Booti Hill & Wallis Lake

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Route: The Ruins, Seven Mile Beach, Booti Hill Track, Lakes Way, Sunset Picnic Area, Lakeside Walking Track, 

Date: 31/10/2020
From: Seven Mile Beach

Parking: The Ruins campground
Start Point: Seven Mile Beach
Finish Point: The Ruins campground
Region: Booti Booti National Park

Route length: 4.1 miles (6.6km)
Time taken: 01:42
Average speed: 2.4mph
Ascent: 170m
Descent: 163m

Points of Interest: Seven Mile Beach, Wallis Lake

We recently spent a weekend camping near Forster, a seaside town three hours north of Sydney, in the Myall Lakes region of New South Wales. Myall Lakes is formed by a series of freshwater lakes, all interconnected by intricate channels. Its defining feature is the entire area is largely uninhabited. Within the region is the small Booti Booti National Park, located on a narrow peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and Wallis Lake. This secluded National Park is seldom visited by many but it has some of the best beaches along the whole coastline.

The walk I had in mind was a short one, directly from our campsite, up Booti Hill and back along the shores of Lake Wallis. The plan was to hike in the morning to beat the severe thunderstorms forecast in the afternoon. A clockwise circuit also knocks off the hardest part of the walk first.

Booti Hill rises up behind the campsite

The Booti Hill Walking Track starts from the southern end of Seven Mile Beach and leads to the small Elizabeth Beach. There is a signposted track at the south end of the beach – this climbs up the northern side of Booti Hill through twisted eucalypts. The climb is mostly up a series of steps, however, the view out towards the ocean is mostly obstructed by the trees. There is, however, a small opening with a scenic view of Seagull Point.

Seven Mile Beach

Booti Hill behind Seven Mile Beach

Booti Hill

The beginning of the Booti Hill Track

Booti Hill Track

One of Booti Booti's resident Goanna lizards

The track cuts across the flank of the hill

A gap in the trees provides a view across the Pacific Ocean

The path evens out after the initial climb before going undulating along the flank of Booti Hill. The landscape changes from dry bush and forest to rainforest at this point in the walk and you’ll also be able to see across to Seagull Point from here. The path goes over the ridge of the headland before descending down towards Elizabeth Beach. A visit to Elizabeth Beach is an optional extra but requires a steep descent.

The rainforest atop Booti Hill

Rainforest

At the Elizabeth Beach track junction, a fire trail darts off to the southwest, marked towards The Lakes Way. The stony track leads down, past a powerline clearing to the Sunset Picnic Area, a perfect spot to watch the sunset over Wallis Lake. The Lakeside Walking Track can be found near the picnic area.

The fire trail leading away from Elizabeth Beach

I followed the track as it hugs the shore of Wallis Lake, often right up the water itself. Wallis Lake is typically very shallow (the depth is on average 1.5 metres) so it is a popular place for people to go paddle-boarding, swimming, kayaking or fishing. It is one of the most significant producers of Sydney Rock Oysters in Australia and is also central to the local tourism industry, valued at over $315m per year.

Sunset Picnic Area

Wallis Lake

The Lakeside Walking Track does as it says

Wallis Lake and the view across to the Wallingat National Park

The small inlets of Wallis Lake

Wallis Lake

Afternoon clouds building over Wallis Lake

The Lakeside Walking Track

The path leads to an NSW Parks depot on the main road, opposite the main entrance to the campsite where I concluded my hike, well before the forecast storms. We did get a bit of a hammering later in the day, with golf-ball-sized hail battering the campsite. For 10 minutes, it was pretty chaotic and quite an experience.

The large hailstones that thrashed the campsite

The storm retreats leaving a vivid rainbow

Storms at sunset from Seven Mile Beach