Dr Jonathon Howard, NPA Executive
In June 2021, the NSW Government announced the Great Southern Walk, a 67 km track that stretches from Sydney’s south to the Illawarra. It will allow people to walk from Kamay Botany Bay National Park through Royal National Park and into the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area.
However, until recently, this puzzle has had a missing piece. The NSW Government recently handed over 5.6 hectares of bushland land under control of Wollongong Council at Stanwell Park to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). This provides the “missing link” in the northern Illawarra.
The transfer of the land will bring it under the environmental protection of the Royal National Park and allow NPWS to establish a critical stretch of the Great Southern Walk by providing access between Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Stanwell Park beach and Bald Hill lookout.
In effect, it will create a continuous stretch of protected coastline running from Bundeena to Stanwell Park. The entire project is expected to be completed late 2026.