In 2012, Doug and I walked the Coast Track from Bundeena to Otford through the Royal National Park. We
never gave a thought to kayaking this spectacular section of coast,
but, as we spent more and more time in our kayaks, the idea of
kayaking the Coast track became more and more appealing.
Near Burning Palms on the Coast Track
Jump forward four years and we found
ourselves in Loftus after being rained out from a Blue Mountains
climbing trip. What better way to spend a day between storms than
paddling the east coast of the Royal National Park.
Mount Boyce waterfall after rain
Logistics for a car shuttle
are relatively easy if time consuming. The South Coast rail line has
hourly trains that stop at all the little stations south of - and
including - Stanwell Park. So, if you launch from Cronulla it is
convenient, if not quick, to walk to the train station from where
ever you are able to land and take the train (two changes) back to
Cronulla to retrieve your vehicle.
Sea cliff paddling south of Wattamolla
The first sheltered landing
once you pass beyond the National Park boundary at Otford is
Austinmer, although even this could be tricky with a northerly swell.
We hoped to land at Stanwell Park, but were prepared to continue on
to Austinmer.
Kilometres of sandstone cliffs
Sydney is so busy that even
at 6.15 am the traffic was heavy on the suburban streets and it took
30 minutes to drive the short distance from Loftus to Cronulla. The
boat ramp at Tonkin Park, just behind Cronulla train station, has
about a dozen day long parking spaces so we launched from there.
It's hard to beat early mornings in a kayak
Paddling out to Jibbon Head,
the sun was low in the sky and a gentle rolling swell was coming from
the east. It was a fine day to spend on the water.
The first beaches and
landing spots are at Marley which seems to come quickly as you enjoy
the fantastic cliffs lining this section of the coast. It would have
been easy to land at Marley, but we wanted to paddle in to the fresh
waterfalls at Wattamolla Lagoon so carried on. Wattamolla is a deep
bay sheltered in all weather and with the recent rainy weather, there
were two waterfalls running over the sandstone cliffs into Wattamolla
Lagoon. We had breakfast and a swim before continuing south.
Waterfalls at Wattamolla
Past Wattamolla, the cliffs
get taller and the sandstone formations wilder. The little rocky bay
at Curracurang is beautiful but it is the cliff top waterfalls at
Curracurrong that are really spectacular. Curracurrong Creek was
falling in a sheer twin drop over the 40 metre cliffs into clear
green water below. Curra Brook was also running forming a third
waterfall in this small rocky enclave. Past Curra Brook we started
seeing huge schools of fish shoaling in the clear water. There are
seaweed forests and rocky underwater reefs all easily visible from
the kayak.
Curracurrong Falls
Garie North Head signals the
end of the continuous cliff line. Beyond this point there are small
wave washed beaches separated by shorter sections of cliff and the
small enclaves of cabins tucked in semi-sheltered corner beaches. We
landed at North Era for lunch noting that there was a lot more water
in the creek than when we camped there 4 years before when we walked
the Coast Track.
Curra Brook
Paddling south, there are
more cliffs and small beaches, more schools of flashing fish until
finally a couple of big landmarks appear - the elevated Sea Cliff
Bridge south of Coalcliff and the paragliders launch site above
Stanwell Park.
Near Curracurrang
Stanwell Park beach is
steep, faces southeast and has no real shelter from the ocean swells.
A nasty shore dump was running the length of the beach and it was
hard to say any one place was better than another to land. We landed
near the Surf Club because there were shelters and a big storm was
obviously brewing. After carrying the boats up the beach, I trotted
up a bush track, along suburban streets, past the shops, and across a
pedestrian bridge to the railway station.
Doug landing at Stanwell Park in friendly conditions
Two changes of trains
(Waterfall and Sutherland) later, as the rain was lashing down in
sheets, I jogged along the streets to get the car. Doug, meanwhile,
was sheltering in the stairwell of the Surf Club - at least until
they locked the doors. In torrential rain, I drove from Cronulla to
Stanwell Park chafing at the heavy traffic that is now a constant
throughout Sydney. Amazingly, we got a break in the rain at Stanwell
Park to load the boats on the roof before it began anew.
