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Cape Hawke lookout

Booti Booti National Park

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Overview

Just five minutes from Forster, the Cape Hawke lookout offers spectacular views along the coast from the top of a dedicated tower, perfect for whale watching.

Type
Lookouts
Where
Booti Booti National Park in North Coast
Entry fees
Park entry fees apply
What to
bring
Drinking water, hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, sturdy shoes, binoculars

Positioned right at the northern end of the national park, this superb lookout is worth every step of the 500m hike through regenerating littoral rainforest. Pull on your walking shoes and bring some binoculars and a camera – after approximately 420 steps you’ll reach an 8.4m tower with stunning views of the surrounding area.

There’s Booti Booti to the south, and Wallingat National Park beyond and slightly to the west. On a clear day you can even see as far as Barrington Tops and Crowdy Bay National Park.

Birdwatching is wonderful year-round here, with pelicans and terns in great abundance, but winter holds an extra special surprise – whales break the surface of the sea, blowing water, and there’s no better place to watch them in their annual migration.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Also see

  • The view from McBrides Beach walking track as it exits to McBrides Beach. Photo: Brett Cann

    McBrides Beach walking track

    Take a short stroll down McBrides Beach walking track to reach remote and picturesque McBrides Beach, the perfect spot for an oceanside picnic.

  • McBrides Beach is located at the end of McBrides walking track. Credit: Stephen Smith © DPIE

    McBrides Beach

    Picnic by the ocean at picturesque McBrides Beach in Booti Booti National Park, 10mins from Forster. Reach this idyllic spot with a short stroll down McBrides Beach walking track.

 

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A family walk a boardwalk section of Bouddi coastal walk, Bouddi National Park. Photo: John Spencer/OEH.

 

Saving Our Species program

Australia is home to more than 500,000 animal and plant species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. Saving our Species is a statewide conservation program that addresses the growing number of Australian animals and Australian native plants facing extinction.

Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in a tree. Photo: Courtesy of Taronga Zoo/OEH

General enquiries

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Park info

  • in Booti Booti National Park in the North Coast region

  • Booti Booti National Park is always open but may have to close at times due to poor weather or fire danger.

  • Park entry fees:

    $8 per vehicle per day. Day passes are available from the Manning Great Lakes Area Office, Bulahdelah Visitor Information Centre and the Hawks Nest Newsagency.

    Buy annual pass
See more visitor info

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