Royal National Park

Royal National Park starts where Sydney's southern suburbs stop, and within minutes of the gates you are in a different world of heath, rainforest gullies, sandstone cliffs and empty surf beaches. Established in 1879, it is one of the oldest national parks in the world and is often described as the second-oldest after Yellowstone. For visitors it offers the most dramatic coastal day trip from the city, about an hour's drive from the centre. The coast is the main event. Wattamolla is a lagoon and beach inlet that is one of the best picnic and swimming spots in Sydney, with a small waterfall feeding the lagoon. Garie Beach is a long surf beach backed by green hills. The Coast Track runs for about 26 kilometres between Bundeena and Otford, a two-day walk with camping, and shorter sections make excellent day walks; the clifftop stretches have whale views in season and wildflowers in spring. The Figure Eight Pools, rock pools shaped like the number eight on a rock platform, became an internet sensation and are genuinely beautiful, but they are only safe at low tide in calm seas, people have been swept off the platform, and the national park asks visitors to check tides and conditions first. Inland, Audley has a historic boat shed where you can hire a rowboat or canoe on the river, and picnic grounds under the trees. In the north-east, the village of Bundeena, reached by a little ferry from Cronulla, is the gateway to Jibbon Head and its Aboriginal rock engravings. A per-vehicle park entry fee applies.

The park protects Dharawal Country, and Aboriginal sites are found throughout, from the engravings at Jibbon Head to rock shelters along the creeks. Its colonial founding as a place of public recreation explains the old picnic grounds and boat sheds at Audley, but today most of the park is wild. Bushfires have swept through parts of it in recent decades, and the vegetation recovers quickly, though you may still see scorched trunks. Some well-known spots have changed: Wedding Cake Rock, a white sandstone formation on the Coast Track, is fenced off because it is at risk of collapse, and visitors are asked not to cross the barriers.

How to do it well: popular areas like Wattamolla and the Figure Eight Pools can reach capacity and close temporarily on summer weekends, so the official advice is to arrive before 11am or after 2pm and to move on if an area is overcrowded. For the Figure Eight Pools, read the national park's safety checklist, plan around low tide, and never go out onto the platform if waves are breaking across it. Without a car, the train to Otford or Waterfall puts you at the southern end of the park, and the ferry from Cronulla to Bundeena reaches the north; a good walk links Bundeena to Marley Beach and back. With a car, drive in via Farnell Avenue or Sir Bertram Stevens Drive and pick one or two coastal stops.

Practicals and fit: pay the vehicle entry fee on arrival or through the park's payment system; walkers arriving by train or ferry do not pay it. Bring water, food, sun protection and proper shoes; facilities are spread out. Check the national park alerts page before you go for fire, weather and track closures. It suits active travellers, families who want a beach and picnic day, and couples who want big coastal scenery. Combine with a drive south over the Sea Cliff Bridge for a full day.