Boyds Tower walking track

In the mid-1800s, Scottish entrepreneur Benjamin Boyd sailed into Australian waters aboard a luxury yacht – and promptly started exploring. A national park on the Sapphire Coast was named after him, as well as the imposing Boyds Tower, which was originally built as a lighthouse but only ever used as a whale-watching lookout.

Glimpse this unexpected structure along a gentle 800m loop walk that reveals why Boyd was fascinated with this part of the NSW coast. Along your route, there are multiple lookouts to gaze over Twofold Bay, which is pretty whenever you visit but particularly enchanting during whale-watching season (June through November), when humpbacks perform ocean acrobatics in the company of resident dolphins.

While the official trail is short, you’ll want to make a day of it – bring a picnic lunch to enjoy in the informal picnic area.