Figure Eight Pools & the Palm Jungle Loop - The Royal National Park

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Route: Garawarra Farm, Burgh Ridge Track, Coast Track, Burning Palms, Burning Palms Beach, Figure Eight Pools, Burning Palms Beach, Coast Track, Palm Jungle, Werrong Lookout, Garawarra Ridge Trail, Bulgo Hill, Garawarra Farm

Date: 02/04/2021
From: Garawarra Farm

Parking: Garawarra Farm
Start Point: Garawarra Farm
Finish Point: Garawarra Farm
Region: Royal National Park

Route length: 6.8 miles (10.9km)
Time taken: 03:24
Average speed: 2.1mph
Ascent: 335m
Descent: 345m

Points of Interest: Burning Palms Beach, Figure Eight Pools, Palm Jungle, Werrong Lookout

Like Wedding Cake Rock, Figure Eight Pool has gained popularity thanks to Instagram and the desire for the perfect 'gram worthy' posts. It is now one of the most popular locations in Royal National Park. I have always intended to visit Figure Eight Pool at some point but wanted to get the timing right to avoid it being too crowded. In my view, it's just a side trip to a longer hike along the coast in this area.

That opportunity arrived over the Easter long weekend, with low tide coinciding with sunrise which was sure to keep the crowds at bay. You see, Figure Eight Pool sits on a shelf of rock at the bottom of a cliff and is entirely covered at high tide. Even heavy seas make it too exposed to visit - the National Park forecast when conditions are safe. Many disappointed people end up trudging back up the track with no hashtag-able photo having not read the advice. Thankfully I had a perfect forecast.

I left Sydney at 5am, arriving at the large Garrawarra Farm car park around an hour later. The plan was to hike to Figure Eight Pool (a trip of around 1 hour between the car park and the pool) and then continue around the Palm Jungle loop and along Garrawarra Ridge, making a decent day of it.

A dark start from Garrawarra Farm

I left the car in the last of the night's darkness, following the signposted track into the bush which was illuminated by my headtorch. Due to the popularity of Figure Eight Pool, the NSW national parks service has invested heavily in replacing the track by building an elevated walkway to protect the bush. It is likely the income from the Garrawarra car park has significantly increased in recent years.

Hiking by torchlight

The pitch-black bush is an oddly quiet, spooky place. It wasn't until the first smears of sunrise appeared that the sounds of the bush began to emerge also. The track continues its descent until it emerges from the trees on the Burgh Ridge Track above Burning Palms Beach. The dawn had broken by now, casting its beautiful glow across the Royal National Park.

The first light of a new day

Looking back up the Burgh Ridge Track towards Garrawarra Farm

Dawn over the Pacific Ocean

Burning Palms Beach

The Burgh Ridge Track meets the famed Coast Track and follows it down some steps to the beach. This is the only place you can access Figure Eight Pool due to the cliffs that surround it. There are signs that urge visitors not to proceed if they can see certain waves conditions but I imagine many still ignore the warnings and venture down regardless.

The headland at Burning Palms

Burning Palms Beach

I headed southwest along the beach to the far end where a jumbled pile of rocks marks the beginning of the rock-hopping route to the pool. The light reflecting off the rocks and pools was spectacular as the dawn grew brighter and brighter, the highlight being a particularly flat section of mirror-like water.

Burning Palms Beach

Starting along the rocks to Figure Eight Pool

Dawn reflecting in the rock pools

The route to the pools follows the cliffs along a rock platform

Looking north along the coast

Reflections in the rock pools

The sun appears on the horizon

Sunrise

There's no track between the beach and Figure Eight Pools but the route follows the base of the cliffs around a small headland and another, smaller bay. There are a couple of interesting sections above the pounding waves before another flat rock shelf leads to the pool.

The second rock slab is flat and easy to negotiate

Dawn at the Figure Eight Pool

The pool is actually located right on the edge of the shelf, close to the sea where rogue waves can easily catch people out. The pool itself is only around 3m long but 3m deep and is the shape of a perfect figure of eight. Despite some places noting Figure Eight Pools, there is only one pool that resembles the number eight. It has been formed by the joining of two sinkholes.

Despite being 7am, there was already a group wallowing in the pool when I arrived so I waited around for them to depart before snapping a few photos and departing.

Figure Eight Pool

Figure Eight Pool

Figure Eight Pool

Figure Eight Pool as you will probably find it

I retraced the route back to Burning Palms Beach and the Coast Track, following the latter as it heads towards the Palm Jungle. It crosses a beautiful open area above the sea cliffs with fine views south along the coast before it abruptly plunges into the jungle.

Retuning to Burning Palm Beach

Waves crash against the rocks - this is low tide

More rockpool reflections

Burning Palms Beach

The way to Figure Eight Pool

The Palm Jungle is a cool shady place, characterised by numerous palm trees. It forms part of a Littoral Rainforest, a fragmented and endangered ecological community only found along eastern Australia and one that is threatened with extinction (primarily due to coastal development). The hanging vines, Cabbage palms and other trees block much of the light and it feels worlds away from anything else in the national park.

A small section of Palm Jungle

A glimpse of people at Figure Eight Pool

The Coast Track at Figure Eight Gully

The Illawarra Coast

The Palm Jungle

Deep in the Palm Jungle

The forest is located at a low point along below Garawarra Ridge and the track was very wet and boggy in a few areas with a couple of longer sections of sucking mud to contend with. Things dried out a bit as the path begins to climb and continues climbing for nearly 2km, becoming steeper towards the end. Close to the top is Werrong Lookout which has a superb view of Hell Hole and the tiny Werrong Beach.

Palm Jungle

Climbing to Werrong Lookout

Hell Hole from Werrong Lookout

Hell Hole and Werrong Beach

A short boarded section close to Garrawarra Ridge

The last 3km back to the car park is along the Garrawarra Ridge Trail, a wide fire trail that is almost entirely flat once it has passed the small Bulgo Hill. In no time I was back at the rapidly filling car park. It was quite refreshing arriving home at 11am having completed a decent outing in the national park.

Garrawarra Ridge Trail

A Banksia in full bloom

Garrawarra Ridge Trail