Otford Railway Station +

	A distant view of Wollongong from Otford Lookout +

	A view of the coast at sundown from the grasslands surrounding Burning Palms +

	The track through the grasslands +

	A view of the grasslands +

	Burning Palms Beach +

	A view along the coast from Figure of 8 Pools Track +

	Figure Eight Pools (looking south) +

	The Coast +

Since this is a 'return' style walk once you have had enough of the walk, turn around and retrace your steps back to the start.

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Catch the train to Otford Station
Check out the facilities at Otford Station You can phone 131500 (the transport info line) for up to date running times. Use these links to plan your train trip to the end of the walk. Plan your trip from --> Castle Hill|Chatswood|Dural|Epping|Gosford|Hornsby|Katoomba|Manly|Parramatta|Penrith|Strathfield|Sutherland|Sydney|

Drive to Otford Train Station
There is free parking available. You can drive or ride to the start of this walk Use these links to plan your trip to the start of this walk. Plan your trip from --> Castle Hill|Chatswood|Dural|Epping|Gosford|Hornsby|Katoomba|Manly|Parramatta|Penrith|Strathfield|Sutherland|Sydney|

(0 km) Otford Train Station to Otford Lookout Track: Moderate - road	Length = 804 m	Time = 24 mins
	Climb = 97 m	Descent = -37 m
From the top of Otford Station, this walk follows the signs to 'Royal National Park' up some stairs. Once at the top of the stairs, the walk turns left and climbs up the steep concrete path for approximately 50m to the top, where it comes to the intersection marked as 'Station Rd'. This walk turns left and follows the flat dirt road, passing an intersection with another road on the left. The walk continues along to the next intersection, where it turns right onto Fanshawe Rd. This walk follows Fanshawe Rd up the long hill until coming to an intersection with an asphalt road signposted as 'Lady Wakehurst Drive'. At the intersection, this walk turns left and crosses the road, continuing for approximately 25m until coming to a car park and the entry into Royal National Park. There is a large green sign here saying 'Otford Lookout'.

(0.8 km) Otford Lookout to Top of Werrong Beach Track Track: Moderate - bushtrack	Length = 217 m	Time = 6 mins
	Climb = 21 m	Descent = -8 m
Veer right: From Otford Lookout, the walk heads up the stairs on the seaward side of the car park, winding up the hill and along the fenced of cliffs, keeping the ocean to the right as it steadily climbs up the hill. After a while, the track breaks away from the cliff and continues along the bush track, climbing up the hill until coming to an intersection marked with a signpost saying 'Werrong Beach'.

(1.02 km) Top of Werrong Beach Track to The Squeeze Way and Burning Palms Tracks Track: Moderate - bushtrack	Length = 1.67 km	Time = 37 mins
	Climb = 97 m	Descent = -50 m
Continue straight: From the intersection, this walk follows the Coast Track along the bush track, winding up the long hill the the top, where it flattens out and continues along a well-managed bush track through a rather beautiful section of ferns. After quite a while, the track joins onto a flat service trail which it follows, undulating gently until it comes to the signposted intersection of the North Era bush track.

(2.69 km) The Squeeze Way and Burning Palms Tracks to Int. Fig 8 Pool Trk and Coastal Trk Track: Hard - bushtrack	Length = 2.12 km	Time = 1 Hr
	Climb = 66 m	Descent = -252 m
Turn right: From the intersection, the walk follows the 'North Era' arrow along the bush track, winding through the thick bushland and down a long hill for several hundred metres, gradually steepening before sharply turning left. After the change in direction, the track heads through the 'Palm Jungle' along the narrow bush track. At this point, the track is largely clear but in some places there are obstacles like fallen trees and branches. The track continues in this manner for some time before emerging into grasslands.

(4.81 km) Int. Fig 8 Pool Trk and Coastal Trk to Burning Palms Beach (southern end) Track: Hard - bushtrack	Length = 879 m	Time = 20 mins
	Climb = 17 m	Descent = -55 m
Continue straight: From the end of the palm jungle and the start of the grasslands, the walk heads through the grasslands and along the coast for a while before winding down to the signposted intersection with the Burning Palms track, near the rangers' hut.

(5.68 km) Burning Palms Beach (southern end) to Figure 8 Pools Track: Hard - bushtrack	Length = 896 m	Time = 16 mins
	Climb = 15 m	Descent = -17 m
Turn right: (only to be attempted at low tide and low swell) From the beach, this walk follows the rocky passage beneath the rocky headland (keeping the headland to the right). The walk rounds the first prominent headland to a creek that drops off the cliffs above. This walk heads out onto a second prominent headland to the Figure 8 Pools. There are a number of Figure 8-shaped pools, but one main one. The pools are towards the sea, in line with the gully.

Figure Eight Pools	Alt = 4 m
The Figure Eight Pools are on the rock shelf, south of Figure Eight Pools gully, near Burning Palms. There are a number of circular sinkholes in the rock, and a few of them have joined over time to form a figure '8' shape. Two sink holes in particular have joined to form a very spectacular figure '8' shape in the rock. The safest time to visit the pools is at low tide when there is only a very low swell in the ocean.

Catch the train from Otford Station
Check out the facilities at Otford Station You can phone 131500 (the transport info line) for up to date running times. Use these links to plan your train trip from the end of the walk. Plan your trip to --> Castle Hill|Chatswood|Dural|Epping|Gosford|Hornsby|Katoomba|Manly|Parramatta|Penrith|Strathfield|Sutherland|Sydney|

Drive from Otford Train Station
There is free parking available. You can drive or ride from the end of this walk Use these links to plan your trip from the end of this walk. Plan your trip to --> Castle Hill|Chatswood|Dural|Epping|Gosford|Hornsby|Katoomba|Manly|Parramatta|Penrith|Strathfield|Sutherland|Sydney|

Campsites in the park
Bonnie Vale camping ground
North Era camping ground
Uloola Falls camping ground


Nearest know Outdoor Stores near the start of this walk

Store	Address	Phone	Distance (straight line)
Engadine Disposal & Outdoor Centre Pty Ltd	1042 Old Princes Hwy, Engadine	(02) 9520 3367	16.2 km
Paddy Pallin Adventure Equipment	587 Kingsway, Miranda	(02) 9525 6829	21.6 km
Onrope	11 Nelson Ave, Padstow	(02) 9709 6299	30.6 km
Boots Great Outdoors	23 Koonya Cct, Caringbah	(02) 9542 8988	22.9 km
Korries Solar	90 Gipps St , Wollongong	(02) 4226 4632	25.2 km

A list of the nearest UHF CB repeaters I found to Otford to Figure of Eight Pools via Burning Palms.

Channel	Call sign (more info)	Site	Distance and dir from Otford to Figure of Eight Pools via Burning Palms Click to re-center search
3	VMG3	Mine commsite WESTCLIFF COLLIERY	16 km (to the W)
1	SYD01	12/14 Ormonde Parade HURSTVILLE	28 km (to the NNE)
7	SYD07	7 Glamorgan St BLACKTOWN	48 km (to the N)
8	ROB08	Communications Site MT MURRAY	52 km (to the SW)
4	ROB07	Radio Site Mission Australia Complex via Jamberoo Mountain Road KNIGHTS HILL	53 km (to the SSW)

Fire Danger
This walk passes Illawarra/Shoalhaven fire area which currently has a LOW MODERATE rating and No fire ban in place.
(Tomorrow the Fire Danger Rating is LOW MODERATE, No fire ban.) (Downloaded 7 years ago)
Please Note: Each park may have its own fire ban, this rating is only valid for today and is based on information from the RFS Please check the RFS Website for more information.

Weather and Climate
Weather and Climate summary detailed weather and climate information here

°C (feels like °) km/h from the % humidity     (as at )

Royal National Park Link to official closures and fire bans page

Region: Sydney & Surrounds
Park fees Camping Facilities
Current Park Closure information for Royal National Park
Closure information last downloaded Sunday 27th of September 2015 07:00 AM
Closed areas: The Coast track upgrade
The Coast track will be undergoing construction works between Beachcomber Ave and Marley Beach over a 9 month period. Works include resurfacing, installation of raised board walk and stairs and will be undertaken between October 2015 and May 2016. During the works it will be necessary, at times, to close the Coast Track for visitor safety. Please be aware that during closures the full coast track walk will not be possible and you may need to plan your route to start and finish at a different location. The Royal National Park alerts page will be updated regularly so please check it before you leave home. Penalties apply for non-compliance. For more information, please contact Royal National Park area office on (02) 9542 0632 or visit the NSW National Parks safety page for park safety guidelines.

Closed areas: Wedding Cake Rock
Access to Wedding Cake Rock is prohibited. National Parks and Wildlife Service has undertaken a geotechnical assessment of the rock, which found that there is high chance that it could collapse at any time. Safety fencing has been erected to protect the public while a more permanent solution is developed. This is a really beautiful location and a spectacular rock formation to look at, but the key is doing it at a safe distance from the edge.

Safety alerts: Audley precinct in wet weather
Access across the Audley Weir may be closed due to river flooding during times of wet weather. During wet weather, NPWS advise park visitors to visit Live Traffic NSW to ascertain the status of the Weir crossing before commencing their travel to the park. During times of closure, access to Bundeena, Maianbar residential areas, Royal National Park Visitor Centre, including the Audley Dance hall and cafe, is via McKell Ave Waterfall.

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