Type

Lookouts

Where

Bungonia National Park in Country NSW

Accessibility

Medium

Entry fees

Park entry fees apply

What to
bring

Drinking water

Please note

The weather in this area can be extreme and unpredictable, so please ensure you’re well-prepared for your visit.

TEST Adams lookout may seem to be a pretty ordinary name, so it may not prepare you for the extraordinary view that awaits you at the end of the walkway. Like a well-constructed movie, the relatively flat paved path keeps you in suspense nearly all the way to the two-tiered platform.

You’re then hit with the most fantastic view in the park of the 300m high limestone cliffs of Bungonia Slot Canyon (only 25m apart), the beautiful Bungonia Creek Gorge and distant views of Ettrema Wilderness way over in Morton National Park.

After you’ve managed to turn away from the spectacular view, have a look around to see if you can spot the pair of nesting peregrine falcons that regularly fly above the gorge near this lookout. Bring a picnic lunch with you and, like the rock-climbers who come to Bungonia to scale its canyon walls, hang around for a while. Finally, join up with the Green track to explore more of the natural environment.

Take a virtual tour of Adams lookout captured with Google Street View Trekker.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Visitor info

Maps and downloads

Learn more

Endless caving opportunities

Known as the adventure capital of the Southern Tablelands, Bungonia is a place to really test your limits. There are around 200 wild caves in the park, many of which are open for experienced cavers to explore. For an exciting journey of waterfalls and plunge pools, Bungonia Creek and Jerrara Creek are the most popular canyoning spots. Bungonia Slot Canyon provides one of the few opportunities in Australia for climbing limestone and is as dramatic a place to scale a rock wall as its name suggests.

Once upon a time

The park lies across the traditional lands of the Njunawal tribal group, the northwest corner of the Wandandian tribal territory and the southern boundary of the Gandangara tribal group. The ridge tops were almost certainly travel routes as people shifted in accordance with the seasonal availability of food. Evidence of campsites exists on the main plateau and limestone dolines contain edible plants consumed or used by Aboriginal people.

One of our oldest parks

This park is one of the oldest in New South Wales. It was first protected as a water reserve in 1872, which was also the same year the world's first national park - Yellowstone, in USA - was established. Just as Yellowstone's geothermal features pull the crowds, Bungonia's geomorphology, both above and belowground, are its main draw. Louis Guymer was the park's first caretaker (1889-1909), who discovered caves and erected gates and ladders, some of which you may use during your visit.

Winged and furry

The vulnerable large bent-wing bat calls Bungonia home, and certain caves are closed during the year to help provide a safe environment for breeding and hibernation. When open, look out for a colony, cloud or cauldron of bats as you explore the limestone labyrinths of their natural habitat. A small population of koalas, classified as threatened, also inhabit the park.