The Jibbon Beach Loop Track is an easy walking trail that starts at the Bundeena ferry wharf and goes to Jibbon Head, Port Hacking Point, and Shelley Beach.
Enjoy panoramic ocean views and discover well-preserved Aboriginal engravings as you explore this beautiful area in the Royal National Park.
| Jibbon Beach Loop Track | |
|---|---|
| Distance: | 5km (circuit) |
| Duration: | 2 hours |
| Grade: | Easy |
| Dogs: | Not allowed |
Getting There
In the Royal National Park, follow Bundeena Drive all the way to Bundeena, where (limited) street parking is available.
Parking your car anywhere in the centre of town will be close enough to the start of the walk at the western end of Jibbon Beach (see map location).
Parking in the Royal National Park is $12 for the whole day, although parking in Bundeena means you don’t need to pay that entrance fee as it falls outside the national park boundaries.
Alternatively, you can catch a train to Cronulla and hop on a ferry to Bundeena. Check the ferry timetable for more details and prices. Note that this is a private ferry service, so you can’t use the Opal card.
Track Notes
The Jibbon Beach Loop is a relatively easy walk, suitable for all ages and fitness levels. The most challenging part is the section along the beach, where you’ll have to walk on sand for a bit.
Besides that, it’s a pretty straightforward hike, and the path is easy to follow from start to finish.
Map
The Jibbon Loop Track officially starts at the western end of Jibbon Beach. The easiest way to get there is via Loftus Street from the Bundeena ferry wharf. This is a short walk through suburban Bundeena.
Here is a map of the walk:
Jibbon Beach
Jibbon Beach is a beautiful 700-metre long, north-facing strip of sand located east of Bundeena village and facing the waters of Port Hacking.
The name Jibbon is derived from the Aboriginal (Tharawal or Dharawal) word “djeebahn”, which roughly translates to “sandbar at low tide”.
The Tharawal people were the original inhabitants of the southern and south-western Sydney area, from Botany Bay and Port Hacking to the Shoalhaven River in the Nowra area, extending west to Campbelltown and Camden.
Swimming is great at Jibbon Beach, but be mindful that no surf life-saving services are offered there, and it can get quite windy sometimes.
The water is also quite deep, a few metres out, which is why you will see many boats anchored there on warm and sunny days. Surfing is virtually impossible at Jibbon Beach.
Aboriginal Engravings
Keep following the beach’s shoreline until you get to Jibbon Head, where you can do a side trail to visit an Aboriginal engravings site.
An extensive boardwalk with a viewing platform has been installed above the engravings, offering visitors an excellent overview of the whole site with all the drawings.
Dating back 2,000 years, the Jibbon engravings are an impressive display of respect the Tharawal people had for the land and the animals they shared it with.
Little Jibbon Beach
Once you’ve reached the end of the boardwalk, you can start seeing the first glimpses of beautiful Little Jibbon Beach below.
Feel free to head down to have a look around, or even go for a swim, but be mindful that this is an unofficial nude beach.
If that’s not your thing, it’s best to go for a swim at Jibbon Beach or Shelley Beach.
Shelley Beach
From Little Jibbon Beach and the boardwalk, continue on the main track to Port Hacking Point, where you can enjoy panoramic views of Cronulla and the city in the north and the ocean right in front of you.
The Jibbon Loop Track then follows the shoreline southbound until it arrives at Shelley Beach. This is a great spot to have a break, eat lunch, and enjoy the scenic views over the ocean.
From Shelley Beach, the path intersects with the Jibbon Track (see below) and continues back to Jibbon Beach via a short bush trail. This part of the track is fenced to keep deer out, which helps to protect the more vulnerable wildlife.
There are two gates to enter the path through this area: one at the Shelley Beach end and the other at the Jibbon Beach end.
Jibbon Track
At Shelley Beach, the Jibbon Beach loop track intersects with the Jibbon Track, and these two walking trails often get mixed up.
The Jibbon Track passes Jibbon Lagoon and leads to Beachcomber Avenue in the southern part of Bundeena.
That is where you will find the starting point of the Royal National Park Coast Track and the walking trail to Wedding Cake Rock.
Would you like to visit more great beaches like Jibbon Beach? Check out our list of beautiful beaches in the Royal National Park for a complete guide.
Last updated: August 23, 2024
Do we need to worry about the tides? How high does the water get, can we always walk on the shore? Thanks.
Hi Agha, no need to worry about the tides for this particular walk.