Paddling in Biamanga National Park

Biamanga National Park sits on the New South Wales South Coast, roughly 20 kilometres from Bega, where the ranges drop toward the Tasman Sea.

The park's water is shaped by that geography: granite-country creeks and cascades in the uplands, and quieter coastal water where the land flattens near the shore.

The park map marks a canoe and kayak route, so paddling is a recognised activity here, not an afterthought. Cuttagee Lake is the flatwater anchor of the paddling in the park.

It is the kind of sheltered coastal water suited to touring and exploring at a relaxed pace, with the park's unmodified coastal foothill habitat close at hand.

Pipeclay Creek feeds into that coastal system and gives paddlers a narrower, more intimate passage through the landscape — the sort of water where an azure kingfisher is as likely to be seen as any other feature on the trip.

Mumbulla Creek runs through the upland section of the park, feeding Mumbulla Falls, a sacred site for the Yuin People.

The Aboriginal custodians ask that visitors do not swim in the Mumbulla Falls area, and that request extends to how you move through that part of the park.

Biamanga is jointly managed by local Aboriginal people and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, and that relationship shapes the terms of any visit — check with NPWS for current access conditions before you put in.

The park's creeks run through granite gorge country fed by natural springs, which means water levels can vary with rainfall.

Plan accordingly, and carry the park map: the canoe and kayak route marked on it is the clearest guide to where you're expected to be on the water.