The Bundeena Secret

Bundeena the village like suburb located on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia must be one of the best kept travel secrets down under. Stop someone in Sydney's busy city centre and ask them if they've heard of Bundeena and the majority of times they will give you a perplexed look or give you the Aussie line "Never heard of it mate!".

It's a wonder that this small coastal village which has four beautiful beaches on it's doorstep and is surrounded by thousands of acres of pristine bushland is still relatively unknown even to locals. Part of this is due to Bundeena's and its adjoining sister suburb Maianbar's isolated location to the rest of Sydney. As the crow flies it's only a few kilometres to the next suburb of Cronulla. However, those few kilometres are made up by the waters of the Port Hacking River which flows into the nearby Pacific Ocean.

Part of the charm of Bundeena is the journey there. From the southern edge of Sydney it's a 25 km drive through the Royal National Park which is the world's second oldest national park. The road is twisty and hilly as it weaves through the natural flora and fauna of the Australian bush. The Royal itself is a wonderful place to visit with lots of swimming holes and endless hiking trails. The other highly recommended way to get to Bundeena is by the ferry which runs from Cronulla just a short walk from the nearby train station. The vintage ferry boat with its bright green and yellow trim and wood bench seat takes you back to the early days of the last century. The ride across the Port Hacking is about twenty minutes and sometimes one is lucky enough to spot a whale or dolphin during the journey.

Upon arrival in Bundeena one sees that while it's small in size it's big in natural beauty. The face of the town is focused around its numerous beaches. The main beach is Horderns which the main street shops adjoin. Next door to Horderns is the "locals" beach called Gunyah. It's rockier but is a great snorkelling spot and is where the locals gather to escape the tourist crowds. A short walk west of Horderns is Bonnie Vale which is part of the Royal National Park. It requires an entrance fee to be paid but has many shaded areas as well as camping, picnic tables and barbeque facilities. At the eastern end of town is Jibbon beach which is also part of the Royal but doesn't require a fee. Jibbon is a gorgeous beach and is quite popular with boaties in summer who moor off of it. Jibbon is also the start of a 26 km coastal walk which passes through beautiful seaside cliffs as well as Aboriginal rock engravings.

In addition to its natural beauty Bundeena and its sister suburb Maianbar are home to a large number of well renowned artists. There are So many in fact that they open their studio doors monthly to the public in what is known as the Art Trail. On the same day other local artisans also host Bundeena Markets by the Sea next to the ferry wharf where they sell a variety of handmade crafts.

If you believe in the saying "nice things come in small packages" then you won't be disappointed with a trip to Bundeena.