Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 3 . SYDNEY
running paths, and a cafe. It’s open from sunrise to sunset. To get there, take bus
no. 373, 374, 378, 380, or 382 from the city, or via the Bondi & Bay Explorer.
A hundred years later, Bicentennial Park, at Australia Avenue, in Homebush
Bay, came along. Forty percent of the park’s total 100 hectares (247 acres) is general
parkland reclaimed from a city rubbish tip; the rest is the largest remaining
remnant of wetlands on the Parramatta River and is home to many species of
both local and migratory wading birds, cormorants, and pelicans. Follow park
signs to the visitor information office (& 02/9763 1844), open Monday
through Friday from 10am to 4pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 9:30am to
4:30pm. To reach the park, take a CityRail train to Homebush Bay station.
BEYOND SYDNEY
SYDNEY HARBOUR NATIONAL PARK You don’t need to go far to experience
Sydney’s nearest national park. The Sydney Harbour National Park
stretches around parts of the inner harbor and includes several small harbor
islands. (Many first-time visitors are surprised at the amount of bushland still
remaining in prime real-estate territory.) The best walk through the Sydney Harbour
National Park is the Manly to Spit Bridge Scenic Walkway (& 02/9977
6522). This 10km (6-mile) track winds its way from Manly (it starts near the
Oceanarium), via Dobroyd Head to Spit Bridge (where you can catch a bus back
to the city). At a casual pace the walk takes around 3 hours, and the views across
busy Sydney Harbour are fabulous. There are a few Aboriginal stone carvings,
which are signposted along the route. Maps are available from the Manly Visitors
Information Bureau (& 02/9977 1088), right opposite the main beach.
Other access points to the park include tracks around Taronga Zoo (ask the
zoo staff to point you toward the rather concealed entrances), and above tiny
Shelly Beach, opposite the main beach at Manly.
Also part of the national park is the recently restored Fort Denison, in the
middle of the harbor between Circular Quay and Manly. The fort was built during
the Crimean War due to fears of a Russian invasion, and was later used as a
penal colony. One- to two-hour Heritage Tours of the island leave from Cadmans
Cottage, in The Rocks (& 02/9247 5033). They cost A$22 (US$14) for
adults and A$18 (US$12) for students and children. Call ahead for times and
bookings. Pickup maps of Sydney Harbour National Park at Cadmans Cottage.
Another great walk in Sydney can be combined with lunch or a drink at Watsons
Bay. A 15-minute bush stroll to South Head is accessed from the small beach
outside the Watsons Bay Hotel. Walk to the end of the beach (to your right as you
look at the water) then up the flight of steps into Short Street, then left along Cliff
Street to the end of Camp Cove Beach. Continue along the coast past the nudist
Lady Jane Bay Beach to the lighthouse at South Head, where there are some great
views (of the coastline, not the nudists). Across the road in front of the Watsons
Bay Hotel is another section of the national park, known for its cliff-top views.
Here you’ll find The Gap, a sheer cliff popular for suicides. Watsons Bay is reached
by ferries from Circular Quay, and via the Bondi & Bay Explorer.
MORE NATIONAL PARKS Forming a semicircle around the city are Sydney’s
biggest parks of all. To the west is the Blue Mountains National Park (see
chapter 4); to the northeast is Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park; and to the
south is the magnificent Royal National Park. All three parks are home to marsupials
such as echidnas and wallabies, numerous bird and reptile species, and a
broad range of native plant life. Walking tracks, whether they stretch for half an
hour or a few days, make each park accessible to the visitor.