Where

Wallingat National Park in North Coast

Distance

5.5km one-way

Time suggested

1hr 30min

Grade

Easy

What to
bring

Sunscreen, hat, drinking water

Please note

Remember to take your binoculars if you want to go bird watching.

Wallingat National Park, near Forster, features stunning waterways and mountainous forests, and the best way to see them is by following the meandering Double Wharf trail either on foot or by mountain bike. The relatively flat trail heads north along the eastern side of Boggy Creek and Wallingat River, through a water crossing at Sugar Creek, and onto the scenic Reedy Creek trail.

Along the way, you’ll pass through swampy casuarina forests and tall paperbarks, with dry eucalypt forest on the higher ridges. Bring some binoculars for birdwatching – egrets and cormorants frolic on Wallingat River, while yellow-tail black cockatoos are attracted by the fruiting casuarinas. There’s also a chance you’ll spot echidnas and wallabies foraging in the undergrowth.

This is a great route to explore at any time of year. Bring plenty of water and a packed lunch for a quiet picnic along the way. And, if you’re up for a loop walk or mountain bike ride after lunch, you can extend your route to include Whoota Lookout Road and Sugar Creek Road.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Visitor info

Maps and downloads

Learn more

Ancient footprints

The 6,557ha of Wallingat National Park is part of the identity and spirituality, as well as a resource, for people of the Worimi nation. The Worimi People lived a traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle and used the leaves of the cabbage palm for weaving baskets and its fibrous bark for making fishing line. They used many of the area's natural resources, including the freshwater lakes, stone outcrops, and the ocean. A central campsite was known to exist in the area now known as Coomba Park, although there are few other Aboriginal sites recorded within the park include the Bungwahl area.

Fun times

Whether you're after a relaxing time or something more adventurous, Wallingat is just the spot. Take to the gravel roads either on foot, in a car or on a bike – to explore the forests. You can swim, fish and paddle on Wallingat River. Pitch a tent in the campground and get away from it all for a few days in this naturally beautiful setting. Surrounding some of the picnic areas and campsites, you’ll find magnificent stands of trees. In the southeast corner of Wallingat, there are tall, straight flooded gums, as well as stands of cabbage palms. Find both during a walk from Sugar Creek picnic area. Some rare plants such as the liana woody climber, a climbing species that bears white flowers from August to May, can also be found here.

Life among the trees

More than 200 species of birds make Wallingat National Park a home. Walking through forest as well as stands of straight flooded gums, and cabbage palms, you'll hear birds singing. Noisy friarbirds, for instance, have a distinctive 'ya-kob' call, while a 'woop, woop, woop' sound signals the presence of the wonga pigeon. You might see blue wrens flitting through the trees, as well as king parrots and glossy black cockatoos. Wallingat is also a popular spot for the satin bowerbird – the males are black and shiny, the females are a plainer brown. They both, however, have startling lilac eyes.