Street or Beachcomber Street offer parking if the small car park is full).

It takes between 40-50 minutes to walk to it from the carpark. If you walk briskly you will reach the rock in 40 minutes but if you want to take a more relaxed walking mode and stop at a few places allow 50 minutes plus time taken for breaks. On the way you will also see The Balconies and the Waterrun.

Wedding Cake Rock has gained notoriety in recent years mostly due to Instagram.

Its white colour, flat top and smooth edges gives it the look of a slice from a wedding cake. The crack on the western side of the rock enhances the appearance of a sliced piece of cake.

It is most dazzling on a sunny day as the blue of the Pacific Ocean provides a perfect contrast to the white of the rock.

Sandstone is created by the sedimentation of sand by water or wind. Once accumulated the sand becomes sandstone when it is compacted by the pressure of overlying deposits and cemented together by the precipitation of minerals.

In the case of Wedding Cake Rock the sandstone is white as the mineral irons have been leached out by dry air and sea salt.

Wedding Cake Rock is well worth the walk and one of the highlights of our Sydney Royal National Park Tour https://www.sydneynimbletours.com.au/royal-national-park-tour/ .

Wedding Cake Rock is a joy to behold

ledgy and edgy

sliced and ready to go

the Waterrun