Hikes and walks

Many of the State’s national parks offer wonderfully diverse walks of all lengths and for all levels of ability. In Blue Mountains National Park, a series of steps by The Three Sisters rock formation descends to the cool and refreshing valley floor. In Yuraygir National Park, a water wonderland in the state’s north, you can stride along the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in the state – so isolated and empty that emus stroll and forage along the beach.

In remote and spectacular Warrumbungle National Park, a 30-minute drive from Australia’s astronomy capital, Coonabarabran, all eyes turn to the Breadknife. You can reach the base of this striking geological feature (a narrow rock sliver) after a steep climb. The effort is worthwhile and the Breadknife Walk is the most popular walk in the park. In spring, white daisy bushes, yellow wattles and orange pea flowers add splashes of colour.

Mungo National Park, Australia’s first World Heritage-listed park showcases the dry lakes where 40,000 year old human remains were found in 1969. The most beautiful section of the desolate park is the Walls of China, where years of wind and erosion have formed crescent shaped dunes that stretch for 30kms. Take a guided walk with an Aboriginal ranger who will share knowledge of the past, bush tucker and bush medicine remedies.

Another highlight is the newly formed Batemans Marine Reserve, an 85,000 hectare protected area from Murramarang Beach in the north to Wallaga Lake in the south. Here you can take a walk along one of the many uncrowded beaches of the South Coast. For the genuinely adventurous, the 43km-long Great North Road Walk from Wisemans Ferry to Mount Manning, in Dharug National Park, is of medium difficulty and takes three days each way.