Where

Bungonia National Park in Country NSW

Accessibility

Medium

Distance

0.3km one-way

Time suggested

15 - 45min

Grade

Grade 2

Entry fees

Park entry fees apply

What to
bring

Drinking water, hat, sunscreen

Please note

• On entering the park, register your trip intention at the park office visitor register.
• The weather in this area can be extreme and unpredictable, so please ensure you’re well-prepared for your visit.
• Remember to take your binoculars if you want to birdwatch.

Molly O’Neill was an amateur botanist who passionately dedicated herself to exploring and researching what was, at the time, Bungonia Reserve and is now Bungonia National Park. It is only fitting, therefore, that a walking track has been named in her honour.

Take your time along this short track to read the interpretive signage and see what you can learn about some of the plants native to the park. Enjoy the wildflowers during spring and keep your binoculars handy to look at the wildlife whose habitats you’re passing through. During daylight hours, you’re most likely to see wallaroos, wallabies, kangaroos, goannas and lyrebirds. At night, you may get a glimpse of a glider and you will almost certainly see possums.

The track passes through the park’s typical eucalyptus woodland with limestone outcrops and ends, with a flourish at The Lookdown lookout. For a longer hike try the Green track.

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.