The walk out to Tin City through the extraordinary Worimi Conservation Lands is probably one of the most fun ‘trails’ we’ve done in a long time. The walk begins with what looks like an impossibly steep climb up a dune and from here the landscape feels wild and untouched. You’re surrounded by nothing but sand dunes as far as the eye can see, and unlike the more trafficked parts of Worimi, there will be no foot prints but those you leave behind.
Once you’ve crested a couple of dunes you will see Tin City: a series of homemade shacks that feel like something out of the American Wild West. It’s quiet, but for the sound of rolling waves and the odd gust of wind. An atmospheric place indeed.
Here’s everything you need to know about the walk to Tin City.
The Tin City Walk
The stats
Distance: 5.6km return (which includes walking the full fire trail)
Elevation gain: 120m
Difficulty: Easy - moderate
Trailhead: Boyce’s Trail, Nelson Bay Road
Summary: At time of writing, the gate across Boyces fire trail (from Nelson Bay Road) is closed. This means you have just over 1.4km to walk on a pleasant fire trail before you reach the dunes. It’s mainly flat, so it’s no great hardship if you arrive to find the gate is still closed.
The hardest bit of the walk is the initial short, but ultra steep climb up a dune to access the main sand dunes. It can be a ‘two steps forward, one step backwards’ affair, but it only take a few minutes of perseverance to climb.
After this the rest of the sand dune walking is far less steep and often flat or downhill - you can pick the lines that look easiest to you and there’s always a more circuitous route around any steep peaks.
The distance walking in the dunes is approximately 1.4km, though it could end up being a little less if you took the steeper most direct route.
Once you’re in the dunes it’s obviously very exposed to the elements, so you’ll feel it on a hot or windy day. You should carry an offline map or GPS, as it is easy to lose your bearings in the dunes.
Starting the trail
As mentioned, there is a gate in front of the Boyces fire trail leading to the dunes access point. If it’s open for you, you can skip this first part of the walk. The road is unsealed and a touch rough in places, but fine for most cars. The fire trail ends at a turning circle where you could park.
Alternatively, if it’s closed as it was for us, the first 1.45km of the track are on a mostly shady fire trail. The first 450m are flat and then there’s a short 150m hill, before it flattens or gently descends. The fire trail condition is good and there are no slippery sections.
Throughout much of the fire trail you’ll be able to hear waves in the distance, which adds to the atmosphere and there is pretty bush on both sides of the road.
The view at the turning circle is fantastic. The road abruptly stops and you’ll see an impossibly steep dune ahead of you. The fact that this is your route feels wild!
Ascending to the dunes
The climb up the dune is very short, but you will find that the ground below you sinks with each step and drifts downhill, which makes it a bit harder than an ordinary hill!
When I first saw the dune I wondered if it would be too steep for me to climb, but then I remembered I’d climbed a near identical looking dune on a hike in Fiji. The only difference was that the Fijian dune had a sign that said ‘go up this way’ beside it!
The Fijian hike
View from the top of the dune on the Tin City Walk
After climbing up the dune, which only takes a few minutes, you are in a whole other world.
The dunes are expansive and they were clean of all traces of human life - quite different to the closest sand dunes to Anna Bay.
It immediately felt pristine and untouched, almost unnervingly so, as we didn’t know how long it would take to reach Tin City and we happened to pick a very hot day!
It’s actually not long before you get your first view of Tin City in the distance, so definitely soak up those untouched views while you can.
Crossing the dunes
Tin City lies to the left (south-east) of the top of the first sand dune and how you get there would likely differ every time. We recommend putting in the co-ordinates for Tiny City (-32.8069566, 151.9607645) and then head through the dunes along the route that looks best to you.
There are a couple of dunes to go up and over, but none are really steep and there is always a shallower route to take if preferred.
The only really steep dune you have to climb is that first one. We tended to take a somewhat circuitous route by opting for the shallower lines.
You do lose a sense of perception when in the dunes, so at times we thought a dune was shallow and only when standing at the edge saw that it was actually very steep.
This is particularly the case when wearing sunglasses, which chances are you will be in this bright landscape!
The scenery is breathtaking throughout the entire route, though as you near Tin City there’s plenty of evidence of people around. It’s not long into walking along the dunes that you can see the sea and get your first glimpse of Tin City in the distance.
You’ll arrive there 2.8km after leaving the car park, assuming you walked the fire trail.
A note on visiting Tin City
It’s worth noting that the shacks at Tin City are sometimes occupied, so out of respect it’s best not to touch anything or get too close to the houses. Please treat it in the same way you would any other residential area.
If you have a permit, you can also visit by 4WD (driving from Anna Bay), but we would highly recommending walking instead.
The walk is stunning and feels like the appropriate way to arrive, adding to the atmospheric feel of the place.
Tin City
As you approach Tin City there’s a little bit of scrub, a few desert flowers and then 11 shacks, some of which are partially buried by the shifting sand!
It has a real Wild West feel and it’s easy to see why it was picked as a filming location for Mad Max. But it’s not a film set, it’s a living community of people who prefer to spend at least part of their time fully off grid!
The settlement at Tin City began as two shacks, rising to 36 and now stands at 11. The shacks are not owned, but are sometimes occupied and can be passed on to friends and family, but not sold.
It’s a fascinating place and made for one of the more unique walks we’ve done in a long time. Our favourite of the huts was the one on the very far left which was about 1/3 buried by sand on one side!
Though I loved our day time visit, I think visiting at sunset would be pretty incredible. We visited the main Anna Bay sand dunes at sunset and it was a magical time to be there, maybe that’s one for next time!
Finding your way back
As there are no landmarks on the trail, unless you plan on following your footprints, we recommend using the co-ordinates for the fire trail to help guide you back. Otherwise it can be pretty hard to find the exact spot to return to as the sand dunes all begin to look the same!
The co-ordinates for the turning circle at the fire trail are: -32.8045718, 151.9496862. Put this into your offline map and then make your way back through the sand dunes to the fire trail.
Parking for the Tin City Walk
Assuming the gate across the fire trail is closed, there is room for a couple of cars to park in spots which don’t block the fire trail. If they are taken (which would be unlikely!) there is a large layby on the other side of the road a few metres back, but it does require crossing the highway. You can see where to park here on Google maps.
The parking area is 22.5km and a 18 minute drive from Nelson Bay and 15km and a 15 minute drive from Anna Bay.
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