Australia is a beautiful country to do outdoor activities in. There are so many beautiful beaches, bushlands, mountains and national parks. Some are so far removed from civilisation that you will be compelled to leave all your city worries behind and embrace the beautiful and serene surroundings around you.
I have completed a few walks now over the last few years and here are a few that I would highly recommend.
1. Bundeena to Otford (1 full day or 2 day 1 night)
This walk is approximately 28km. It is easily accessible by public transport. When I did it earlier this year, we caught the train to Cronulla station and then got on a ferry service at Cronulla Ferries. The ferry takes us to Bundeena and from the ferry stop there is a short walk through some suburban streets until you get to the Royal National Park. From there the walk is amazingly beautiful with a million fantastic photo opportunities of the coastline and cliffs. There are also a section or two that goes through secluded beaches. If the weather is warm, a swim or surf is an option. The group I went with chose to do the two day 1 night option which allowed us to camp next to the beach at a lovely camping spot. The camping spot is about 18km into the walk so you will be pretty tired by the time you get there. However, there is absolutely nothing better than waking up to the sound of waves and having the option to go for a quick swim in a deserted beach.
2. Diamond Head (1 day)
While on a road trip around central coast a few friends and I decided to do a quick bushwalk around Diamond Head. We woke up early after camping in Crowdy Bay National Park. To be honest we were not entirely aware of the entire length of the walk but was only aware that there was a loop option and a one way option. We did the loop which was much shorter as we did not really prepare for the one way option which would have required us to take more food water and leave the car behind. The loop option took about an hour or maybe 2 hours (no body took track of time because the views were absolutely mesmerising). The walk goes along the coast the entire time so that you pretty much have a view of the ocean the entire walk. The loop still goes around Diamond Head and at one point you can even see Port Macquarie (or the next city along the coast). From the signs the one way track would take you all the way to Port Macquarie and could probably be done in a day as from what we could see some of the walk could be done on the beach.
3. Perry's lookout to Blue Gums Rainforest (1 day or 2 days and 1 night)
I actually just completed this walk today. This was a return track and we camped in the valley (Grose Valley). The walk involved a very steep decent. I would say probably 600m over a few hundred meters. A great workout for your thighs. This walk is not accessible by public transport. We drove to the start of the walk and started the descent aiming to get to the valley in 3hours allowing plenty of rest time. Once you're in the valley, the Blue Gum Forest is absolutely beautiful. These magnificient trees are just so enormous. Friends of mine commented on the Jurassic-park-like feel of the whole place. The walk was absolutely amazing minus the thorny pants that try to rip your flesh from your legs. It is highly recommended that your legs are well covered for the walk to protect your legs from leeches and thorny plants and vines. It is not necessary to bring too much water with you as you can easily get access to fresh water from the creeks or streams coming through the valley. Just follow the sound of water and bring some swimwear along. A camp spot is available, but beware that there are prohibitions against fires as bush fires are common in the area. I prefer camping rather than rushing to finish walks in one day. However we did bump into some people who were finishing the Govette's Leap to Perry's lookout via Blue Gums Rainforest walk. That in my opinion would be an amazing walk. Except we were all doing it in the rain which sort of made it a much more difficult walk than otherwise.
Unfortunately I have no photos available for this walk but I would nevertheless highly recommend it.
