Iconic Wedding Cake Rock in Bundeena likely to collapse at any time, deemed ‘unstable’

SYDNEY is about to lose one of its most iconic Instagram hot spots, with fears it could collapse without warning.

IT EARNED its name from its unusual shape and smooth, white surface.

But the very things that make Wedding Cake Rock, south of Sydney, so picturesque could be what bring about its downfall — literally.

The much-Instagrammed rock in Bundeena has been closed to the public with new research revealing it is likely to collapse in the next 10 years.

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has carried out a geotechnical investigation on the picture-postcard spot, concluding it was unstable and was likely to collapse into the sea without warning.

Visitors do their thing at the iconic Wedding Cake Rock. Picture: Instagram

“Usually when you get a geotechnical assessment, you’ll get a probability of something happening within the next thousand years,” NPWS regional manager Gary Dunnett told the ABC.

“To get one back telling you that collapse is likely within a decade is really unusual.

“It’s very much a testimony to the unusual nature of the rock at wedding cake which of course is also its attraction.”

The service said it investigated the site because of how popular it had become for people performing jaw-dropping stunts on its edge.

French male model Fabien Ardoin died last year when he fell off the rock while bushwalking with friends.

It’s not the first time a natural tourist site has risked collapse for being a bit too popular.

The iconic London Bridge rock formation along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road suddenly collapsed in 1990 – while two tourists were walking along it.

The pair needed to be rescued by helicopter when they became stranded on the outer span of the bridge-shaped formation.

Renamed the London Arch, this is what remains of the London Bridge rock formation today. Picture: Tourism Victoria