Deua National Park
Deua National Park is a national park primarily in the Eurobodalla region of New South Wales. The 1,220-square-kilometre (470 sq mi) park contains many important rainforests of regional significance, including pinkwood and eucalyptus.
Get in
Use Araluen Road up from Moruya until you reach the park. From there, follow the various trail markings.
Fees and permits
Deua National Park is free to access, but you will need to pay a $6 booking fee if you're staying at a campground.
See and do
The Big Hole
The Big Hole Track is perhaps the most important thing in Deua NP and sets the fineline between choosing to visit this park or not. The 4-km return bushwalk passes through 🌍 The Big Hole, the location of what could have been one of southeastern NSW's most humorising 19th-century stories.
During 1862, reckless explorer Boxall used saplings, rope, and a candle – little did he know that he would eventually fall into a 96-metre (315 ft). What he'd landed in was thought to be over 400 million years old – such open-air caves are in fact rare to find, and who knew reckless behaviour could've lead to a geological marvel?
Try and allow between one and two hours for the trek. Although it is only a mere four kilometers, you will need to cross the Shoalhaven River (be prepared to get your gumboots wet!), and if you're that kind of person who loves to have picnics along the way, there are various spots to do so.
Other points of interests
- 🌍 Bendethera Cave. A limestone cave that are accessible via the 4.8-km Bendethera Cave Track from Bendethera Valley campground. The location is not astoundingly obvious, but there will be an information panel plus an open-air hole – if you've found both of those at the same location, then you're at the cave.
Buy, eat, and drink
The park has no stores, cafes, kiosks, restaurants, bars – you name it! You will need to bring all supplies with you.
Sleep
You can generally visit Deua on a day-trip from the various seaside towns in Eurobodalla. However, for elegant campers, not to worry, there are six campgrounds within the park. All of them are free, but a booking fee of $6 applies.
- 🌍 Bendethera Valley campground, Bendethera Camp Trail, Deua. One of the park's more remote campgrounds that is suitable for large groups in the Bendethera Valley. The campground is a good base for a few trails, including the one that leads to Bendethera Cave.
- 🌍 Berlang campground, 3883 Cooma Rd, Krawarree (Berlang Campground Rd). Another small campground with 10 campsites by the Shoalhaven River. All campsites are unmarked and unpowered; you will also need to walk a tad bit from the river to the campground, but you really wouldn't want your tent to become wet and muddy, would you?
- Bakers Flat campground.
- Deua River campgrounds.
- Dry Creek campground.
- Wyanbene campground.
Go next
Although Deua NP is very close to the Snowy Mountains, it is only as the crow flies – a drive to the Snowies will take over two hours, which is not long from a general New South Wales perspective, but it's only a two-hour drive to the very edge of the region, meaning you'll need to drive another extra hour or two in order to actually visit the region's main tourist attractions. Either way, it's likely not your first destination to go next.
However, a more reasonable destination to go next is the many coastal beachside towns in the Eurobodalla region. Moruya is just at the base of the park, whilst Tuross Head, Mogo, and Batemans Bay aren't too far away either.