Florence Head Walking Track NSW (6.3 km)
Morton National Park
Nearest Town
Milton-Ulladulla
Starting Location
Little Forest car park
Car park for the Little Forest Walking Track, Florence Head Walking Track and Rusden Head Walking Track
Finish Location
Little Forest car park
Florence Head Walking Track
The Florence Head walk starts off with the walk along the Little Forest walking Track but rather than turning around when the Little Forest Track intersects the fire trail you turn to the right and keep on going until you reach the Florence Head lookout at around the 3.1 km mark. The track surface varies from natural track through to metal mesh but there are no difficult areas on the track to negotiate. Having said that the fire trail grass is regularly slashed to maintain a fire break and as a result there are some very deep wheel ruts that you need to look out for so you don’t turn an ankle. The track gradient is fairly flat and towards the lookout there is a small climb before descending back down slightly.
There is no signage once you go past the start of the fire trail but there are also no turnoffs to negotiate either. You know you are getting close to the lookout as you start to gain views towards the coast on your left and the fire trail ends in dense bush with an obvious walking track off to the right. A short walk through some dense bush and you hit the rock that forms the cliff edge. Care should be taken here, or for that matter anytime you are walking near cliff edges.
To get to your final destination you need to drop into a small gully then negotiate a small climb up onto the final rock area that is the cliff edge. This does require a bit of scrambling but if you don’t feel like negotiating this last part of the track there are still some rewarding views to be had.
From here you can see down to the town of Ulladulla on the coast and you also have a clear view of the area’s best known feature Pigeon House Mountain. You can spend a fair amount of time exploring the cliff edge and if you look to the right you can see a small rock platform that would be a spectacular camping site (although you would need to bring water) that is easily accessible and takes you past a rock shelter to get there.
This track was a real surprise for me when I first did it as there is only an altitude change of 45 metres along the entire track so I was not expecting the specular views that we were rewarded with once we reached Florence Head. Similar views you get from Pigeon House Mountain require a fairly strenuous walk to achieve. One of the reasons this track is so good is that the vegetation changes, particularly on the first section of the track then merges into native heathland that is home to a large amount of birdlife. If you are a bird enthusiast this is an excellent walk, particularly in Spring and Autumn when the native heathland is flowering.
The whole trip will take a fit walker about 90 minutes but it is worth while taking some snacks or lunch and spend time taking in the views.
Start of track at the car park
Interpretive signage explaining what’s there. This signage is only on the first part of the trail which is the Little Forest Walking Track. Once you have come to the Florence Head turn off there is no more signage
Track example on the first part of the trail
Banksia in flower – Autumn
Although this trail is short, the vegetation changes a number of times along its length providing a good overview of the different types of Australian bush
End of the Little Forest walking Track. Turn right here and you will come across two additional signs for the trails to Florence Head and Rusden Head
Sign to walking trails. Turn right at this sign for Rusden Head or take the left fork towards Florence Head
Heath land along the trail
Tea Tree in flower
Trail example. Watch out for the occasional deep rut in the trail that may cause you to trip
Undergrowth along part of the trail
Lambertia formosa
Trail example near drop off. This dense bush will open out onto the cliff edge
View to Pigeon House from Florence Head
Sitting near the cliff edge look outwards towards Pigeon House Mountain
View to the ocean. The town of Ulladulla is clearly visible on the coast below
A very healthy Xanthorrhoea
Looking down from the cliff edge into the valley below
Getting There
Image from Google Maps showing how to get the the Little Forest car park
Travel north from Milton-Ulladulla and turn on to Porters Creek Road. Follow along Porters Creek Road until you come to Mt Bushwalker Road and follow the signs to the left for approximately 2.5 km. You will come to the service road first but keep on going for about 30 metres and you will come to the car park road. There is a sign just in along the turnoff road but it is partly overgrown.
The road is in good condition and suitable for non 4WD cars unless is has been raining very heavily
Highway turnoff onto Porters Creek Road
Google Maps will take you to this gate which is the maintenance road for this area. The turn off to the car park is 30 metres further on the left
This sign to the Little Forest Walking Track car park although partially obscured it is visible as you approach the turn off, you just need to look left. This car park is also the starting point for the walk to Florence Head and Rusden Head and also takes in the Little Forest Walking Track which is the first part of both the longer tracks
Disclaimer
This walk was undertaken by the team from Australian Hiker