Location & Description

Bungan Beach and Headland Reserves (incorporating Betty Morrison Reserve) are located on the south-eastern extremity of the Barrenjoey Peninsula.  The beach is 600m long, running in a south east direction between Bungan Headland to the north and Mona Vale Headland to the south.  A single bar runs the length of the beach with two strong rips against the rocks at either end and two or three shifting rips along the beach.  Rock platforms at the northern and southern end of Bungan Beach are Intertidal Protected Areas (IPA’s).

• View on Location Map

Environmental Projects in the Area

• Bushcare Volunteer Group

Walking Tracks & Access

Public access to Bungan Beach Reserve is from pathways and steps at Myola Road to the north, and Beach Road from the west.  These access corridors also serve as driveways to private lots overlooking the beach reserve.  The Myola Road access currently exists as a 3 metre wide bitumen and concrete driveway with steps and handrails on the eastern side.

A number of walking tracks are located in the reserve primarily providing access to the beach.

Plants

Three broad vegetation types are described and mapped for Bungan Beach and Bungan Head Reserve:

• Coastal Scrub
• Cliff-Face Open-Heath
• Coastal Closed-Heath

Animals

Fauna habitats in the area include Coastal Scrub, Beach and Rock Platforms which provide a range of habitat resources for native fauna.  The range of reptiles and small birds (e.g. Yellow-faced Whip snake and Eastern Whipbird), indicates the reserves’ importance for providing habitat to species which are scarce or missing from residential areas.

Significant animals which have been sited in the reserves include:

• Perameles nasuta (Long-nosed Bandicoot)
• Falco perigrinus (Peregrine Falcon)
• Ninox strenua (Powerful Owl)

Special Features

• Bungan Beach is one of the most undeveloped of Pittwater's ocean beaches and has a wild and unspoiled character that is highly valued by the community, particularly the rugged beauty of the cliff areas
• A natural bushland reserve adjoins the dunes and beach without roadway or car park interruptions
• Limited access gives visitors to Bungan a remote experience feeling
• The dramatic coastal scenery of Bungan is a great attraction for sight-seers, bush walkers, beach-goers and local residents and is occasionally used as a setting for commercial film making and photography
• The reserves support a range of coastal bushland types, including significant areas of Coastal Scrub, Cliff Face Open Heath and Coastal Closed Heath communities.  These vegetation communities are regionally significant as they do not occur in either Ku-ringai Chase or Garigal National Parks and have only a limited distribution within the Pittwater Council area.  Small pockets of Littoral Rainforest are also present
• The reserves have an important function as habitat for rare plants and the locally significant Allocasuarina verticillata
• The rock platforms at each end of the beach support significant ecosystems and are Intertidal Protected Areas where all collecting is prohibited.  These areas are significant because they provide refuges for breeding populations of invertebrate animals.  These communities may reproduce and populate adjoining areas.  Rock platforms have also been the site of fossil discovery
• Bungan Beach Reserve has recreational values, providing opportunities for activities such as swimming, surfing, sunbathing, bush walking and fishing in a scenic, secluded and natural setting
• The beach is patrolled by volunteers of the Bungan Beach Surf Club during the swimming season.  Local residents of Bungan have, for many years, been actively involved in managing and conserving the beach and reserve.  A bush regeneration program has been underway for many years led by local volunteers, the Friends of Bungan.

Related Info

• View on Location Map
• To find out more about Bungan Headland, Bungan Beach and Betty Morrison Reserves, download the Plan of Management
• Find out more about Pittwater's amazing Vegetation Communities
• See the native animal species lists for Pittwater
• Pittwater's Littoral Rainforest Brochure (PDF)