The Great Southern Walk, a new five day 59km hike stretching from Botany Bay to the Illawarra is coming to NSW!

 

The NSW Government has announced they’ll drop $80 million on creating a bunch of new multi-day hikes across the state. The first of the hikes to be established, the Great Southern Walk, will allow you to hike from Kamay Botany Bay National Park all the way along the coastline to the Southern Gateway Centre in the Illawarra. 

The multi-day hike links up a bunch of already established walking tracks; from the Kurnell to Cronulla hike, the Jibbon Track, the famous Coast Track through the Royal National Park, to the Wodi Wodi Track and Forest Walk along the Illawarra Escarpment. 

 

Image thanks to DPIE

 

Most of the funding for the hike will go towards building accommodation, such as cabins and glamping sites, along the already established tracks. 

The announcement comes after a surge in national park visitation across the entire state since borders closed due to COVID-19.

‘From Border Ranges in the north, to Kosciuszko in the south, to Hat Head in the east and Mungo in the west, visitation across our extraordinary national parks estate has surged in the past 12 months,’ said NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet.

The Royal National Park Coast Track | @adrianmascenon

Cape Bailey Lighthouse Kamay Botany Bay National Park | @travelmademedoit

The NSW Government is also attempting to rival the famous multi-day hikes found in other states and territories, like the Overland Track in Tassie and Jatbula Trail in the NT. 

‘This $80m budget injection will enable us to add new iconic experiences to our tourism arsenal, drawing keen hikers from around Australia and, when borders reopen, the world to our spectacular regions, giving local small businesses and tourism operators a much-needed boost,’ said Mr Perrottet.

The Great Southern Walk is expected to be completed by 2024 and details of the second multi-day hike will be announced in the coming months. 

Not a hiker? No stress! There’ll also be a 44km network of mountain bike trails developed across the Illawarra Escarpment between Mt Keira and Mt Kembla. Yeeew!

‘Both this signature walk and biking network are major initiatives that will not only make our national parks more accessible to a broader audience but also bring new visitors to this spectacular region,’ said NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean. 

We can’t wait to get out there and take on these new adventures!

 

Feature photo by @travelmademedoit