Northern Rivers- 2016

Bundjalung National Park is located between Iluka in the south and Evans Head in the north. Containing unique and significant areas of coastal plain, heathland, rainforest and isolated beaches, the area is extremely diverse, supporting a great variety of flora and fauna.

Concept designs have been prepared in consultation with Mackenzie Pronk Architects and National Parks and Wildlife Service with an aim to provide a framework for a sustainable future for the Bundjalung National Park Woody Head and Blackrocks campgrounds, over the following decades.

Woody Head Campground is situated within the Bundjalung National Park at Woody Head, north of Iluka.

Surrounded by remnant subtropical rainforest and a protected sandy beach, the site has a 60s municipal character and features retro cottages and cabins – beach ‘shacks’ which have been frequented by families for decades.

The campground is a popular destination for day users and family holiday campers, offering a variety of accommodation opportunities, a boat ramp, and a selection of picnic spots, beaches, rock platforms, creeks and trails.

Key strategies and solutions include:

– Preserve identity as family recreational destination and campground with 60s retro character
– Improve existing campsites and public spaces with native landscaping and new suite of elements and materials palette which reflects the site identity and character
– Improve sense of place reflecting environmental, historical and cultural meanings through integration of interpretive information with built fabric and landscape elements
– New luxury hilltop eco-cabins
– New amenities and facilities to meet campsite expansion
– New boardwalk along the reinforced sea wall linking the between the boat ramp and Woody Head Beach.

Black Rocks presents as a uniquely remote site while being within easy reach of Evans Head and Iluka.

Situated on Ten Mile Beach, and adjacent to Jerusalem Creek in the Bundjalung National Park, the Black Rocks landscape is combination of dry sclerophyll, littoral rain forest, low sandy marsh land and undulating frontal dunes.

The area is a popular destination for day visitors and family holiday campers, with a variety of walking tracks, creeks, picturesque wetlands, and the Pacific Ocean. Popular activities include picnics, walking, mountain bike riding, swimming, kayaking, surfing, fishing, bird watching and whale watching.

Key strategies and solutions include:

– Preserve identity as niche remote coastal bush campground
– Create entry experience with new pull-in bay and signage
– Separation of day use and camping areas, relocating day use area to the north of the site, and rationalising roads, car parking and trails
– Formalise beach and river access points and provide relocatable boardwalk and stairs, and viewing platforms
– Improve existing campsites with native landscaping, new BBQ’s, robust timber picnic tables & seats, and timber site identification bollards and signage
– Improve sense of place reflecting the unique coastal environment, indigenous connections, and sand/ gold-mining/ logging history

* Illustrations by Neil Mackenzie