Things to do in Cooranbong, NSW

The best things to do in Cooranbong, NSW, include the South Sea Islands Museum and the Monkey Face Lookout in Watagans National Park.

Cooranbong, New South Wales, is one of those towns you pass through on the way to somewhere else. Technically part of the City of Lake Macquarie, Cooranbong is on the Pacific Motorway. You’ll drive through on the Sydney to Newcastle leg of the drive from Sydney to Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Byron Bay or the Gold Coast.

Things to do in Cooranbong, NSW: South Sea Islands Museum

There are a few things to do in Cooranbong, however. The South Sea Islands Museum is perhaps unexpected, but this quirky cultural attraction brings together artefacts from the Pacific Islands. These include spears, wooden masks and war canoes.

It’s only when you realise that Cooranbong is largely a Seventh Day Adventist town that the South Sea Islands Museum starts to make sense. The artefacts have been brought back over the years by Adventist missionaries.

Things to do in Cooranbong, NSW: Watagans National Park

Otherwise, the main highlight in Cooranbong is Watagans National Park, a portion of which falls within Cooranbong’s boundaries.

There are several good lookouts and walking tracks within the Watagans National Park. Most trailheads are accessible in a conventional two wheel drive vehicle, but double check with locals after heavy rain.

Cooranbong attractions: Gap Creek waterfall and Monkey Face Lookout

On the flipside, the Gap Creek waterfall is more impressive after heavy rains. Follow the walking trail there, and you’ve got a good chance of seeing crimson rosellas, king parrots and lyrebirds along the way.

The Monkey Face Lookout, down a slightly dicey unsealed track branching off the Mount Faulk Road, is a good alternative. You can see out over the Martinsville Valley to the south, and Lake Macquarie to the east.

Walking in Watagans National Park near Cooranbong, NSW. Photo courtesy of Destination NSW.

Watagans National Park walks

Good walks in Watagans National Park include the 0.6k Circuit Walking Track. Surrounded by rainforest, this short but testing walk is a great one for seeing birdlife.

The Watagans section of the Great North Walk also passes through the national park. That’s 10km one way, and should take two to three hours.

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