Type

Picnic areas

Where

Conjola National Park in South Coast

Opening times

Monument Beach picnic area is always open but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.

What to
bring

Hat, sunscreen, drinking water

Please note

Remember to take your binoculars if you want to birdwatch.

One of the most serene areas of Conjola is Monument Beach picnic area. Set behind the beach, this is the ultimate spot for families. You can walk along the isolated beach, clamber over the small headlands, throw in a fishing line, go for a paddle or surf, take a short bushwalk, or head to the monument that remembers the lives lost when the Walter Hood sank in 1870.

As you drive in, stop to admire the beautiful flowering natives, including waratahs, wattles and bush peas. And don’t be surprised if the only other living creatures around are the resident kangaroos and wallabies.

Set out along Nerindillah Lagoon walking track after lunch, and while you’re walking along the beach, look for sooty oystercatchers, sea eagles and the hooded plover, which is only found on the NSW south coast.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Visitor info

Maps and downloads

Learn more

Aboriginal influence

The land around Conjola National Park has been home for the Budawang and Yuin people for about 6000 years. There are many Aboriginal sites in the area, including middens, campsites and rock shelters. At Fishermans Rock, the midden contains fragments of mussels and mud oysters that were once meals for the local Aboriginal people. You'll also see some axe-grinding grooves in the sandstone.

Animal planet

With open forests and scrubland, there are plenty of places to find Conjola's wildlife. Keep your eyes peeled for eastern grey kangaroos, wombats, echidnas, brushtail possums and gliders, along with a huge range of cockatoos and parrots, black swans and herons. As well as providing the perfect place for swimming, canoeing, fishing and water sports, the three lakes adjacent to the park - Conjola, Berringer and Swan - are a significant habitat for many birds, such as little terns, the endangered hooded plover and pied oystercatchers.

Driving force

You can easily explore Conjola from the comfort of your car. Some of the tracks and trails that take you through forests, past the lakes and to the ocean are even accessible for 2WD vehicles in dry weather. One of the most popular drives is from Cudmirrah to Monument Beach picnic ground, following Goonawarra Drive, Blackbutt Road and Cedar Road. Just take care as you're driving along, because you'll be sharing the trails with cyclists, walkers and horse-riders as well as wildlife, which also cross the tracks mainly in the early morning and late afternoon.

Maritime monument

In 1870, 12 men lost their lives when the clipper Walter Hood struck rocks off the coast between Bendalong and Berrara. A monument, erected in 1927, marks the burial site of the drowned captain and crew. it is a short walk from the Monument Beach picnic area.