Tomaree Coastal Walk Day 2 Big Rocky To Anna Bay

The Tomaree coastal walk is a mountain and coastal dune hike that starts at Shoal Bay and finishes at Anna bay. It is best done like most hikes along the east coast starting at the North and finishing at the south. This is because the sun is then always on your back for the majority of the hike.

https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/experiences/tomaree-coastal-walk

The hike is a mixture of naval World war 2 history mixed with significant sections of National Park and coastal viewing platforms. Different sections detail the history of the local Aborigines subsistence on the coastal dunes and surrounding Eucalypt Forest.

The hike is done typically over two days with a hard first day with significant climb and then an easier second day as you wind in and out of beaches and Headlands. To make the best of the hike doing the early part up Tomaree mountain to watch the dawn at the old radar tracking site would be best.

There are two ways that you can do this hike and after exploring it I recommend that if you are to do this hike over 2 days the best place to break the hike is Big Rocky carpark. This car park is best because it has a conventional car access point at the beach via a short gravel road. We chose to use two cars and park one at the finish and one at the start of each day.

If you were to overnight pack this hike I would suggest that you book accommodation at Samurai Beach which is just on from Big Rocky car park. National Parks New South Wales has the Tomaree track actually going up the four-wheel drive track into Samurai Beach. This is an extremely dangerous track for hikers given that it is a will used tough four-wheel drive sand track. You can book overnight camping at the NSW National park website.
For those planning to park a car at Shoal bay be aware that NSW has a very expensive car park option for most sites at the start of this event and that you will probably have to walk in from some distance to avoid this.

This days hike starts from Big Rocky car park which is accessed from the Gan Gan road. The initial stage progresses through the sand dune Hinterland before descending to a platform that overlooks Samurai Beach.

From the lookout you'll need to progress down the steep slope towards the sand. Note Samurai Beach is a nudist beach so expect to encounter some obstacles that may require avoidance. Note the signs clothing is optional.

Depending on the tides Samurai Beach is a long stretch of sand. At the connection point between Samurai beach and 1 mile beach the ajoining beach is Middle rock. Navigating this rock will present a challenge at high tide so you may have to juggle to start of the hike. There is a well worn trail higher up the rock face which you can relatively easily follow

After Middle Rock you move on to One Mile Beach which concludes just past a house that sits on the beach. From here you progress up onto the headland back into Tomaree National Park. At this point we did explore a number of Headland option tracks to closest view the magnificent coastline from this point.

Eventually the track descends to Boat Harbour. The track follows the backstreets around Boat Harbour which unfortunately in an area where there are no retail establishments as it would have been nice to have a break here.

The conclusion of the hike follows the trail along the rocky coastline towards Anna Bay. The hike concludes at the large car park that overlooks the long stretch of coastal dunes of Birubi Beach. This is situated at the end of James Patterson Street and is accessed just before entering Anna Bay from the Newcastle direction..

A much shorter day of the Tomaree Coastal walk. We really enjoyed the fantastic views across the rocky headlands. Hope you enjoy this trip as much as I did.