Moonee Beach: Beach, Nature and Cultural Heritage

Moonee Beach is one of the longest beaches in the area, stretching between Look At Me Now Headland and southern Green Bluff.

Nature and Cultural Heritage

Moonee Beach Nature Reserve offers opportunities for hiking; endangered bats live in caves by the sea. Along the Solitary Islands coastal walk, Moonee Creek is considered a particularly good place for birdwatching. The estuary used by the Moonee Creek Canoe Route is part of Solitary Islands Marine Park. This means the creek can be viewed both as a place for observing nature along the walk and as part of a paddling route.

Look At Me Now Headland is an important Indigenous cultural heritage site and is valued by the Gumbaynggirr people. The Dammerels History Walk explains how a historic 19th-century lighthouse worked. It includes a kerosene lamp and a signal station, which was the lighthouse’s only connection to the mainland. The headland and the history walk therefore represent different historical perspectives: an Indigenous cultural heritage site and the lighthouse’s technological history.

Hiking the Solitary Islands coastal walk

The Solitary Islands coastal walk passes through Moonee Beach Nature Reserve. The full route is 60 km long and is one-way; this distance does not describe a loop. Three to four days are recommended, and the difficulty rating is 4. The section from Moonee Beach to Hills Beach is 7 km long and has a difficulty rating of 3. These ratings apply to different routes: rating 3 applies to the 7 km section, while rating 4 applies to the full walk. The recommended duration of three to four days applies to the full route. Check the tides before hiking this section. You should cross Moonee Creek on the coastal walk only at low tide and when water flow is low.

Moonee Creek: Tides and Paddling

Moonee Creek is a tidal tributary that flows into Moonee Beach at its southern end, where very strong tidal currents can occur. Access to the Moonee Creek Canoe Route is via Moonee Beach Road to the Council Reserve car park at the end of the road. Parking can be limited on weekends. Wajaana Yaam Gumbaynggirr Adventure Tours offers a tour that paddles downstream from a creek in the marine park to Moonee Beach. Tour locations and timing depend on the tides. For planning purposes, it is helpful to distinguish between the two: crossing the creek on the coastal walk requires low tide and low water flow, while the location and timing of the paddling tour depend on the tides.

Plan activities for your stay

When looking for a hotel for a trip to Moonee Beach, you can compare the planned scope of your activities. A single 7 km section, the 60 km coastal walk with a recommended duration of three to four days, and a paddling tour with tide-dependent locations and timings suit different travel plans. This makes it easier to decide exactly what you want to focus on during your stay.

Discover more destinations: Worrowing Heights, Medowie, Rankins Springs, Fingal Bay, Summer Island, Colyton, Grong Grong, Turondale

For the broader travel overview: New South Wales.