Date: 17/8/2025
Trip leader: Xinyi (Emma) Zhang
Party: Chen, Sebastian, Isabelle, Junze
This hike was an out and back section of the Royal Coastal Track in the Royal National Park, passing through the Wedding Cake Rock, Marley Beach, Little Marley Beach, Wattamolla Beach and ultimately, Eagle Rock. The hike took us about 7 hours to complete and the group walked a total of 31 kilometres that day.
The day began at 7:30am, when I picked up three members from Central Station and drove to Cronulla, which is about 45 minutes away from the city. We caught the 8:30am ferry across to Bundeena, and since it was privately operated, the group couldn’t use their Opal card so we each paid $19 for a round trip. One member, delayed by a replacement bus, made it just in time to board the ferry luckily, while a few others cancelled last minute, bringing our group size down from 8 people like I originally planned to 5 for the day. (Apologies to those on the waitlist, I did not contact any of you on the day as I only realised this while already on the ferry.)
We arrived at Bundeena Wharf around 9am, made use of the nearby amenities, and walked half an hour to the trailhead. The Royal Coastal Track here is well-marked, with sections of metal boardwalk guiding us across the headlands.
Not long after, we hit our first checkpoint – the Wedding Cake Rock. As impressive as it sounds, the fenced-off sandstone itself is somewhat underwhelming, so the group paused briefly before pressing on.
At Marley Beach, the group took off their shoes and rolled up their pants to wade through a wide water channel that led into the crashing waves of the ocean. Bluebottles scattered along the sand soon convinced us to put shoes back on despite the discomfort of wet sand.
Adjacent to Marley Beach, about a 15-20 minute walk, was Little Marley Beach, where the calmer waters in shades of navy and aqua made for an easier crossing.
After passing several creeks and waterfalls, we reached Wattamolla Beach at 12pm for a lunch break. The lagoon water was quite brown from the pollution of recent storms, and given the freezing water we’d already experienced, nobody swam. One group member chose to rest here with sore feet, while the other three and I continued tracking further down south.
Along the way, the group spotted whales spouting offshore so we made several whale-watching stops. After about an hour of walking, we finally reached Eagle Rock, a cliff resembling an eagle’s head. After a short break, we returned to Wattamolla and met up with our resting member at 2:30pm.
The return walk was quicker with cooler cloud cover, and by 5:30pm we were back in Bundeena. We grabbed a quick dinner at a local burger/fish & chips shop before boarding the last ferry at 6pm. Back at Cronulla, I drove everyone to Central Station, where we said our goodbyes to one another.
A big thank you to all the lovely members for your participation and cooperation. It was truly a memorable trip.
