Iluka Nature Reserve
Iluka Nature Reserve covers 136 hectares and protects the largest remaining stand of littoral rainforest in New South Wales. The rainforest grows next to the beach and is a rich and diverse ecosystem adapted to a harsh environment of salt-laden winds and poor soils.
Strangler figs, vines, ferns and epiphytes are characteristic of this type of rainforest and are home to more than 140 species of birds.
The nature reserve has a 2.5km walking track. From the north, the walk follows the back of the protective sand dunes, passing Tuckeroo and Banksia trees. From the south the walk passes beneath the tall forest canopy dominated by Riberry and Broad-leaved Lilly Pilly trees.
If you walk quietly you may hear the sharp crack of a whip bird or see the brightly coloured noisy pitta foraging in the leaf litter for snails. The reserve is particularly noted for three species, the white-eared monarch for whom Iluka is its southern most occurrences and the barred cuckoo shrike, a rare species in the northern NSW and the coastal Emu.
The walk can be accessed at either end of the reserve. Allow around one and a half hours to walk the length of the track one way. The walking track is easy grade and can be accessed by a wheelchair.
Iluka Bluff picnic area provides picnic facilities for day use. Gas barbecues are located further north along Iluka Road at Shark Bay picnic area.
Parts of the Iluka area have been dedicated as public reserves for recreation and protection of the rainforest since 1916. In the early 1960s the rainforest was the centre of one of the first major conflicts between conservation and sand-mining interests. This was resolved in 1964 when the state government decided against granting mining leases over most of the rainforest, although surrounding areas were mined. In 1976, following considerable public pressure, the area was dedicated as a nature reserve and was listed in 1986 as a World Heritage Area.
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Phone: 02 6641 1500 Fax: 02 6643 5569 |
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