Mooney Mooney · AU

Spectacle Island Nature Reserve

Spectacle Island Nature Reserve is a small, protected island sitting in the Hawkesbury River about a kilometre south-east of Mooney Mooney, on the northern edge of Sydney. Created in May 1972 and covering roughly 36 hectares, it is one of a family of island sanctuaries—alongside Lion Island and Long Island—that guard the quiet coves and sandstone shores of the lower Hawkesbury estuary. The island is valued as much for its natural science as its scenery. Hawkesbury sandstone rises into steep, wind-sculpted cliffs, fringed by tidal mudflats, grey mangroves and saltmarsh, while 128 recorded plant species shift with aspect, soil and distance from the water. Signs of long Aboriginal occupancy, including shell midden deposits, add cultural depth to the landscape. The most important thing to know before you go: to protect its fragile environment, access to Spectacle Island is currently restricted to approved research and cultural activities only, and penalties apply for landing without permission. It is therefore a place to encounter from the surrounding water and from nearby open headlands—a sanctuary you look at, paddle past and learn about, rather than a park you walk through.