Myall Lakes National Park Overview

With 10,000 hectares of lake, 40km of beach, and walking tracks through a variety of ecosystems, Myall Lakes National Park has a lot to offer visitors. There are only two major vehicular access points to the area (with honesty boxes where visitors can pay the $7 vehicle entry fee): one from the south through Tea Gardens and the other from the north at Bulahdelah.

Located at Bombah Point, the office of the Ecopoint Myall Shores Resort , right before the ferry crossing, rents canoes ($20 first hr., $5 every hr. thereafter), bikes ($10 per hr.), and outboards ($65 per 2hr.). It also sells petrol. Facilities include BBQ, laundry, store, pool, and restaurant. (☎02 4997 4495; www.myallshores.com.au. Powered sites $30-45; cabins $150-450. MC/V.) Paved Mungo Brush Rd. begins at Tea Gardens and runs 25km along the coast to the park’s south edge, passing eight campgrounds. One of these is Mungo Brush , with easy access to the powerful surf. (☎1800 112 234; www.sealrockscampingreserve.com.au. Sites $20-28, powered $22-32; cabins $95-115. MC/V.)

The northern entrance is accessible through Bulahdelah, 83km north of Newcastle on the Pacific Hwy. The Bulahdelah Visitors Centre, at the corner of Pacific Hwy. and Crawford St., serves as the park’s only “interpretive center.” (☎02 4997 4981. Open M-F 9am-4pm, Sa-Su 9am-3pm.) Pick up the free Great Lakes National Parks Visitors Guide, with a map and campsite information. To enter the park itself, take the semi-paved Bombah Point Rd. out of Bulahdelah. Beware of reckless cars, caravans, and boat tugs as you drive. Bombah Point Rd. eventually becomes Lakes Rd., which runs into Bombah Point, a center of activity for both Myall Lakes and Bombah Broadwater. A vehicle ferry connects the northern Bombah Point Rd. with the southern Mungo Brush area of the park (5min.; every 30min. 8am-6pm; $2). A third access point, leading to the very northern tip of the park, is found in Bungwahl on the The Lakes Way, 30km east of Bulahdelah and 34km south of Forster.