Ourimbah Accommodation, Hotels, Tours & Information

Ourimbah

Oranges might dominate the central coast town of Ourimbah these days, but the land on which the groves now stand once supported prolific stands of blue gum and blackbutt. In fact the milling of timber to support a Sydney building boom between 1850 and 1870 led to the original settlement of Blue Gum Flat challenging Gosford for commercial leadership.

As the timber thinned, however, so too did Blue Gum Flat's prominence. Citrus fruit has restored the fortunes of Ourimbah, which is within easy driving distance of the Gosford region's myriad aquatic playgrounds and the Australian Reptile Park.

The area is also richly endowed with coastal reserves conserved in national and forest parkland. Ourimbah"s contribution to that bush wonderland is the Forest of Tranquility Rainforest and Bird Sanctuary.

Ourimbah is the southernmost boundary for a number of Australia sub-tropical rainforest species and most of them are represented and identified in the Forest of Tranquility which is set in a secluded valley off Creek Road. The forest hosts a wide range of native wildlife including bellbirds, bower birds, brush turkeys, catbirds, king parrots, lyrebirds, whipbirds and wombats.