Type

Picnic areas

Where

Budawang National Park in South Coast, Country NSW

Please note

• The Budawangs is a declared wilderness area and to protect the environment there are some restrictions on group sizes, firewood use and camping locations, including camping in rock overhangs. 
• A permit is needed to camp at Cooyoyo Creek over the Easter and October long weekends.

An entrance to Budawang National Park but much more besides, Long Gully picnic area is your first glimpse of the wilderness within. Facilities are basic, but all you need for a terrific picnic is a packed lunch and an appreciation for nature. This is a remote and secluded spot for people wanting to break away from civilisation for a day. The nearby campground lets you stretch it out to a long weekend if you’d prefer.

Settle down beneath a blackbutt tree and watch the wallabies go by, foraging in the undergrowth. Bring a ball and take advantage of the open space beside Yadboro River.

This is also a good jumping-off point for the advanced hiking opportunities into the Budawangs area of Morton National Park, including the Castle; the trail leaves from here. Day walks in the national park should only be attempted by well-equipped, experienced walkers. Don’t forget to tell somebody where you’re going.

For directions, safety and practical information, see visitor info

Visitor info

Maps and downloads

Learn more

A natural haven

Budawang National Park supports a wide variety of trees and plants, so budding naturalists will find much of interest here. The eastern slopes of the range contain tall eucalypt forests, temperate rainforest, and several threatened species. There are Budawang ash and pinkwoods as well.

Old stock routes

Once European settlers arrived, early exploration of the area concentrated on finding routes across the rugged escarpment country to link the tablelands and coast. Many of the ancient Aboriginal pathways became an important part of the early bridle trail network used for movement of stock. One of these was Wog Wog track, which was used to move cattle from Braidwood to the coast.

Rare plant refuge

High up, on the summits of Mount Budawang and Currockbilly Mountain, you'll find the last refuge of the critically endangered Budawang wallaby grass. This rare plant doesn't grow anywhere else in the world, and has been declared an Asset of Intergenerational Significance, giving it extra legal protections. With such a small population remaining in the wild, this threatened grass species is at risk from catastrophic fire events and, in particular, human disturbance. Help us secure this native species for future generations by cleaning your walking shoes before you visit to avoid introducing invasive weeds and pathogens like deadly Phytophthora cinnamomi, and stay on tracks to avoid trampling seedlings, damaging exposed roots and fragile soils.

Volcanic foundations

Southern Budawang Range is formed on Devonian sediments that were uplifted to form the Budawang Synclinorium. Volcanic rock on the slopes slowly transforms into fertile soil that supports the varied ecosystems of tall moist forest and rainforest. The altitude range in the park is more than 800 metres, though two peaks in the park - Mount Budawang and Currockbilly Mountain - rise to over 1,100m above sea level.