The Boneyard, Kiama: Australia’s Giant’s Causeway

We’ve found the twin brother of Northern Ireland’s Giant Causeway in Australia! The Boneyard – also called Bombo Headland Geological Site or Bombo Quarry – is in New South Wales, near the pretty coastal town of Kiama and along the Princes Highway, making it a perfect road trip stop.

What is the Boneyard?

Officially called Bombo Headland Quarry Geological Site, it’s a former quarry that was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 1999. The exposed volcanic cliff face, crashed by powerful waves, is a spectacular sight!

Both the rock formations, the colors and textures impressed us. But if that wouldn’t have been enough, the waves crashing over the basalt columns created fascinating waterfalls. “The Boneyard Falls.”

You find isolated basalt columns, about 5 meters in height, standing on the coast between the north and south parts of the quarry, surrounded by lower columns at places. The result is a rock formation that’s similar to the famous Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Except that this one somehow didn’t get very famous.

We admired the astonishing formation surrounded only by a handful of people, each of us several hundred meters away from each other. Because this place is large.

How to find the Boneyard?

see the paths in orange from the two parking areas

The Boneyard is located on the Bombo Headland and is part of the 22 km long Kiama Coast Walk. If you road trip the south coast of New South Wales, it’s an easy addition to your route – and a very memorable one.

There are two free parking lots at Bombo Headland, connected by a path along the railway. One is closer to the quarry, but we recommend parking in the other one, located closer to Boneyard Beach. From there you can do a hike all around Bombo Headland (~3.8 km), and it’s truly worth it.

Hike around the Bombo Headland

Boneyard Beach

So park your car along the road in the designated spaces at the end of Cliff Drive, then head towards Boneyard Beach. It’s a nice, protected beach with relatively shallow water. Unlike most beaches in Australia, it’s a pebbly beach, backed up by a few trees to give shade.

The bay has a beautiful turquoise color, and it’s a pretty beach for a summer day, but the real highlight for us on Bombo Headland was not Boneyard Beach. It was the basalt rock formations.

Take the trail around the Bombo peninsula

We started walking around the headland. Instead of keeping to the main path, we walked on the rock platform by the ocean. Likely it’s not accessible at high tide, but if you happen to be there at low tide, it’s the route I recommend. We found an impressive basalt wall at the northern edge of Bombo Headland – our first taste of what awaits.

When reaching the northern edge, this rock platform ends. You can either return to the main path the same way you came, but you can also climb onto the rocks at the end, they end up joining the main trail, too.

Bombo Headland Lookout

The main trail then takes you to the Headland Lookout where you get your first view of the Boneyard. Even in the world of Instagram, I somehow managed not to see any pictures of this place previously, so I stood there in awe. We’ve seen wonderful basalt rock formations on our travels before, still the Boneyard knocked us off our feet the moment we saw it.

Then we continued our way back on the southern part of the small loop in the northern headland area. It offers several viewpoints with amazing views of the Boneyard from above! Very few people know about it, they mostly stick to the quarry itself – which deserves a visit, but these viewpoints do, too.

Get down to the Boneyard

There’s a staircase under construction that will connect this northern headland loop to the Boneyard. Since it was still not open when we visited, we took the path along the railway, then turned on the road that took us around the wastewater treatment plant (that area is obviously closed to the public), ending at the Boneyard.

Explore the Boneyard

The Boneyard is quite large, but there’s no designated trail. You can walk among the rocks, all the way from the southern end to the northern edge of the quarry. You can climb onto the rocks, too, but be very careful, especially as you get closer to the water. Waves are really big and powerful, you don’t want to risk being swept away by them. Admire them from a safe distance.

It takes at least an hour to explore the Boneyard (and take pictures), and it’s another hour or two to do the rest of the headland trail.

Where to go for the best views of Bombo Quarry?

The Bombo Headland Lookout and the viewpoints along the ridge of the hill on the northern part of the headland give excellent bird eye view of the quarry.

Bombo Headland Lookout

Down in the Boneyard, search for the viewpoint at the southern edge that gives you a frontal view of the waves crashing over the tallest basalt columns. This is the typical “Boneyard Falls view” as the waterfall effect is the most perfect from this viewpoint. No dangerous cliff climbing is required, it’s easy to walk there, and it’s a safe spot, well above the water.

Close to the northern part of the quarry, there’s a canyon filled with seawater. Waves are spectacular here, too, just like the basalt formations.

Other than that, just take your time, walk around. The magic lies in exploring the hidden corners for yourself.

Best time to photograph the Boneyard

Since it’s on the east coast, lights are the most ideal at sunrise and early in the morning from the best viewpoints. You can take nice pictures looking from the coast towards the ocean later in the day.

Boneyard Falls can only be photographed early in the morning, otherwise it will be in the shade (like in my picture).

Other places to visit along the Kiama Coast Walk

Kiama is a great day trip destination from Sydney, and an excellent place to add to any New South Wales road trip. Bombo Headland and the Boneyard are not the only sights to impress, there are quite a few more.

Cathedral Rocks

The fabulous basalt rock formations of the Cathedral Rocks can be found just south of Jones Beach, and you can access them from the southern end of the beach at low tide.

Walk on the rocky plateau, climb on the rocks for elevated view, find the little cave, marvel at crystal clear tidal pools and watch the waves crashing into the majestic Cathedral Rocks. The hard volcanic rocks here have been eroded over millions of years, and nature turns out to be a very talented sculptor this time, as well.

Allow at least an hour to walk here and look around, it’s not a 10 minute roadside stop. But it’s only a few minutes drive away from Bombo Headland, in Kiama Downs.

Kiama Blowhole

How about a geyser on the coast of Australia? Okay, Kiama Blowhole is not actually a geyser, but reminded us of one.

Water shoots up from the 2.5 meters opening in the rock face if the swell is right. We saw a shooting every few minutes, ranging from a few meters to 10 meters, but they say it could even be 30 meters if all conditions are met.

There are multiple accessible viewing platforms, so the Kiama Blowhole can be seen from several vantage points. You find plenty of parking on the peninsula, along with a nice walking trail, lighthouse, toilets and picnic benches.

Little Blowhole

Little Blowhole is on the next peninsula south of “the” Blowhole, and we liked it even more. While the Blowhole is one of the rare touristy spots on the south coast, barely anyone knows about the Little Blowhole – or they don’t bother visiting.

It’s hidden in a residential area, the small parking lot and viewing area is just off Tingira Crescent. But the Little Blowhole can get just as impressive as its larger sibling, and it’s more consistent.

Minnamurra Lookout

Minnamurra Headland is the starting point of the Kiama Coast Walk. It can be a 10 minute stop, but the area is so beautiful that you might get tempted for a picnic.

The paved and flat walking path takes you from the parking lot to the Minnamurra Lookout, with a fantastic view of the Minnamurra River estuary. Whales can often be spotted here between May and October.