Jibbon Head & The Balconies

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Route: Bundeena, Jibbon Beach, Jibbon engravings, Jibbon Head, Jibbon Loop Track, The Cobblers, The Balconies, Wedding Cake Rock Track, Bundeena

Date: 09/11/2019
From: Bundeena

Parking: N/A
Start Point: Bundeena
Finish Point: Bundeena
Region: Royal National Park

Route length: 5.0 miles (8.1km)
Time taken: 02:50
Average speed: 2.4mph
Ascent: 278m
Descent: 271m

Points of Interest: Jibbon Beach, Jibbon Engravings, The Cobblers, The Balconies

Royal National Park (or 'Nasho' to some) is located just south of Sydney. The 150km2 national park is the oldest in Australia having been founded in 1879. In fact, internationally, only Yellowstone in the US is older, having been founded a few years earlier. While most of Royal National Park consists of open areas of bush, the coastal cliffs are spectacular and make for some fine hiking. Being close to the city means the national park can be easily accessed by public transport.

A ferry links the shores at Cronulla to the village of Bundeena where we started the hike, shortening an otherwise long drive around the bay of Port Hacking. Bundeena is surrounded by the national park to the south and the waters of the bay to the north.

One of the private Cronulla ferries

Burraneer

Burraneer Head

Looking across Port Hacking towards Hordern's Beach

We hopped off the ferry at the Bundeena wharf and made our way east along Loftus Street to Jibbon Beach. The beach, a superlative stretch of sand, derives its name from the indigenous Dharawal word djeebahn, which means ‘sandbar at low tide'. There is a 3,000-year-old midden (essentially a waste tip) that stretches the entire length of the beach.

Jibbon Beach

Jibbon Beach

The Jibbon Beach midden

At the far end of the beach is a rock shelf with some steps carved into it, cut by European settlers who lived in the bush right up until the 1970s. A path leads through the Banksia trees to a clearing marked by some information boards and steel sculptures. This clearing was an ancient Dharawal campsite - the Aboriginal people who call the area home.

Jibbon Beach

Leaving the beach

The Jibbon Loop Track

Heading back into the bush again, we followed a well-signed path to a large exposed slab of rock with a viewing platform. Here you will find some well-preserved Aboriginal carvings which are over 1000 years old. The engravings include depictions of Daringyan the stingray, Biame the Creator and Marloo the kangaroo - all of which have cultural significance.

One of the information signs

Site of the Jibbon engravings

Dharamulan

We returned to the track which took us past Little Jibbon Beach to Jibbon Head and a panoramic view of Port Hacking from Port Hacking Point. It's hard to believe that this slice of nature is geographically part of Sydney - home to some 5 million people.

Port Hacking Point

Heading south along the Jibbon Loop Track

Bush along the track

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A path follows the coast giving intermittent views of the sea through clearings in the bush. At Shelley Beach, an overgrown path leaves the Jibbon Head Track, heading for the cliffs. While there is no path to speak of here, the flat rocks of the clifftops are a delight to walk along with interesting views at every corner. While many of the cliffs here are un-named, Cormorant Rock is marked out on some maps though it is difficult to determine exactly what it is.

The Jibbon Loop Track

Beginning of the cliff-top section

Cliffs meet sea

The Jibbon cliffs and the Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea

Layers in the rock

Cormorant Rock (I think)

Cormorant Rock

The flat rock makes for some easy walking

The other-worldly cliff top

Eventually, we found our way to The Cobblers, a flat cove beneath the cliffs accessed by an awkward, eroded path.

The Cobblers

The Cobblers

The Balconies

Jibbon cliffs

After a short climb back up from the cove, we reached the top of the Balconies, the beginning of a long stretch of bare cliff top, which has created a series of irregular layers of sandstone that jut out over the Tasman Sea. For us, the majority of the Balconies is a trip for another time as we were starting our route back to Bundeena.

Port hacking and Sydney

We left the clifftop through the bush along an overgrown path. Typically this isn't an issue though the leaves and branches brushing against you always stir thoughts of Australia's wildlife - snakes and spiders to be more precise. Fortunately, we haven't encountered any yet.

Sydney

Port Hacking

The path leads to one of the many fire tracks that criss-cross the state and we were suddenly faced with large groups of tourists. The fire track is the main hiking route to one of Royal National Parks most-photographed spots - Wedding Cake Rock. Again, one for another time for we were heading in the opposite direction.

The wide fire track

The wide fire track took us back to a parking area just off the streets of Bundeena - an alternative to the ferry. A short walk through the streets took us back to the ferry wharf just in time to hop on a waiting boat back to Cronulla.

Bundeena Beach

Bundeena ferry wharf

The Bundeena ferry