It’s easy to find good sunrise spots in Jervis Bay - as almost all beaches face east - however, if you’re not an early riser it can be harder to find a great place to watch the sunset. Happily, Hole in the Wall Beach offers just that - an incredible sunset spot, and you rarely have to share with anyone else.
It’s just a short walk to this magical calm bay and if you pick a windless evening at low tide, the water and sand mirror the sky. Add to that the cool rock feature that is Hole in the Wall and you have one of the best short walks in Jervis Bay.
Tips for visiting the Hole in the Wall
Watch for the tides
You can visit the beach at the Hole in the Wall at any time of day, but how close you can get to the rock formation depends on the tides (if you don’t want to wade across that is!).
If you want to be able to walk across the beach the whole way you want to visit a couple of hours either side of low tide.
At other times you’ll have to wade a little through shallow water, or considerably deeper water if the tide is very high.
The bay is quite secluded, so it does tend to have calm water though, which makes it easier going if you are visiting when it’s not low tide.
Climbing onto the rock formation is easy as there’s almost a natural step half way up.
The walking track
The walk to Hole in the Wall Beach is very easy, it’s only 440m (each way) along the well maintained trail to the beach.
The track is sandy, though it’s always covered with a few twigs and bits of debris, so it’s fine in flip flops, but might be a bit more uncomfortable barefoot.
The track descends gently for around half the distance before it flattens and brings you out to a picnic bench on the grass just before the beach.
Reaching the actual Hole in the Wall rock formation requires walking for another 300m across the sand.
Going for sunset
Although you could also visit the Hole in the Wall at sunrise, when the sun would rise close to the rock formation, we prefer the novelty of being able to watch sunset from an NSW beach!
The sun does drop behind the hill slightly earlier than the actual sunset time, so it’s best to go a little earlier than you might otherwise.
Though the sun will set in the opposite direction to the rock formation, if you get a colourful sky it will wrap around and you’ll still get some great colour and soft light behind the Hole in the Wall itself.
Another great sunset spot nearby
If you’re in the area for more than one night, Scottish Rocks - the beach next door to the Hole in the Wall - also offers a gorgeous sunset view.
The walk is as easy and in fact very similar to the Hole in the Wall Track and the beach is also very quiet.
You can watch the sun dip into the bay, and the rocks themselves make for a great place to sit and relax if you don’t have a picnic blanket with you. It’s worth noting there is more beach to explore at low tide and some of the rocks will be covered at high tide.
We were lucky enough to see dolphins here which is not uncommon - this goes for Hole in the Wall Beach too - so keep a look out!
The Booderee National Park entry fee
The walk to the Hole in the Wall falls into the fee zone for the Booderee National Park. Currently that fee is $20 for a vehicle to enter the park for one day. However, depending on the time of year if you are only entering the park for sunset then you don’t need to pay the entry fee as there won’t be anyone at the booth.
If you are going to be visiting for the day, there are concessions and annual passes available and as prices will no doubt change over time, you can see the current rates here.
Getting to the trailhead for the Hole in the Wall
The walk to Hole in the Wall Beach begins at the Hole in the Wall car park in Booderee National Park.
It’s around 18km and a 20 minute drive from Huskisson and 37km and a 40 minute drive from Nowra. It’s just under three hours from Sydney CBD.
There aren’t any facilities at the trailhead, but as you drive into the national park you’ll pass the visitor centre which has toilets (during the hours of operation).
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