Iluka Rainforest walking track

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A 2.5-2.6km one-way NPWS track through World Heritage-listed littoral rainforest between Long Street and Iluka Bluff picnic area, confirmed on the official NSW National Parks site.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

2.8 km

Est. time

43 min

Elevation gain

19 m

Route type

Point to point

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Iluka Nature Reserve, Northern Rivers. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

+ Add to tracks / plans

Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Euphorbia psammogetonDocumented on this trail

Euphorbia psammogeton

Endangered — NSW: Endangered▾

Endangered — NSW: Endangered

Euphorbia psammogeton, commonly known as sand spurge, is an Australian flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. The specific epithet derives from the Greek psammos (“sand”) and geiton (“neighbour”), alluding to the typical habitat.

How to spot it

E. psammogeton is a smooth, mat-forming, perennial herb, often with a woody rootstock. It has articulated, prostrate stems, growing to 35 cm or more. Its oblong to broadly elliptic leaves are 1–3 cm long and 0.5–1.5 cm wide, and asymmetric at the base. The tiny flower-heads are surrounded by white leaf-like bracts. Each flower-head consists of a female flower surrounded by up to five sets of tiny male flowers. The fruiting capsule is smooth and about 2 mm long. It flowers in spring/summer and fr

Family Euphorbiaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Euphorbia psammogeton

SophoraDocumented on this trail

Sophora tomentosa

Endangered — NSW: Endangered▾

Endangered — NSW: Endangered

Sophora is a genus of about 45 species of small trees and shrubs in the pea family Fabaceae. The species have a pantropical distribution. The generic name is derived from sophera, an Arabic name for a pea-flowered tree.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Iluka Nature Reserve (Atlas of Living Australia, 2019) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Fabaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Sophora

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 (Int)), collected by Nick Lambert

Broad-leaved Lilly Pilly

Syzygium hemilamprum

Littoral rainforest host tree▾

Littoral rainforest host tree

A large littoral rainforest tree of the northern NSW coast — Iluka Nature Reserve's own Wikipedia entry singles it out as the host tree for one of the reserve's strangler figs, growing in the reserve's red volcanic soils by the sea.

How to spot it

Broadly lance-shaped to elliptic glossy leaves; panicles of white flowers October-November; white, roughly spherical fruit 11-17mm across; older trunks develop flanged or buttressed reddish-brown bark. Reaches up to 35m.

Family Myrtaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Syzygium hemilamprum; Wikipedia: Iluka Nature Reserve

Photo: Peter Woodard (CC0) via Wikimedia Commons

Wildlife you might see on this trail

Animals confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Sooty Oystercatcher

Haematopus fuliginosus

Vulnerable — NSW: Vulnerable▾

Vulnerable — NSW: Vulnerable

The sooty oystercatcher is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird endemic to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. It prefers rocky coastlines, but will occasionally live in estuaries. All of its feathers are black. It has a red eye, eye ring and bill, and pink legs.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Iluka Nature Reserve (Atlas of Living Australia, 2021) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Haematopodidae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Sooty Oystercatcher

Little Tern

Sternula albifrons

Critically Endangered — AUS: Vulnerable, NSW: Endangered, VIC: Critically Endangered, WA: Migratory, Bonn: Listed, CAMBA: Listed, JAMBA: Listed, ROKAMBA: Listed▾

Critically Endangered — AUS: Vulnerable, NSW: Endangered, VIC: Critically Endangered, WA: Migratory, Bonn: Listed, CAMBA: Listed, JAMBA: Listed, ROKAMBA: Listed

The little tern is a small seabird of the family Laridae. It is widely distributed breeding on the coasts and inland waterways of Europe, Asia, north and west Africa, and eastern Australia. It winters in the subtropical and tropical oceans as far south as South Africa and Australia.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Iluka Nature Reserve (Atlas of Living Australia, 2021) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Laridae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Little Tern

Coastal Emu

Dromaius novaehollandiae (NSW North Coast population)

Endangered population (NSW TSC Act)▾

Endangered population (NSW TSC Act)

The isolated emu population of the NSW North Coast Bioregion and Port Stephens is listed as an endangered population by the NSW Government, cut off from inland emu populations by land clearing. Iluka Nature Reserve, within the Bundjalung World Heritage rainforest area, is known for this rare coastal population.

How to spot it

Australia's largest bird — a tall, flightless, shaggy brown-grey bird. In coastal NSW its presence at all is the notable sign, since the population is small and declining; look near reserve edges and adjoining heath/forest mosaics rather than deep rainforest.

Family Casuariidae · Source: Wikipedia: Emu; Wikipedia: Iluka Nature Reserve