Tuggerah Lake

Tuggerah Lake is a large coastal lagoon on the Central Coast of New South Wales about 90 km north of Sydney. Tuggerah Lake is connected with the sea through a tidal channel called The Entrance. It is also connected with two smaller lakes, Budgewoi Lake and Munmorah Lake.

Tuggerah Lake is generally quite shallow. The Wyong River empties into Tuggerah Lake. Wyrrabalong National Park borders the lake and the sea separating the residential areas of Toukley and The Entrance, and preserves the last significant littoral rainforest on the Central Coast. On the sea side of the peninsula is Norah Head and its historic lighthouse.

During 2004 and 2005 the Tuggerah Lakes Restoration project has been occurring to restore and revive the lake system. Urbanisation and development have caused increased nutrients to build up in the lake stimulating weed growth. Restoration work has focussed on inshore removal of weed and ooze; foreshore reclamation and reinstatement; pollutant traps; and channel dredging to increase the tidal exchange of water with the sea.

Urban areas

Tuggerah Lake as viewed from Craigie Park in Kanwal. The Entrance is also visible in the distant background.

The lakes and their surroundings form part of the Wyong Shire, the local government area.

Many towns surround the lake including, but not limited to,Lake Munmorah The Entrance, Berkeley Vale, Tumbi Umbi, Wyong, Kanwal, Gorokan and Toukley.

South of The Entrance is Long Jetty, so named for the jetty built to service the first sub-division of land at The Entrance. The original jetty was washed away in a flood at Easter 1927; the present structure replaced it, built in 1927-28 to a length of 1152ft (351m).

Long Jetty