Daytripper: 52 great days out in the Sydney area
By Simon Webster
Simon Webster is a Sydney-based journalist whose daytrip reviews have appeared weekly in the Sun Herald since 2006. Truth is I never read Sun Herald. And I’m not based in Sydney. But this book was found on my first day of 2011 in some clearance sale and it cost me 1 AUD only.
Most importantly, it will not be brought back to SG definitely (I rarely buy books and if I do, I make sure I can discard them away unless I really like it). I have already decided whom to pass this book to in hope it will be more useful to the intended recipient. Haha.
So I’m going through the book and listing his daytrips. Note that I did not verify if the notes are valid currently. I may do so if I make my next trip to Sydney (if I ever) and intend to embark on the suggested daytrips.
1. Visit Australian Reptile Park
Hmm the book mentioned feeding of Eric the crocodile. Unfortunately it had died on 30th June 2007 (there was a disclaimer in the book too). Funny though he had displayed the same behavior as Rex the crocodile that I met in Sydney Wildlife World. Both had killed 2 of the female crocodiles whom they were supposed to mate. I find that a tad too cruel to reject the female’s affection. Sigh.
While you are there, author suggested the following:
- Brisbane Water National Park has fantastic views of the Hawkesbury River, plus wildflowers and accessible Aboriginal engravings (www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au)
-Horse riding at Glenworth Valley Horse Riding… hmm dependable
- Explore the Yarramalong and Dooralong valleys (maize maze, lavender farm, macadamia farm, more horseriding)
- Fishing on the Central Coast (www.visitcentralcoast.com.au)
- Climb 96 steps of Norah Head Lighthouse which run on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am till 1.30pm and on Tuesdays and Fridays during the school holidays.
How to get there: 1 hr 30 mins from Central to Gosford by train, followed by a 15 minute taxi ride (20-30 AUD). If you produce a taxi docket you’ll get 25 percent off the entry price.
Website: www.reptilepark.com.au
2. Fairfield City Farm – skipped as not interested
3. Shark Feed Extreme @ Oceanworld Manly – visited
4. Taronga Zoo – visited when I was young but I hope to do a repeat visit again because one never gets bored re-visiting the zoo right?
5. Sydney Wildlife World – visited
6. Sydney Fish Market – visited
7. Cronulla Cruises Eco-tour – don’t sound interesting.
Website: www.cronullacruises.com
8. Maritime Museum – passed by
9. Watsons Bay – visited
10. Riverboat Postman – interesting.
The riverboat postman has been delivering mail up the Hawkesbury since 1910. The 45-km return trip to Milson Island takes 4 hours and along the way, you get to see dolphin, jellyfish, and eagles.
While you are there, author suggested the following:
- Head down to Sydney’s wildest national park, Ku-ring-gai Chase. There’s Aboriginal rock art, heaps of bushwalking, beaches and possible the best view in Sydney, from West Head.
- Island hope to Dangar Island where cars are banned and the residents keep wheelbarrows at the ferry wharf to get their shopping home.
- Head upriver. Hire a houseboat and head up the Hawkesbury for a weekend
- Pat a python in the Australian Reptile Park, 30 km up the road from Brooklyn.
How to get there?
1 hour by train from Central
Website: www.hawkesbury.net.au
11. Middle Harbour Forts - Not very interested hmm.. But you can consider if you are at Taronga Zoo I think.
Website: www.harbourtrust.gov.au
12. Vaucluse House - also not interested...
Website: www.hht.net.au
13. Callan park
- Interesting park. It has been aiding the recovery of the mentally ill since 1876. The facility followed the Kirkbride Plan, a theory of 'moral treatment' named after US psychologist Thomas Kirkbride, in which the mentally ill were houesd in comfortable, elegant buildings and given access to large grounds in which to exercise, work and enjoy nature.
- There's a little Italy within walking distance.
- Go to their farmers' market in the grounds of Orange Grove School on Balmain Road, Lilyfield, held every Saturday.
Website: www.callanpark.com
14. Quarantine Station
- scare yourself silly with all the ghost rumours. Australian Ghost Hunters Society loves this place.
- Try the self-guided Heart of Manly Heritage Walk that circumnavigates the Corso and offers heaps of historical facts about the town (www.manlytourism.com.au)
Website: www.q-station.com.au
15. Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
- The Ku-ring-gai people lived from Port Jackson to beyond Brisbane Water. 'Ku-ring-gai' means 'land of the kooris'. Among the Ku-ring-gai language group, the Carigal inhabited the land at West Head.
Website: www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au
16. Bells Line of Road
- Interesting to find the Big Fruit Bowl at Bilpin which is a 2-metre high fibreglass bowl, containing a big apple, a big banana, a big passionfruit, a big mandarin and some big cherries, and was built in the early 1970s by the late John Kenny, who ran the roadside store when it was called the Big Apple.
- Mount Tomah Botanic garden, 12 km west of Bilpin
- Take a stroll. Pierces Pass, 10 km before the town of Bell is the starting point for the easy Walls Lookout track or the more difficult Blue Gum Forest Walk (www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au)
Website: www.hawkesburytourism.com.au
17. The Source of Middle Harbour Creek - hmm not interested
Website: www.sainty.com.au
18. Blue Mountains Walkabout - visited when young
19. Olympic Park – visited
20. Bondi to Bronte
- Hmm it would be fun to do a guided walk via MP3. The whole Bondi to Coogee walk takes about 2 hours and you can keep going all the way to Maroubra.
- Bondi Markets (www.bondimarkets.com.au)
Website: www.selfguidedwalkingtours.com
21. Harbour Circle Walk
- 26 km walk sounds fun. About 7.5 hours that covers Anzac Bridge to Pyrmont with secret backstreet sandstone cliffs to Observatory Hill and over the Harbour Bridge, Luna Park and Lavender Bay. There are about 7 bridges which include Gladesville Bridge and Iron Cove Bridge.
- Climb a pylon while you are at the Harbour Bridge.
Website: www.planning.nsw.gov.au/harbour/walking.asp
22. Bradman Museum - not interested
- Morton Park for bushwalking (www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au)
Website: www.bradman.org.au
23. Pylon Lookout
- Drop by Rocks Discovery Museum, built in an old andstone warehouse, has archaeological finds, nteractive displays and talkign mannequins, covering life in The Rocks from when it was Cadigal land to the present day. (www.rocksdiscoverymuseum.com.au)
Website: www.pylonlookout.com.au
24. May Gibbs’ Nutcote
- Not that interested but can drop by to visit the Mary Mackillop Place Museum, which is Australia's first saint (in 2010, I remember I was in Melbourne constantly hearing the news). 10 min ride from Central to Milsons Point followed by a 20 min walk or a 15 min ferry ride from Circular Quay to Neutral Bay wharf followed by a 5 min walk
Website: www.maygibbs.com.au
25. Sydney Architecture Walk
- Sydney has always had an east-west divide. George Street follows the freshwater Tank Stream, the old dividing line. East of it was for officers; west for convicts.
- Museum of Sydney which is included in the Sydney Architecture Walk fee.
- Underground tours of the Tank Stream
- the freshwater stream that made Sydney Cove so desirable
- take place twice a year, with places awared by ballot (www.hht.net.au)
Website: www.sydneyarchitecture.org
26. Norman Lindsay’s Springwood - Not that interested
Website: www.normanlindsay.com.au
27. Sydney Observatory
- Observatory Hill is the highest point in Sydney. I want to be up there too!
- Go to market. More than 150 stalls take over the northern end of George Street from 10 am to 5 pm every Saturday and Sunday.
How to get there?
It's a short walk from The Rocks
Website: www.sydneyobservatory.com.au
28. Cabramatta gourmet Safari - Seems like a little Vietnam to me
- visit Freedom Plaza. Bronze lions and a marble and teak gateway called Pai Lau, a monument to democracy and freedom, mark the entrance to this pedestrian area where one can find statues that represent symbols of the Chinese zodiac.
- go to the Cabramatta's Whitlam Library, designed by renowned but controversial modernist architect Harry Seidler.
Website: www.gourmetsafaris.com.au
29. Lakemba Mosque - Very Islamic feel
How to get there?
A half-hour train ride from Central followed by a 10 min walk to the mosque
30. Chinese Garden of Friendship - passed by but did not visit
31. La Perouse
- a traditional home of the Dharawal people, named after a French explorer, Jean-Francois de Galaup, le Comte de la Perouse.
- Tours of Bare Island. Try scuba diving for Port Jackson sharks, weedy seadragons and nudibranches.
How to get there?
45 min bus ride from Central
Website: www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au
32. Nan Tien Temple
- the biggest Buddhist temple in the souther hemisphere, Nan Tien opened in 1995 after the City of Wollongong sold 10 hectares to Buddhist sect Fo Guang Shan for $1. Fo Guang Buddhism follows the Chinese Mahayana tradition, which states that Buddhahood is within everyone's reach.
Followers aim for 'humanistic Buddhism' - they strive to bring Buddhism into their daily lives.
"Wake from your ignorance and delusion: grasp the essence of life. Stop searching outside: find the treasures in your mind." - venerable Master Hsing Yun
- skydive (www.skydivethebeach.com)
- 2.5 hour tour of Port Kembla Steelworks that take place most Wednesday and Friday mornings (www.aiw.org.au)
- Mount Keira has a spectacular views of the steel city and its dramatic coastline, in a panorama stretching as far north as the Kurnell oil refineries in southern Sydney and as far south as Jervis Bay.
How to get there?
2.5 hours by train from Central to Unanderra and then a bus to Berkeley
Website: www.nantien.org.au
33. Parramatta - Well I stayed there for a few days so obviously I did visit it haha
34. Botanic Gardens - Very pretty indeed!
35. Camden History Walk
- A free self-guided tour of Camden's historic buildings is available from Camden visitor information centre, Camden Valley Way, Elderslie or from the website.
- visit Mount Annan Botanic Gardens, Australia's biggest botanic garden and almost 50,000 specimens (www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au)
How to get there?
1 hr 40 mins by train from Central to Campbelltown then bus to Camden. A car is handy for exploring the countryside around Camden though.
Website: www.camden.nsw.gov.au
36. Cremorne Point Foreshore Walk
- follows sandstone clifftops and passes through remnants of red gum and angophora forest. It takes a couple of hours to walk the loop that starts at Cremorne Point wharf.
- You can try swimming at the MacCallum Pool. Note it is closed once a week either Thursday or Friday.
Tip: To stay on the ferry for a free cruise around Mosman Bay with its magnificent waterfront houses. The ferry stops at South Mosman, Old Cremorne and Mosman Bay before turning around and heading back to Circular Quay by the same route. You can get off at Cremorne Point on the way back.
How to get there?
10 mins by ferry from Circular Quay
Website: www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/www/html/22570cremorne-point-foreshore-walk.asp
37. Camperdown Cemetery - I would love to visit this place.
20 mins from central by bus, or by train to Newtown followed by a 5 min walk.
Website: www.ssdec.nsw.edu.au/history/camperdown/index.html
38. Balmain History Walk
- Another walk haha. I guess when you completed all the 52 items, you would have turned into a fit person too.
How to get there?
15 min ferry ride from Circular Quay or 15 min bus ride from the city.
39. Model Park - A visit to Lilliput I suppose. Unsure.
- Follow the Nepean lookout signs from Mulgoa village (10 min drive north of Luddenham) and you'll come to the Rock lookout with sensational views of the Nepean Gorge.
How to get there?
Luddenham is a 50 min drive from the CBD
40. Airside Tarmac Tours - would be interesting I guess except the cost hmm
41. Weird Sydney - seems pretty costly too.
Start and end at Kings Cross, an 8 min train ride from Central or a 10 min bus ride from Circular Quay or a 20 min walk from the CBD.
Website: www.destinytours.com.au
- Alternatively you can download 'Passion', a self-guided walking tour of Kings Cross at www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
- And it is interesting to spell Woolloomooloo. Remember sheep-poo-cow-poo; Wool-loo-moo-loo. Hahaha. Anyway take a walk down Woolloomooloo Wharf.
42. Thirlmere Flyer
- would be interested to just take a photo of the steam engine locomotive I guess.
- Take a look at the NSW Rail & Transport Museum if you really took the train from Central to Thirlmere, in the Southern Highlands. Afterall it is a short walk from Thirlmere train station and entry is included in your ticket. (www.nswrtm.org)
- Thirlmere Flyer runs on the third Sunday of the month, May to October.
There is also a Thirlmere Country Market (9am-3pm) next to the train station to coincide with the Flyer.
Website: www.heritageexpress.com.au
43. Penrith Museum of Fire
- Guided whitewater rafting trips and courses in whitewater kayaking are available in manmade rapids at Penrith Whitewater Stadium, the kayaking venue used in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. It's in Cranebrook, a 5 min drive north of Penrith (www.penrithwhitewater.com.au)
- Australia's only sake brewery is in Penrith. (www.sun-masamune.com.au)
How to get there?
45 min ride from Central followed by a 20 min walk.
Website: www.museumoffire.com.au
44. Leuralla - Toy Museum, my favourite!
- Consider exploring the Blue Mountains in a red London double-decker bus.
Website: www.explorerbus.com.au
- Take a bushwalk hike e.g. 2km walk from Gordon Falls to Leura Falls, which happens to start very close to Leuralla
Website: www.bluemts.com.au
- Smell the roses as Leura is famous for its European style cold-climate gardens, many of which are open to the public only during the springtime Leura Gardens Festival. (www.leuragardensfestival.com.au)
How to get there?
2 hour train ride from Central followed by a 2 km cab ride or walk.
Website: www.toyandrailwaymuseum.com.au
45. Palm Beach and The Basin
Barranjoey means 'little kangaroo' or 'little wallaby' in the Guringai language.
- Climb the Barrenjoey Lighthouse, at the northernmost point of the northern beaches, built in 1881 out of Hawkesbury sandstone. A steep 20 min walk leads up to the lighthouse and fantastic views. - Bushwalk from the Basin including the 3 km mostly level Elvina trail to a waterfall (www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au)
How to get there?
1 hr 20 min by bus from Wynyard.
Website:
www.palmbeachferry.com.au
www.sydneynorthernbeaches.com.au
46. Jamberoo Action Park
- More interested in the boardwalk through the rainforest at the Minnamurra Rainforest Centre, part of Budderoo National Park, just a few km west of the village. There's a good chance to spot lyrebirds and water dragons (whatever they are) (www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au)
- Check out the blowhole. When currents are moving in the right direction the Kiama blowhole spurts seaswater up to 60 metres into the air with a mighty harumph.
The seaside town of Kiama, a 10 min drive east of Jamberoo, also has coastal walks, beaches, pubs, rockpools and a row of craft shops and cafes in converted weatherboard terraces (www.kiama.com.au)
Website: www.jamberoo.net
47. Yarramalong Valley Maize Maze Ozimaze is supposedly open 10am to 4pm everyday from Dec to Feb but please do a google check to re-affirm.
- Cedar Park Lavender is open every day.
- Pelican feeding at The Entrance (www.visitcentralcoast.com.au)
- Visit Australia Reptile Park
Website: www.ozimaze.com
48. Luna Park – visited
49. Powerhouse Museum - yeah where I saw my Harry Potter exhibition!
- Australia's biggest museum.
- Visit Paddy's Markets, a short stroll away at Haymarket.
- Visit the Sydney Fish Market
How to get there?
A short walk from Darling Harbour, close to Paddy's Markets monorail station.
Website: www.powerhousemuseum.com
50. Janet’s Royalty Rooms
Woonona is pronounced Wonoona, which can be quite a confusion I guess. Spelling error I suppose. Apparently it's from a Dharawal Aboriginal word meaning 'place of young wallabies', 'run now' or 'sleep'.
- Take a walk in the park. The world's second-oldest national park (after Yellowstone in the US), the Royal National Park, north of the northern Illawarra villages, offers fantastic swimming, surfing and bushwalking (www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au) Gosh, I want to visit it at its pristine stage!!!
How to get there?
1 hr 20 mins by train from Central to Woonona; it's a 5 min walk from there to the Royalty Rooms
51. Birkenhead Shopping Centre - Walk through seven suburbs in an hour plus. The 7km track around Iron Cove is called the Bay Run, passing through Drummoyne, Russell Lea, Rodd Point, Five Dock, Haberfield, Lilyfield and Rozelle.
- Was an interesting shopping trip haha.. Did had fun =D
How to get there?
25 min ferry ride from Circular Quay
Website: www.birkenheadpoint.com.au
52. Australian Museum - a purist's museum a throwback to a simpler time.
The book mentioned there is a $41 million revitalisation program due to complete in 2008. Not too sure what is the impact after that and does this description still rang true. Anyway the Australian Museum opened in 1827 in a room in the offices of the Colonial Secretary and was known as the Colonial or Sydney Museum back then.
- There's a giant chess set behind St James train station at the top of Market Street. Website: www.austmus.gov.au
Oh and I wonder will the journalist please do one for Melbourne too?
