Place: Wedding Cake Rock
Royal National Park, Australia
One doesn’t simply stay indoors when the temperature hits mid-twenties and the sun is out after a week of rain and thunderstorms. My husband and I often go on day-long road trips around Sydney on weekends. This time we zeroed in on Bundeena, a coastal village that I hadn’t visited before. It is also famous for the Figure 8 infinity pool. But that day, the website informed us that it wasn’t safe as the tides were high.
We decided to drive through Royal National Park and explore what Bundeena has to offer. While my husband drove, I read about different hikes nearby, out of which the hike to Wedding Cake Rock Lookout looked quite doable. So instead of exploring the village, we decided to go on a hike. Dressed in converse shoes, full sleeve formal shirt and skinny jeans, I definitely wasn’t prepared for a hike, but we decided to go anyway 🙂
The crystal clear water at Bundeena Wharf looked fabulous. A charming coastal village, with quiet beaches and streets that ran uphill. Since I was wearing shoes, I didn’t want to go into the water. But the waterscape did look very inviting. When my husband took his shoes off, I followed him, pulled my jeans to the knees, and sat on the jetty, feet dipped in the cool greenish water. By the time we got up, it was past 2 pm.
We started walking towards Brighton Street, hunting for lunch. The menu at Passionfruit Restaurant, which was about 4 mins walk from the wharf, looked promising. We feasted on a seafood basket and drank something with Raspberry flavor. I was too hungry to notice what drink it was. 🙂
After finishing our meal, we drove towards Beachcomber Avenue (1.1 km from Bundeena Wharf) to start our hike. The parking lot at the entrance of the park has limited spots, but ample space is available on the street. Toilets and drinking water facilities are also provided at the entrance.
Since we didn’t carry any water bottle (which was a really big mistake), we drank water before starting the hike.
The distance to and from Wedding Cake Rock Lookout is a total of 3.5 km. We decided to take an hour on each side, so we could complete the walk by 5 pm.
The walk started with a rugged pebbled road, but later the track became more sturdy. The first lookout point, called Balconies, is only 700m from the entrance. I really loved the name and the analogy was perfect. A magnificent view of the sea opened before our eyes. The sea always looks the best on a sunny day. Blue… so fabulously blue!!
It had started getting warmer, but thankfully the gentle sea breeze kept us cool. A very bad day to wear collared full sleeve 🙂 We stopped here for about 10 minutes, taking numerous photos on the cliff, admiring the horizon and the long Sydney coast. I was absolutely delighted just to be standing there.
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Don’t forget to carry water bottles, wear comfortable clothing and shoes.
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Such beautiful scenery! Wonderful photos!
Wedding Cake Rock has a great name. By the way, I love your photos in this post. They are just gorgeous. Australia is definitely a bucket list destination for me, so maybe someday I'll get to see Wedding Cake Rock for myself. I do enjoy seeing oceanside cliffs when I travel since there isn't landscape like that where I live.
A caribbean woman like me sure appreciate being by the beach and look at that “blue-ness” whole day. That rock has a hell of a name? I wonder how that name came about?! Thanks for the gorgeous photos. I am glad you didn’t let your lack of hiking gear stop you.
Absolutely gorgeous and close to the city. Thank you for your detailed post. But do me a favor. Next time you go for a ride, don't forget to grab a water.
It does kind of look like wedding cake! That sounds like a great hike, minus the heat. You definitely want to go on a day with decent weather!
What a fantastic adventure! You captured some beautiful pictures. Making me super jealous! Those cliffs are amazing. Can't wait to get to Australia some day!
Such a gorgeous hike. I have never been to Australia, and by the looks of it, I need a minimum of a year to explore all the places I want to see. The views are something else, and that water looks so inviting. Great Pictures too!
Wow this place is stunning and I loved your photos..so beautiful!
I was so young when I visited Australia that I really didn't appreciate it when I was there. I'm dying to go back and experience some of its natural beauty. This gorgeous area would definitely have to be included in my trip if I make it back.
Stunning views!!!!! Thanks for sharing!
So cool! Thank you for posting all those details 🙂 If I make it back to Australia I'll definitely have to check this area out!
Wedding cake rock, the name sounded intriguing. Is it a cake or a rock was the immediate question in my mind. It was a wonderful description of your hike. Lovely views. My favorite photo was of the mirage of the stream falling into sea.
This place is incredible! I think it is the first time I see pictures of this walk. I love places like this so, I would like to explore one day.
Oh my! What a gorgeous sight and what an apt name! It does look like cake ! Thank you for sharing the sights with us.
Wonderful photos! This looks like a stunning place.
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Wow! Simply gorgeous! The rock does resemble a wedding cake! Perfect name for a rock! Loved the other pictures, too, and was imagining myself there, enjoying the scenic beauty of the place.
I have never heard of Wedding Cake Rock, will have to add it to my to see list next time we go to NSW. Making sure I pin this so I remember 🙂
Such beautiful scenery! ALWAYS take water with you on a hike in the sun, even if it feels chilly or comfy out. Thanks for sharing!
That rock is so unique. I've never seen anything like it. What a beautiful white color – well worth the walk.
I assume this was the scene of those death defying poses. How utterly breathtaking it must have been …. thanks for this gorgeous tour of Australia