Bundjalung National Park, Nature reserve in Richmond Valley, Australia.
Bundjalung National Park is a 210-square-kilometre national park on the north coast of New South Wales, between Iluka and Evans Head. It protects coastal plain, heathland and beaches; at the northern end, coffee rock formations appear on the sand. Along the Iluka peninsula, closely spaced headlands form small crescent beaches with wave-cut rock platforms and rock pools.
The Bundjalung people lived across this coastal area for thousands of years before European settlers arrived in the 19th century. The land was placed under protection during the 20th century to preserve parts of the original coastal landscape.
The park takes its name from the Bundjalung people, whose traditional country this land has always been. In places along the coast, shell middens left by generations of Bundjalung people remain visible at the surface.
The reserve can be entered from several points, so it helps to check in advance which entry is closest to the area you want to explore. A national park day pass is required in some sections, and it can be purchased online or on arrival.
The north-eastern section of the park is an exclusion zone used by the RAAF as an active bombing range, restricted to the public. It has served as a target-practice training facility since World War II, predating the park's gazettal, and has kept a large area relatively untouched by human interference.
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