UFO Sightings in NSW: 13 Hotspots, Their Stories & Where to Look

New South Wales has some of the most talked-about UFO reports in Australia. A crowd on the Gosford foreshore, a grainy 1972 photo from the Blue Mountains, glowing orbs filmed over Byron Bay: the stories come from city parks, country highways and the far outback, and most of them lead back to a place you can stand in yourself.

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Below are 13 NSW places tied to reported UFO sightings, with what witnesses say they saw, the everyday explanations sceptics offer, and how to visit each one legally and safely. Every sighting here is a reported story or claim, not a confirmed event. We cover each place in more depth in our guide Supernatural Sydney.

A widely shared image linked to the Gosford case. It isn't a verified eyewitness photo.

1. Gosford Waterfront, Central Coast

The Gosford Waterfront on Brisbane Water is the setting for one of Australia's best-known mass UFO reports. Over a Christmas and New Year period in the mid-1990s, building to a peak on New Year's Eve, residents from Gosford, Point Frederick and around the bay towards Woy Woy called police about a large, shiny object over the water, with beams of light shining down and the surface frothing below. Police said they took dozens of calls. Sceptics suggest helicopters, searchlights or boats. The foreshore is public, open at all times and an easy walk from Gosford station.

2. Echo Point Lookout, Katoomba

The Blue Mountains have produced UFO reports since the early 1970s, and Echo Point Lookout is the place most tied to them. The case people quote is a 1972 photograph taken by a Mr Taylor in the Katoomba area, showing a glowing object over the valley, later published by mystery writer Rex Gilroy. Since then, walkers and drivers have described amber or white lights hovering silently over the Jamison and Grose valleys before shooting away. Echo Point is open year-round with paid parking, and it's walkable from Katoomba station. Nights get very cold and the cliffs are sheer, so stay behind the fences.

3. Hartley Valley

Just west of the Blue Mountains, between Mount Victoria and Lithgow, Hartley Valley is quiet farmland under very dark skies. On 19 May 1999, two witnesses reported a silent golden light moving up and down above a ridge and leaving a faint trail for about ten seconds, a report logged with the US-based National UFO Reporting Center. It's a small case, but a clearly described one. Most of the valley is private farmland, so watch only from public roads where it's safe to stop and from public areas of Hartley village. Hartley Historic Site makes a good daytime stop.

4. Prospect Reservoir, Western Sydney

On 14 July 2004, two motorists heading west on the Great Western Highway at Prospect reported an orange light sinking slowly over the distant Blue Mountains. In their words, it "looked like a meteor, but travelling so slow". The parklands around Prospect Reservoir, run by Sydney Water, are the easiest public place to take in the same western view. This one is a daytime visit: the picnic areas close at 6:30pm during daylight saving and 4:30pm the rest of the year, and the surrounding nature reserve is closed to the public. Never stop on the highway to watch the sky.

5. Parramatta River Foreshore

Parramatta has logged reports of hovering orbs for decades, with accounts said to date from 1993, 2014 and 2017. The best known is from 2014, when office workers described two glowing orbs above the CBD at twilight that seemed to drift against the wind. A few kilometres east, in July 2001, residents of Lidcombe and Auburn reported a huge, silent triangle with a white light at each corner passing low over their streets. The Parramatta River foreshore parks and paths are public and free, a few minutes' walk from Parramatta Station. Sceptics point to aircraft, drones and satellites.

6. Old Government House, Parramatta

For a very different take on UFO lore, head to Old Government House in Parramatta Park, part of the World Heritage-listed Australian Convict Sites. Colonial accounts retold in local lore describe moving lights over the early settlement, including a "bright moving star" said to have stopped above it in 1828, and "two balls of fire" reportedly seen by convicts by the river in the 1830s. The house is run by the National Trust and visited with tickets and guided tours from Thursday to Sunday; the wider park is public. This is Dharug Country.

7. Cherrybrook, Hills District

Cherrybrook is a leafy Hills District suburb with its own Metro station, and residents here have reported orange orbs over backyards and sports fields, silent triangles, and star-like points that suddenly dart about. There's no single famous case, just a long run of similar accounts from people who were outside at night and looked up. It's the most suburban stop on this list, so act like it: watch only from public parks and sports fields, stay out of school grounds after hours, keep torches out of people's yards and keep your voice down.

8. Cape Byron Lighthouse, Byron Bay

On mainland Australia's most easterly point, Cape Byron Lighthouse looks out over nothing but ocean and sky, which is why it turns up in so much footage of twilight "orbs". The biggest wave came in mid-2025, when a glowing, expanding orb was filmed from southern Queensland to Northern NSW; astronomers identified it as the sunlit exhaust plume of a Chinese Long March 8A rocket. Starlink satellite trains and re-entering space debris explain many other reports. NSW National Parks lists the lighthouse lawn as open 8am to sunset, with paid one-hour parking, so for after-dark viewing use the lower paths or beaches and check signage. This is Aboriginal Country.

9. Taree Region, Mid North Coast

Around the Manning Valley, farmers and rural families describe silent, lit-up objects hanging low over their paddocks. The most quoted story from the Taree region dates to 2007, when a farmer near Nabiac said a dark disc with three red and white lights hovered about 20 metres above his paddock for around two minutes before shooting off. Most of these places are private farms, so skywatch from public land only: riverside parks in Taree, public beaches and headlands, and designated rest areas. Don't stop on road shoulders or drive onto farm tracks.

10. Jervis Bay to Eden, South Coast

The coast from Jervis Bay to Eden is one of the most filmed stretches of sky in the country. The clip that put it on the map was shot at twilight around Jervis Bay: a bright core in a hazy halo, expanding silently over the ocean, later linked by sceptics to a sunlit rocket plume. Further south, people have filmed lights over Kiama, Ulladulla, Batemans Bay, Narooma and Eden, often satellite trains. Hyams Beach is an easy public place to watch from. Point Perpendicular and Honeymoon Bay are on Beecroft Peninsula, an active Defence weapons range open only at set times, so check before you go and never enter when it's closed.

11. Dubbo District, Central West

From the 1970s to the 2000s, drivers in the Dubbo district reported glowing discs and silent triangles flying at treetop height, sometimes pacing their cars for kilometres along the Mitchell Highway and backroads near Narromine, Geurie and Ballimore. Some said their headlights dimmed or their radios cut out. Sceptics suggest aircraft or distant farm lights. If you want to look for yourself, stop only at designated rest areas, town parks and lookouts well off the highway, never on the shoulder, and don't film while driving. Kangaroos and stock are common on these roads at night, and the land on either side is private farmland.

12. Australia Telescope Compact Array, Narrabri

About 25 km from Narrabri, CSIRO's Australia Telescope Compact Array lines up six giant radio dishes on the plains. It's a working research facility with a side story: in 2012, visitors on a night tour near the array reportedly watched a bright white orb move in short bursts, stop dead and shoot upward, and a late-1990s account tells of three lights in a triangle over the dishes. CSIRO never commented on either. The free visitors centre is open 8am to 5pm daily; the rest of the site is restricted, and visitors are asked to switch phones to aeroplane mode. For night skies, use public places around Narrabri.

13. Broken Hill, Far West

On the far western edge of the state, Broken Hill sits under some of the darkest skies in NSW. The town's best-known story dates to 1978, when mine workers changing shifts reportedly watched a humming silver disc with orange-white lights hover near Silverton Road before shooting off to the west. The best way to see the sky is with Outback Astronomy, which runs sky shows on clear nights about ten minutes out of town. Much of the surrounding land is station country or mining lease, and old shafts are dangerous, so stay on public land.

Planning Your Visit

Skywatching means being out at night, often in the country. A few rules keep it safe and keep landholders and rangers on side.

• Stay on public land. Watch from public lookouts, parks, beaches and designated rest areas. Many sighting areas are private farms, stations or homes: never enter paddocks, open gates or set up on private land.
• Park safely. Never stop on a highway shoulder or a bend to look at the sky. Pull completely off the road at a proper rest area or car park.
• Check hours and alerts. Some places close at night, including the Prospect Reservoir picnic areas and the Cape Byron Lighthouse lawn. Check NSW National Parks alerts before visiting a park, and Defence access times for Beecroft Peninsula.
• Know what you're looking at. Satellite trains, sunlit rocket plumes, bright planets, aircraft and drones explain most lights. A satellite-tracking app helps you rule them out.
• Go prepared. Bring warm layers, a torch, water and a charged phone. Reception is patchy in the country, so tell someone where you're going.
• Respect people and Country. Keep noise down, don't shine torches into homes or paddocks, respect Traditional Owners and wildlife, and leave no trace.
• Pick your night. Clear winter nights and a new moon give the darkest skies, well away from city light.

NSW UFO Sightings FAQs

What is the most famous UFO sighting in NSW?

The Gosford case from the mid-1990s is the best known, with a large crowd of residents and local police reporting an object beaming light into Brisbane Water. The 1972 photograph from the Katoomba area is the most quoted Blue Mountains case.

Where is the best place to watch for UFOs in NSW?

Anywhere public, safe and dark with a wide view of the sky. Echo Point in the Blue Mountains, the Cape Byron headland at twilight and an outback sky show at Broken Hill are all good options. Most lights you see will be satellites, planes or planets, which is part of the fun of working it out.

What were the glowing orbs over Northern NSW in 2025?

The glowing, expanding orb filmed from southern Queensland to Northern NSW in mid-2025 was identified by astronomers as the exhaust plume of a Chinese Long March 8A rocket, lit by the sun high above the darkened coast.

Can you visit UFO sighting sites in NSW?

Many are public places, like the Gosford foreshore, Echo Point and the Parramatta River parks. Others have rules: Prospect Reservoir's picnic areas close in the evening, the Compact Array is limited to its visitors centre, Beecroft Peninsula is Defence land with set opening times, and many rural sighting areas are private farms you should only view from public land.

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