A week-day morning in Munmorah State Conservation Area and fisherman are strung along the rock shelf beneath Wybung Head casting baited lines into the turquoise water. Swell surges and foams against the coast and the sound of the ocean carries up to us as we search along the headland cliff-line for a track down to the long platform of rock below. The view south, from high on the bluff, takes in 8km long Birdie Beach with Budgewoi and Norah Head lighthouse in the distance and Bird Island Nature Reserve sitting offshore.
But, to the north, we can see a more varied, rugged coastline; a series of bluffs and sandy beaches, wide rock shelves and boulder strewn bays snaking around to Snapper Point. This is the direction we intend exploring, picking our way along the littoral to our finish point at Catherine Hill Bay. We are searching for some of the spectacular coastal features that are the secret behind this section of coast's protected status. We just have to get down off this cliff.
