Royal National Park

Royal National Park is the oldest national park in Australia.

It was established as early as in 1879 - as the second national park in the world after Yellowstone.

It is right next to Sydney, and was first established as a getaway for sydneysiders.

Eroded Sandstone Boulders at Garie Beach in Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia

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Geology, Plants and Animals
Today, the park covers 160 000 hectares of spectacular and varied landscape with a sandstone plateau, coastal cliffs, beaches and creeks, as well as different vegetation types like open forest, heath, rainforest and mangrove swamps.

The flora and fauna are also very rich with more than 700 species of flowering plants, and many species of birds and animals including honeyeaters, quails, wattlebirds, sea eagles, terns, silver gulls, marsupial mice, native rats, swamp wallabies and echidnas.

Burnt Gum Trees and New Growth after Severe Bush Fires in Royal National Park, New South Wales

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Walking and Camping
There are about 100km of walking tracks in the park. The longest one is the 26km coastal walking track. Others vary from 10km to five and even two - the Werrong Beach Track, which, however, is a hard one. There are several camping areas within the park, and camping needs to be booked with the park's visitor centre.

Here's a map of Royal National Park, where I have tagged the places mentioned on this page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.

View larger map

Been to Royal National Park?

Been to Royal National Park?

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