Photograph Gallery Eight

Lady Carrington Drive - Forest Island - Palona Cave - Wallumarra Track - RNP

Royal National Park

This walk starts at the southern end of Lady Carrington Drive in the Royal National Park (RNP) to take advantage of the shade from the rain forest, ideal for a hot day.

After leaving the car park follow the Forest Island trail to the left and after half a kilometre one arrives at a bench on the right and Couranga track on the right (to Waterfall after crossing the Hacking Rover), a short walk along Couranga track brings one to the Hacking River.
Retrace your steps to Forest Island Track and continue until another bench is reached on the left, below this bench there is a beach on the Hacking River, a good place for a short stop.

The walk then continues through the rain forest until the junction of Lady Carrington Drive and Forest Island track is reached, turn left onto Lady Carrington Drive noting the Birds Nest Ferns and Epiphytes high in the trees, this is a spot well known for Leeches.

Follow Lady Carrington Drive for less than a kilometer until a sign is reached on the left indicating Palona Brook track / cave on the right. There is an easy climb at the beginning but the track levels out after a short distance and after a little over a kilometer one arrives at the Palona Cave with its Calcium Carbonate formations.

The next stage of the journey takes us back along Lady Carrington Drive past the Forest Island turn off to the Wallumarra Track turn off on the left, after a short walk one arrives at the Toonoum Brook prior to its merging with the Hacking River.

At this point there is a crossing which an be negotiated at most times unless in flood and the walk continues along the banks of Toonoum Brook until the final stopping point is reached where a galvanised steel bridge with a seat is reached.

The walk then returns to Lady Carrington Drive where one turns left and returns to the car or carry on to the coast via Sir Bertam Stevens Drive and the Curra Moors Trail, a much longer walk. The rain forest walk is an easy walk of around 8 kilometers, almost entirely in rain forest and its accompanying shade.