Historical Australian Towns: The great North Walk: Sydney To Newcastle, NSW

The Great North Walk is a 270.4-km walk from Sydney to Newcastle. Generally considered a challenging route, through bush, suburbs and the coast, it takes an average of 76 h 12 min to complete.

The entire walk from Sydney to Newcastle takes between 8 and 14 days to complete and is well sign-posted. Individual sections can be completed as day walks.

The Great North Walk starts in Macquarie Place, Sydney (near Sydney Cove). Macquarie Place was established in 1810 as Sydney's original "town square".

Walk a series of connected tracks through Lane Cove National Park, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, Brisbane Water National Park and Watagan State Forest.

The walk was created in 1988 to celebrate Australia's bicentennial year.

Obelisk in Macquarie Place, Sydney, NSW, erected in 1818

1 Sydney to Boronia Park, 2.5 hours, 6 km.
2 Boronia Park to North Ryde, 2.75 hours, 7.2 km.
3 North Ryde Fairlands Circuit, 2.5 hours, 6.9 km.
4 Roseville to Macquarie Park, 3.5 hours, 8.8 km.
5 Macquarie Park to Thornleigh, 4.5 hours, 11.5 km.
6 Thornleigh to Hornsby, 4 hours, 10.2 km
7 Hornsby to Galston Gorge, 3.5 hours, 8.2 km
8 Galston Gorge to Mt Kuring-gai, 5.5 hours, 12.6 km
9 Mt Kuring-gai to Berowra, 4.25 hours, 9.7 km
10 Berowra to Berowra Waters, 2.75 hours, 5.7 km
11 Berowra Waters to Cowan, 3.5 hours, 7.2 km
12 Cowan to Brooklyn, 5.5 hours, 13.4 km
13 Patonga to Wondabyne, 7.5 hours, 19.5 km
14 Wondabyne to Mooney Mooney Creek trackhead, 4.25 hours, 10 km
15 Mooney Mooney Creek Trackhead to Somersby, 6 hours, 16.1 km
16 Somersby to Ourimbah Valley Trackhead, 2.5 hours, 6 km
17 Ourimbah Valley Trackhead to Greta Road, 5.5 hours, 15 km
18 Brumble Hill Dray Track Greta Road to Yarramalong, 2.75 hours, 5.6 km
19 Yarramalong to Cedar Brush, 3.5 hours, 11 km
20 Cedar Brush to Basin Campsite, 4.5 hours, 9.7 km
21 Basin Campsite to Watagan Creek Road, 6 hours, 13 km
22 Watagan Creek Road to Flat Rock Lookout, 2 hours, 4.1 km
23 Flat Rock Lookout to Congewai Valley East trackhead, 5 hours, 13.8 km
24 Congewai Valley East trackhead to Watagan HQ, 7 hours, 17.1 km
25 Watagan HQ to Heaton Lookout, 4 hours, 8.1 km
26 Heaton Lookout to Heaton Gap, 2 hours, 4.3 km
27 Heaton Gap to Teralba, 6 hours, 14.8 km
28 Teralba to Charlestown, 4.5 hours, 13.3 km
29 Charlestown to Merewether, 2.75 hours, 7.9 km
30 Merewether to Newcastle, 1.5 hours, 4.4 km

THE GREAT NORTH WALK OVERVIEW

The walk officially begins in Macquarie Place, going through Hunters Hill, with its many heritage homes, to the Lane Cove River. Then follow the river into the Lane Cove National Park to Thornleigh, then along Berowra Creek. The track continues into the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, coming to Brooklyn on the Hawkesbury River.

Hunter's Hill, Great North Walk, NSW

City views, Great North Walk, Sydney, NSW

The Great North Walk passes through Lane Cove National Park, NSW

Boronia Park has a rich cultural history that includes Aboriginal and European heritage items. The registered Aboriginal archaeological sites include axe-grinding grooves, rock engravings, hand stencils, middens, shelters with art, burial sites and wells. An area called the Field of Mars Common was set aside by Governor King in 1804 for the use of the local community. Items of European cultural and historical significance in Boronia Park include the grandstand, horse trough, hand hewn sandstone in the Brickmakers Creek Wetland and the broad arrow marking for the Field of Mars Common survey. There are also remnants of past infrastructure onsite, including the site of the former wharf at Princes Street for produce transport, site of the tannery and the remains of a boatman’s cottage.

Boronia Park to North Ryde, Great North Walk, NSW

Berowra Waters Aboriginal Engraving: (33° 35′ 49″S, 151° 7′ 32″E) on the Great North Walk track, NSW

Crossing the river by train or boat, the walk then continues north through Brisbane Water National Park and the Ourimbah Valley, then reaching the Watagan State Forest.

Further north, the track turns east to the Brunkerville area, following the Myall Range for some time before coming to Teralba, on the southern fringes of Newcastle. Continue on the track to the official finishing point in Newcastle.

Direction, The Great North Walk, NSW

The section of the Great North Walk begins near Somersby General Store and continues north into the Jilliby State Conservation Area

Jerusalem Bay track, from Cowan Station to Hawkesbury River, near Brooklyn, NSW (Great North Walk)

Girrakool Loop tracks, Great North Walk, NSW

Girrakool rock art, NSW

There are designated camp sites along the way, however some have no available water supply.

Booking is required for most sites and if you plan to stay at a Crown Land campground you need to fill out a reservation form.

View Aboriginal rock art along the way.

Some parts of the walk are challenging, while others are easy.

The great North Walk: Sydney To Newcastle, NSW

Great North Walk: Watagan Creek Road to Flat Rock, NSW

Wheel from the coal railway. This part of the Great North Walk begins at a park in Charlestown, NSW, continues though bush reserves and along a Burwood Beach, past the heads to Merewether Beach, Glenrock lagoon on the Yuelarbah Track, including the Leichhardt’s Lookout