Iluka to Evans Head
Twenty-one thousand hectares of coast between Iluka and Evans Head — Ten Mile Beach, the Esk River, coastal heath and wetland, and one of the longest undeveloped stretches of shoreline left in New South Wales.
Bundjalung National Park runs north from Iluka, at the mouth of the Clarence, up the coast to Evans Head. Between the two there is almost nothing built: Ten Mile Beach runs uninterrupted for most of that distance, with the Esk River and Jerusalem Creek cutting through wetlands and paperbark swamp behind the dunes, and heath and scribbly gum forest inland of that.
The park is named for Bundjalung people. It sits at the southern end of Bundjalung Country, near where it meets Yaegl Country around the Clarence, and this page does not try to draw that line — see the map page for why. The Bandjalang People hold native title over areas in and around the park, recognised by the Federal Court from 2013. It is managed by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Official park information, alerts and bookings: nationalparks.nsw.gov.au — closures after fire and flood are common on this coast, so check before driving out.
Adjoining the park at its southern end, Iluka Nature Reserve protects the largest remaining stand of littoral rainforest in New South Wales — rainforest growing directly behind the beach dunes, a forest type that once ran in a near-continuous strip along this coastline and now survives in fragments. NSW National Parks records over 180 plant species in it and more than 140 bird species. The reserve covers 136 hectares, about 90 of them littoral rainforest, according to the 1997 plan of management for Broadwater and Bundjalung National Parks and Iluka Nature Reserve. It is inscribed as part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area.
The Iluka Rainforest Walk runs through the reserve from the edge of Iluka township to Iluka Bluff, 2.6 kilometres one way on a Grade 2 track, with a picnic area and whale-watching lookout at the Bluff end.
NSW National Parks records more than 140 species of fauna in the park, across its beaches, rivers, wetlands, lagoons, heath and eucalypt forest. Coast banksia, coast she-oak and coastal wattle hold the dunes behind the beach. Eastern grey kangaroos, red-necked wallabies and swamp wallabies gather around the campgrounds at dawn and dusk, and koalas are sometimes spotted asleep in the treetops.
Species NPWS lists as protected in the park include the white-bellied sea eagle, the eastern ground parrot — a heathland bird listed as vulnerable in New South Wales — the emu, the lace monitor, the grey-headed flying-fox, Peron’s tree frog and the Australian pelican. NPWS also notes the rare barred cuckoo-shrike. Iluka Bluff is one of the park’s whale-watching lookouts, best during the northward migration in winter.
The main campground, on the rock platforms just north of Iluka. Powered and unpowered sites plus cabins and cottages, with fishing off the headland and the rainforest walk starting nearby. Booked through NSW National Parks and heavily booked over Easter and school holidays.
A smaller, quieter bush campground toward the northern end of the park, reached from the Evans Head side. Basic facilities, no power. Booked through NSW National Parks.
Day-use areas near Woody Head, with picnic facilities and access to the rock platforms and beach.
From the Pacific Motorway (M1), take Iluka Road for the southern end or the Evans Head turn-off for the northern end. There is no through road along the coast inside the park — the two ends are separate trips.
This coastline carries middens, campsites and other Aboriginal cultural heritage, much of it in the dunes and behind the beaches where people walk. Shell deposits that look like loose scatter are protected sites, and disturbing them is an offence under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 as well as being a straightforward wrong. Stay on formed tracks and beaches, leave shell and stone material where it is, and take rubbish out.
NSW National Parks works with local Aboriginal communities on managing the park. If you want to know more about the cultural landscape here, the local land councils and the Bandjalang native title body are the right source — not this website and not a visitor brochure.
On the far north coast of New South Wales, between Iluka at its southern end and Evans Head at its northern end, about an hour north of Grafton and half an hour south of Ballina. Access is from the Pacific Motorway (M1) via Iluka Road in the south or the Evans Head turn-off in the north.
Yes. Woody Head, near Iluka, is the main campground and has powered and unpowered sites plus cabins and cottages. Black Rocks, inland toward Evans Head, is a smaller bush campground. Both are booked through NSW National Parks, and Woody Head books out well ahead over school holidays and Easter.
Iluka Nature Reserve, immediately beside the town of Iluka and adjoining the national park, protects the largest remaining stand of littoral rainforest — rainforest growing right on the coast, behind the dunes — in New South Wales. It is inscribed as part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, and the Iluka Rainforest Walk runs through it from the town to Iluka Bluff.
Searches for a “Bundjalung rest area” usually mean one of the highway rest stops on the Pacific Motorway between Woodburn and the Iluka turn-off, which are signposted for the park rather than being inside it. The park's own visitor facilities — toilets, picnic areas, water — are at Woody Head, Black Rocks and Shark Bay. Highway rest areas move and close with roadworks, so check Transport for NSW's Live Traffic NSW service rather than an old map.
Vehicle entry charges apply at some access points and camping fees apply at both campgrounds; rates change, so check the NSW National Parks page for the park before you go.
Or jump to another guide:
Where Bundjalung Country runs, why no single map is official, and who holds the boundaries.
Arakwal, Githabul, Bandjalang, Widjabal, Nyangbal, Yugambeh and the other names you will meet.
Dialects, why spellings differ, and the language centres that actually teach and publish.
Which Northern Rivers town names come from Bundjalung language, and which came from Britain.
The Protection Board years, the reserves and stations, and where to look for family records.
Jointly managed parks, places custodians ask you to treat with care, and Aboriginal-led walks.
Contact
Use the form below or email info@bundjalung.au for email hosting, web hosting, corrections, or a new Bundjalung community page. Identity checks are used to reduce impersonation and protect the domain.