Within Heathcote National park at an area called Spion Kop the ground is heavily degraded. When the power lines were put in, the area was very badly damaged and then illegal bike tracks were constructed making it even worse.
In January a team of volunteers, NPWS staff and contractors under the leadership of ranger Jodie McGill set about the remediation of this site.
Select Read More to see more photos and read the full story.
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Its springtime in the Royal and bushwalkers are being delighted by the range of wildflowers across the park. The heathlands are a riot of colour from some of our favourite local wildflowers.
In the open woodlands the brilliant red flowers of the Waratah can be seen from afar as can the huge Gymea Lily flowers.
But this post is concerned with a group of the more subtle flowers of the Royal….the orchids.
The observant visitor can find wonderful orchids across the park such as the Caleana major – flying duck orchid shown above. There are no prizes for guessing the origin of its name.
To read more about the large range of orchids to be seen in the park at this time of year and see some wonderful photographs taken by members of Friends of Royal, select the READ MORE tab.
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Two local environmentalists Steve Anyon-Smith and Tom Kristensen have spent the last 8 months searching for Koalas in Heathcote National Park with remarkable success.
They have photographed 63 individual koalas in locations across the park. Even better news is that this is a healthy, chlamydia free, breeding population. Lone males, females and mothers with joeys have all been sighted.
To hear more of this great discovery, click the READ MORE button.
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In September 2018 the fabulous Bonnie Vale campground was closed due to concern regarding asbestos fibres lying exposed in the camping areas.
Now after the completion of major remediation and upgrade works the campground is due to reopen on January 10th.
Follow the Read More link to read the full story and see pictures of the gorgeously renovated site.
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We are well into spring as I write this and migrant birds have been arriving daily over the last few weeks. First were the shorebirds coming from the Arctic….. then within days you could hear the cackle of the Channel-billed Cuckoos…you looked up and there they were a couple flying fast from New Guinea.
Those early migrants have been followed by Koels, Figbirds, Leaden Flycatchers, Rufous Whistlers, Sacred Kingfishers, Dollarbirds, Lathams Snipe, Bar-tailed Godwits and many more. Migrants from across the globe and across Australia.
Click on Read More to see them and read their stories.
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With the recent warm weather, Spring flowers in the park are providing a beautiful display at the moment. From the heathlands along the Coast Track to the woodlands further west, there is an amazing variety of colourful blooms at this time of year. If you are interested to learn more about our indigenous flora, now is the time to take a walk in the Park. Wherever you go you should not be disappointed.
Click on the Read More tab for some wonderful photos and tips on the best walks.
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Its September and the first Channel-billed Cuckoos have been seen flying overhead with raucous calls, being pursued by anxious local birds trying to see them off the premises. Bird species all over the park are gathering nesting material for their spring breeding, but some species are already far advanced.
All through winter the Powerful Owls have been raising their young. The female owls have incubated the eggs in large hollows in huge old forest trees, these hollows need to be big enough for a mother and two chicks of Australia’s largest owl. Now in early September the white owlets are starting to leave the hollows.
Click on Read More for the full story and pictures.
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With the recent warm weather, Spring flowers in the park are providing a beautiful display at the moment. From the heathlands along the Coast Track to the woodlands further west, there is an amazing variety of colourful blooms at this time of year. If you are interested to learn more about our indigenous flora, now is the time to take a walk in the Park. Wherever you go you should not be disappointed.
To see photos and tips on some walks with brilliant displays click on the READ MORE tab.
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In 2020 a koala named “Royal” was found in Kirrawee close to the Royal National Park. “Royal” was captured then released into the park with a radio collar attached to allow tracking of his movements.
He was tracked for 3 months by a team of volunteers before being re-released without his collar, you can read the full story with plenty of pictures and video here.
Then after five months with no knowledge of his whereabouts “Royal” reappeared. Late at night on 13th April this year he was spotted in a tree on Bundeena Drive with impenetrable heath on both sides and cars passing below. He was identifiable from his ear tags.
But not only was he in danger from the passing traffic he was also only a few hundred meters from the perimeter of a large hazard reduction burn that was planned to be ignited in a couple of days.
To hear what happened next click on the READ MORE tab.
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NPWS have released a draft plan of management for the Royal National Park, Heathcote National Park, Garawarra State Conservation Area. It is available for public review and comment until 2nd August 2021.
It is twenty years since the last plan was published and as we know much has changed in that time, so this document is badly needed.
We encourage you all to read the documents and provide feedback to NPWS individually or as part of Friends of the Royal’s submission, or of course both.
Friends of the Royal will be discussing the Plan of Management in some detail at our General Meeting on Thursday 24th June, please come along.
More information and links to the documents can be found by selecting READ MORE .
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Its easy to get to the Royal National Park by public transport: trains, a new bus service and a famous old ferry all give access to the park. With a bit of planning you can have a fabulous day out: an epic walk, a gentle stroll or a picnic by a waterfall or beach are all easily achievable by these public transport alternatives.
During the peak of summer and on public holidays the carparks in the Royal can become full early in the day, particularly Wattamolla, Garie and Bonnie Vale. Public transport can get you into these locations when car-bound visitors are turned away.
Select Read More to view our Public Transport page with some wonderful suggested itineraries for a great day out.
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In about mid-winter of this Covid year an uplifting message appeared in our inbox.
Science for Wildlife have an opportunity for a small number of volunteers to participate in Wildlife tracking project within Royal National Park.
To be eligible you must:
It only took seconds for some to respond with a Please Count Me In
What followed was an amazing, educational and enthralling few months.
Follow the READ MORE tab to read the story, see pictures and videos of the Koala and register HERE for the in-person event.
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We should have known you can’t creep up on falcons and eagles.
A few weeks back we went looking for falcons and eagles: we saw a falcon in flight, rounded a bend to see where it had landed and there it was looking directly at us ….unamused at our attempt at stealth.
But it had more mouths to feed than its own. Follow the Read More tab to see .
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This year Friends of the Royal are leading guided walks to help you get to know your local National Park just that little bit better. The Royal is home to a wonderful diversity of plants and wildlife…….some of our walks will have a botanical theme and on others we will be birding.
Royal Spoonbill
On Friday 23rd October we will be leading two birding walks starting at Bonnie Vale.
Follow the Read More link for more details and to register.
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This year Friends of the Royal are leading guided walks to help you get to know your local National Park just that little bit better. The Royal is home to a wonderful diversity of plants and wildlife…….some of our walks will have a botanical theme we will look closely at all the bush we often walk quickly through….its amazing what you can see.
Styphelia_triflora
Friends have some very knowledgeable people in our group who can readily identify the plants that we come across.
We are leading a walk with a botanical theme on Monday 21st September at 9am leaving from the NPWS office carpark.
Follow the Read More link for more details and to register.
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Winter can be a wonderful time to be walking in the Royal. Sunny days with light cool breezes….. walk on the coast or the interior of the park, turn a corner and ahead you can see extraordinary spectacles.
Humpback whales have been moving north on their annual migration from Antarctica to the warm waters of the Coral Sea. On any day from late May to early August from the cliffs of the Royal you can see the blow of the large breaths that they take, then their huge backs rise out of the water and slip back down. You may spot the tail flapping and the lucky few will see youngsters launching themselves out of the water. Follow the Read More link to see a breach in slow motion.
But look up and there are astonishing birds …..eagles and falcons ……kites and kestrels . Follow the Read More link to see them in action.
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The fierce two day storm of late May which coincided with king tides swept sand off Deeban Spit into the entrance channel to The Basin completely blocking the channel so no water could escape into Port Hacking.
Water had been building up since a storm earlier in the year and now with the channel fully blocked the water levels were so high that much of the Bonnie Vale camping ground was underwater.
But on the 29th May nature restored the balance and the flood water breached Deeban Spit in a new location close to Bundeena allowing a torrent to pour out into Port Hacking.
Follow the Read More link to see a video of the floodwater breaking out with someone kayaking down the stream and also some historical aerial photos from the 40s and 50s.
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Covid 19 has impacted the way we live all across the world. In the Royal the high use areas were closed: Bonnie Vale, Garie, Wattamolla and the bus service was suspended.
But as restrictions lift many services in our community can restart. Our high use areas have reopened and you can pursue normal recreational activities in the park, subject of course to the required social distancing and limits on numbers of people.
The Park Connections bus service is to restart from 30th May with a new reduced timetable .
Follow the Read More link to get the details.
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Its that time of year. We quietly watched a female lyrebird raking up twigs and taking them back to her nest. She was oblivious to our presence, totally absorbed in her task. So we switched on the video.
Then a few days later we stumbled across a male courting two females. He followed them around calling, displaying his fabulous tail , flapping his wings with his crest high. He was so preoccupied that when a mountain bike came past quickly he scuttered away into the bushes but two seconds later came out displaying and calling …….follow the Read More link to watch them both.
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At sunset recently we were standing on the Bundeena cliffs when a migrant seldom seen from the coast flew over. A chocolate brown colour, bigger than a raven with beautiful pointed wings…..this was a Brown (Great) Skua. A visitor from the Southern Latitudes.
Follow the Read More link to learn about the Skuas migration.
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NPWS in response to the Covid 19 outbreak on March 18th suspended all volunteer activities until further notice. On March 26th the high visitation areas of the Audley visitor center, Wattamolla, Garie and Bonnie Vale were closed until further notice
But walking tracks and trails remain open for exercise by locals and are being well used. They provide a welcome relief from pressures of lockdown.
Recently the Sydney Morning Herald wrote a piece discussing the benefits of exercise in the Royal National Park and featuring our own Ralph Cartwright. Follow the Read More link to view.
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ALL VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK
If you wish to hear about a recent highly successful volunteer activity then please read on.
On a fine day recently 6 members of friends took to the water to access a beautiful, but remote spot in the park to remove a prickly pear infestation. Check out the video of our efforts by selecting Read More .
We plan on another attack later in the year and would welcome extra hands.
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Our first guided walk for 2020 will be on March 16th starting at 8.30am at Wattle Forest, one of Audley’s picnic grounds. We will take a walk through some fascinating rainforest looking for birds and other wildlife. Then after a short while we will transfer across the river to Fig-tree Flat and start a slow walk down Lady Carrington Drive. Participants can walk to where we chose to turn around or if they choose they can turn around earlier or walk further.
This beautiful walk is renowned for revealing a multitude of wildlife. Check out the Read More tab for details including a great video of a diamond python taken in the park just a few days ago.
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Its easy to get to the Royal National Park by public transport: trains, a new bus service and a famous old ferry all give access to the park. With a bit of planning you can have a fabulous day out: an epic walk, a gentle stroll or a picnic by a waterfall or beach are all easily achievable by these public transport alternatives.
During the peak of summer and on public holidays the carparks in the Royal can become full early in the day, particularly Wattamolla, Garie and Bonnie Vale. Public transport can get you into these locations when car-bound visitors are turned away.
Select Read More to view our Public Transport page with some wonderful suggested itineraries for a great day out.
Read More >
You may have noticed that it has been raining recently. Audley weir is still closed, as are other roads in the park and indeed around the city.
If you ever wondered what the many waterfalls in the Royal look like after heavy rain follow the Read More link to view the Video.
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Through our long hot summer the streams in the Royal dwindled and some dried completely. Now with the rain they are flowing again and some creatures are celebrating……follow the Read More link to watch the video of a freshwater yabbie climbing the bank of a Royal stream.
Our Streamwatch volunteer program has been testing the water quality of streams in the Royal and Heathcote National Parks since 2004.
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Sometimes walking in the Royal you are privileged to see nature in action, this is one of those days. To humans the red bellied black is a beautiful snake but it is timid and disappears quickly when encountered. The Eastern Brown is the opposite: usually smaller, aggressive, not to be messed with. This day these preconceptions were reversed…….the larger red bellied black has the brown snake by the head and is taking it off to devour it. Follow the Read More link to watch the video.
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Bus Fleet has launched a new service within the park connecting many trail heads with public transport options. This allows access to popular sites such as Wattamolla and Garie when the carparks are full and also provides access to wonderful walks throughout the park.
The Royal has thankfully been unaffected by the current fires ravaging much of the East Coast and is only being closed to non residents when the weather conditions are severe.
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