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Bournda Island Across the Tombolo
The colours! Even with an old phone, the colours pop: the sapphire sky and emerald waters; the golden sand and rusty rocks. It is not for nothing this is called the Sapphire Coast. (iPhone6)
We are very lucky here on the Far South Coast of New South Wales in Australia’s east.
It is called the Sapphire Coast for the intense blue of the waters and sky against the iron-oxide red of the coastal cliffs and gold of the sandy beaches. Sitting on the windward side Great Dividing Range, the region is temperate and moist, allowing rural properties to stretch out lush and green to the east. If you ignore the regular cycles of bushfires and inundating floods – which have been made worse in recent years by the observable changes in climate – it is pretty glorious.
Although about 85% of Australians live within 50 kilometres of the country’s coastline, about the same proportion live in the urban centres. Here – a very long drive from the major cities of Sydney and Melbourne – people are clustered into small coastal towns. Thanks to the efforts of generations of passionate eco-warriors, much of the coastline is now protected under a network of National Parks.
One of these is Bournda National Park.
This 2,655-hectare (6561-acre) sanctuary is home to ocean beaches, creeks, and three large bodies of very different waters: the brackish ICOLL (Intermittently Closed and Open Lake or Lagoon) Bournda Lagoon in the southern portion of the park; the fresh water Bondi Lake; and the much larger salt Wallagoot Lake. The park stretches along about 13 kilometres (8 miles) of coastline – much of which is covered by good walking tracks, making it an attractive place to revisit.
And, over the years, I have revisited several times – always with the walking group of my local branch of the National Parks Association of NSW (eg: Once Upon a Time and The Kangarutha Track). Going through various photo files, I re-discovered three more sets from short walks in different seasons and different sections of this park.
The first was a short Spring walk in the south of the park, from the Hobart Beach Campground, along Bournda Beach to Bournda Island – which was inaccessible to us in the high tide. I really can’t remember why I didn’t take my cameras, but I had to rely on my old iPhone!
The next walk, some eight months later in Autumn, started in the same place but headed north instead of south – first around Hobart Beach and then along Bournda Beach towards Wallagoot Beach, where we were blocked because Moncks Creek was open – which hasn’t happened in many years (Wikipedia will tell you it last opened up to the ocean in June 2008).
For our Summer walk, eight months later again, we started at Wallagoot Gap and walked part of the Kangarutha Track north to Games Bay.
Join me for a sampling of Bournda’s coastal walks:
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Walkers in the Tea Trees
The first part of our walk from Hobart Beach takes us through heath and melaleuca; we call the native melaleuca ‘tea trees’, but they are members of the myrtle family. (iPhone6)
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Walkers on the Beach
We descend from the wooded path and walk across Bournda Beach, with Bournda Lagoon on our right, and the South Pacific Ocean to our left. (iPhone6)
Sandy Beach
Sandy Beach Creek feeds into Bournda Lagoon behind us, as we approach the rocky outcrops that separate us from North Tura Beach further south. (iPhone6)
Nature’s Sculptures
I love the shapes made by the rocks on the beach … (iPhone6)
Nature’s Artworks
… especially with the patterns left by waters on the sand. (iPhone6)
Photos on the Rocks
Everyone wants pictures from the headland; it’s where I took the lead photo of Bournda Island. (iPhone6)
Roos at Hobart Beach
Back at the Hobart Beach Campsite, a pod of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) watch us warily. (iPhone6)
Bush Walkers on Hobart Beach
Our Autumn walk starts at the same carpark, not far from the salty waters of Wallagoot Lake, which are rusty brown with organic matter. (iPhone6)
Tea Trees on Hobart Beach
We head east, along the white sandy shores of the lake.
Clump of Grass on Hobart Beach
Banksia – Banksia Serrata
At the end of Wallagoot Lake we continue through the bush …
Pittosporum – Pittosporum Undulatum
… towards the sound of the ocean.
Sea Grass
Once we are over the erosion-control steps on the dunes, the beach stretches out in all both directions. To the south, the little coastal suburb of Tura Beach floats near the horizon.
Sunshine on Bournda Beach
We, however, are heading north, into the sun which is still shy of it’s autumn zenith.
Walkers on the Beach
Waves of Sand
Erosion has carved patterns into the sandbank.
Rolling Waves
Moncks Creek
To our surprise, Moncks Creek had opened Wallagoot Lake to the ocean, and was running deep and quick.
Rocks on the Headland
So, instead of crossing over to Wallagoot Gap, we admired the rock formations jutting into the ocean.
Rock Formation
These lumps of rock were formed by sandstone deposits and a lava flow a million years ago, and carved out by weather and sea-water over time. As impressive as they are, they are so common along this coastline that these don’t seem to have a name.
Tura Beach
As we return the way we came, the houses of Tura Beach are in view – behind Bournda Island, with the tidal tombolo that prevented our crossing on our earlier walk in the park.
Tangled Wood
The organic mix of dirt and dead plants colours the waters around the tea trees on the path back to the carpark.
Overlooking Moncks Creek and Wallagoot Beach
On our next walk in Bournda National Park, we leave our cars on the other side of Wallagoot Lake. Before picking up the Kangarutha Track, we take the short detour to a lookout over the bottom of lake on the right, and the South Pacific Ocean on the left.
Stairs Down
We also stop to admire the beach inside Wallagoot Gap.
Wallagoot Gap
The gap is created by two headlands which rise out of the sand.
Walkers in the Tea Trees
Leaving the lookout behind, we head north through the melaleuca forest, …
Gorge
… going off the trail to clamber through the scrub to admire one of the dramatic gorges in the coastal cliffs.
Summer Wildflowers
Overlooking Games Bay
We follow the cliffs high above the ocean and Games Bay comes into view below.
Games Bay
This small rocky inlet has plenty of vegetation where a creek is flowing down to meet the ocean.
Orange Fungus
The colours of the growths on the rocks around the bay are unbelievable!
Waiting for the Tidal Wave
We stopped for lunch here – sitting well back, and keeping our ears open, as there was a tsunami warning in effect because of a volcanic eruption in the Tongan Islands the day before.
Luckily, the tidal wave never came.
After lunch and a chat, we walked back the way we had come – and it felt like a whole new walk!
That’s part of the beauty of our coastal parks – the walks are lovely in any direction, and any season.
And, always worth repeating!
Photos: 20September2020, 16May2021 and 16January2022
