The Quarantine Station
You can find information about this park at this link.
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National Parks Near Sydney |
Sydney is surrounded by National Parks. There are more than forty of them around Sydney, so it may take a while for me to get to mentioning all of them, or for you to get to them! In fact, there are more than 600 designated parks in New South Wales, covering 7% of the state.
Anybody coming to Australia from Britain will be in for a pleasant shock. National Parks in this neck of the woods are comparative wilderness areas. There are no farms with fancy signs on the gates proclaiming them to have a special status. People without the British experience may not realise just how lucky we are with our parks.
The mining lobby, of course, regards the National Park system as a useful set of reserves for future exploitation, while scattered farmers think that cattle would improve the vegetation in the parks, and occasional timber barons propose a careful thinning of the trees. For the trees' own good, of course. There are also genuine tensions, where dingoes, kangaroos and other perceived or actual farm pests are able to breed in national parks.
"National Park" is actually a bit of a misnomer: the National Parks and Wildlife Service is a state department, part of the New South Wales government. The world's first national park was in the USA: when what we now call the Royal National Park was created a couple of years later (but officially gazetted before the Yellowstone legislation went through!), it was based on the American model, and called "The National Park". Since then, the name has just stuck, and spread to the other parks. It got a "Royal" when Betty Windsor came to town in 1954, I think.
We are now all able to share in the spoils of the actions of a dedicated group of lobbyists over many years: the National Parks that surround Sydney. But if you drive there, you'll probably have to pay for the privilege. You can camp in some parks, usually with a small fee to pay. Day walkers get in for free, but there is a park use fee on all vehicles. For the nature and national park enthusiast, there are annual stickers for cars, costing the equivalent of about seven park entry fees, giving access to all New South Wales National Parks where an entry fee is charged. The National Parks and Wildlife web site page explaining this can be found at http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/npws.nsf/content/annual+passes+and+vehicle+entry+fees, and you will find more details there. (There are a few "catches", like the Jervis Bay national park, which is under the control of Canberra, and which is well worth paying for in any case!)
People other than legitimate campers are not welcome in National Parks after dark. Some are there to get up to mischief, some are likely to be victims, and the bright lights of cars dazzle bush animals. So unless you are camping in an approved place, sunrise to sunset is the time for you. National Parks are places for quiet enjoyment: walking, camping, munching, cooking (sometimes), swimming (again, sometimes), and generally having a good time. Because they often represent fragile environments in need of protection, some things are banned, like shooting, pets, mining, forestry, and other things which could be harmful. When in doubt, find out first.
If you know very little at all about the National Parks system, call in at the Service shop at Cadmans Cottage at the western end of Circular Quay near the Museum of Contemporary Art, or join the National Parks Association: their membership charges are quite low, and they offer lots of activities for all ages. You can pick up application forms at many National Parks, and also at Cadmans Cottage. They live in P.O.Box A96, Sydney South, NSW 1235 in the city, phone 9299 0000. Their Web address is http://www.npansw.cjb.net/
For a full list of Sydney parks, see this link.
Sydney Harbour National Park
Sydney Harbour has a number of sections of bush land which were mainly reserved for defence establishments, and which have now become the Sydney Harbour National Park. See this link for more. You may like to start there, as several parts can be reached by public transport.
You can walk through part of the park on the Spit-Manly or Manly-Spit walk, and this has public transport at both ends.
One piece, the Quarantine Station will soon have an entry of its own here, and Shark Island and Clark Island will be covered under Islands in the Harbour: the other parts are referred to here. The best parts of Watsons Bay are in the park as well. The Dobroyd Head section of the Park is mentioned in the description of the Spit-Manly Walk.
South Head may be reached by a 324 or 325 bus, Nielsen Park is on the 325 route, Ashton Park is a short walk from the Taronga Zoo ferry, Middle Head may be reached by a 204 bus from the Cremorne ferry wharf, Dobroyd Head by a Manly ferry and a 132 bus, followed by a level walk from Woodland Street, while North Head may be reached from a Manly ferry, followed by a 135 bus to North Head.
Entry fees: There is no park use fee levied on vehicles at the moment, except at Ashton Park, and at North Head.
Further up the Harbour, where ships had to turn sharply round Bradley's Head (this was in the days of sail, remember), there were more guns, with yet more on Fort Denison. Bradley's Head was a very good spot to mince up passing ships, as they would normally have to "wear ship" at that point, when the prevailing breeze was blowing, so more crew would be needed to haul on lines, and that meant fewer shooting back at the shore batteries. Despite what civilians say, the military could see that not being shot back at was a Good Thing, so they went for it.
In the end, people realised that the guns were of little use against aircraft, that invasion was unlikely, and so the guns were taken down. There are still a few to see, at Bradley's Head, but most have gone forever. Only the stonework and concrete remains. Interestingly, the iron reinforcing is the same as the small sections of original railway line used in Australia, pieces of which can be seen beneath Loco No. 1 at the Powerhouse Museum.
The lovely thing is that the departure of the military coincided with the high period of National Park-ism, so that property developers were prevented from getting their paws on the land. Instead, it became communal property, Sydney Harbour National Park, in fact, with a few other bits thrown in as well, like the Quarantine Station.
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The Quarantine Station
You can find information about this park at this link.
The usual method is to catch a 135 bus from Manly Wharf to the station or to its gates, and walk in. Parking in the grounds is not encouraged. It isn't allowed, in fact! The buses leave from Manly Wharf: catch a ferry to Manly, walk off the wharf, and look around, to the left. The buses are timed to coincide with the ferry arrivals, but you need to watch out for the 135 bus.
There is no general access to the Quarantine Station. There are various guided tours organised, including night-time wildlife activities in the school holidays. See their Web site for contact details.
In the early days, people were kept aboard their ships which were moored off the beach. This is usually a calm enough anchorage, except when the north-westerly blows, so things would not have been too bad for the healthy passengers. By 1836, there is a record of 14 convicts clearing the scrub in the area. It was first used in 1837, with tents as the main accommodation. Still, in 1840, Mrs. Meredith refers to the passengers staying on board the ships moored there (Sydney Harbour 6), so it seems that only the sick went ashore in the early days.
From rough and ready accommodation, things slowly improved over a century and a half, so that at the end, there were three classes of accommodation at the station, just as there were on the ships bringing the passengers. If you tour the station, you will be able to view these. Many of the people held there, of course, were quite healthy, and they have left their marks in intricate carvings in the local sandstone: there are more than a thousand recorded carvings in many languages. The station ceased operations as a quarantine base in 1984.
The staff are quite likely and willing to show you the remnants of a sea eagle's meal, or a possum's droppings, or even a sleeping ring-tail possum in its nest, or they may even show you a penguin's cave, and let you smell the fishy smell. They may also have some more salubrious things to show you, like the views. The area has been largely cleared in the past, and the lawns used to be maintained by a large population of rabbits, so the clear views out to North Harbour and elsewhere are still to be had. I am not sure if the rabbits are still there.
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Royal National Park
You can find information about this park at this link.
Trains to the "Royal" start in the Eastern suburbs, pass through Central railway, and take you either to Loftus, Engadine, Heathcote or Waterfall. Check on the details of family and excursion fares on weekends, but week days are better: the "Royal" is particularly popular on summer Sundays. (Previous visitors note: there are no trains to Audley any more.)
This is no problem if you are planning to walk: the day walks from Waterfall to Heathcote or Audley are comparatively people-free, even on weekends: they are no longer fashionable, it seems. You will find more details on these walks elsewhere. With no trains to the Audley end any more, you may prefer to catch the train to Sutherland, get a taxi to Audley, and walk to Waterfall, where there are many trains back to Sydney. The Audley end of the track, I am reliably advised, is being clearly marked as this is written.
You can also catch a ferry from Cronulla railway station to Bundeena, and from there you can fish, swim or bushwalk in delightful coastal parts of the Royal.
There are also other walks, starting from Otford railway station, further south, and going over to the coast.
There are some rock engravings in the park, not as many as there are in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, but there are still some, and you will find spear-sharpening grooves in a number of places, especially along the edge of Uloola Brook, on the walk from Waterfall to Heathcote or Audley. There are also some middens, and at least one cave with hand stencils in it.
Bush camping is allowed in the Royal, but only in designated areas, and only if you have a camping permit, available from the Visitors' Centre, between 8.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. 7 days.
You can sometimes see deer close to the road in the Bundeena-Garie area, especially if you get out of your car: they are often right there, hidden in the heath. The deer also come into Bundeena at night, and their tracks can often be seen in the area around Garie Beach. The lookout above Garie is a good place to spot deer, browsing around the huts at Era beach in the late afternoon. These huts are there on borrowed time: they are slowly being demolished and removed as their owners die - the huts were mainly built without permission during the 1930s, and have become permissive occupancies. Along Lady Carrington Drive and on the Couranga track, you can still see evidence of early logging activities, and Audley has a large number of exotic trees.
There are several surf beaches, including Wattamolla, Little Marley (but not Big Marley, which is dangerous!) and Garie, there are boats for hire at Audley, there are numerous picnic places that you can learn about from the visitor centre at Audley, you can rent boats to take on the dammed Kangaroo Creek and Hacking River at Audley. There are no motorboats allowed.
There are plenty of bush walks, starting from a number of points. You can get details at your entry point (where you pay), or at the visitor centre at Audley. Drive down the hill from the Sutherland end, cross the weir, and look for the buildings on your right. Especially recommended walks are the Lady Carrington Walk, the Curra Moors track, the Coast Walk, the Waterfall-Audley Hike, the Uloola track, and the Marley Track in past Deer Pool.
You can also ride a bicycle or walk along the vehicle-free Lady Carrington Drive. If you do this from south to north on a mid-week early morning, you stand a very good chance of seeing a lyrebird, or at least of hearing one. Go slowly after the first half kilometre or so, and listen. Stay on the road, as there are leeches in the undergrowth.
The Royal National Park is different from other parks in one major respect: there are more roads than you would usually find. The temptation is there to simply drive around the park, say that you've seen it, and go on to somewhere else. You should make the effort to get out of your car: there are many more tracks to be found than are shown on the maps. Talk to the staff where you pay to enter, as they usually have maps, or call in at the Visitor Centre at Audley.
There are plenty of wallabies to be seen, fish, frogs, snakes, all sorts of lizards....what you find is up to you. Food and drink can be bought at kiosks at Audley, Garie and Wattamolla, although these may close at quiet times. You can also stock up on the necessary goodies in the neighbouring suburbs (Miranda, Sutherland, Waterfall and Bundeena) as or before you enter the park.
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Kuring-gai Chase National Park
I have now created a separate Kuring-gai Chase National Park page, and I will progressively switch links away from here.
You can find information about this park at this link.
The Dharuk and Eora peoples lived in the area for thousands of years, and there are plentiful reminders of their prior presence to be observed. And to be preserved: once these are gone, they cannot be replaced. We need to care for these relics from the past.
You can drive to the park from Mona Vale on the Manly-Warringah peninsula, or from several parts of Mona Vale Road, (Route 33) or from the Pacific Highway. You can get there by train, walking in from Mt Ku-ring-gai, Berowra, or even Cowan. The best of the lot though, is probably the ferry ride from Pittwater Park wharf to The Basin. Catch the 190 bus, then catch the ferry to the Basin.
The park was created in 1894, and has been going strong ever since. There has been a certain amount of damage where home-sick Europeans planted exotic trees, but that aside, most of the land is as it should be, much the same as the Sydney bush must have been before the whites came.
There are some signs of previous occupation by whites, like the barbed wire in the bush near the Duck Hole, and the slope for running ammunition down to World War II gun emplacements at West Head. In some areas, horse-riders have damaged and eroded the trails down to bedrock, but the area is largely free of trail-bikes and the far worse damage that they cause.
There are dozens of walks to be had along most fire trails, including the ones that run in from the West Head road. These are shown in the books of Sydney walks, on leaflets that you can get from the entrance stations to the park, and on the "Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park tourist map". You can get that map at the park's visitor centre, near Bobbin Head, or at places selling CMA maps.
After that, go and find a few of your own, like the Long track and Cowan track. The Mount Kuring-gai to Berowra via Cowan Creek walk is highly recommended.
There are several establishments renting out boats around the waters of the park, including Halvorsen's (cruisers, launches & rowing boats) 9457-9011 at Bobbin Head (closed Christmas Day), and a small place at Cottage Point, phone 9456-3024, which has a number of aluminium runabouts (up to six people) with outboard motors (open every day -- and they do great meat pies). There are other establishments around Pittwater and Berowra Waters which may also be worth approaching. Try the Yellow Pages under "Boat Hire - Drive Yourself"
Fishing seems quite popular off the rocks along Coal and Candle Creek Drive, but I have never tried it myself. We have had a few reasonable bream with handlines at the bottom of the Bibbenluke track, where it meets the Warrimoo track. Try asking the park's staff for advice. Kids enjoy fishing at The Basin, but there seems to be little to catch there. Be aware that you need a licence to fish!
There are charges for camping in some parks, and this is one of them: if you want to camp at The Basin (the only legal camping spot), you must book on 9974-1011, and pay a fee for each tent for each night. Day visitors get in for free, and so do Pittwater ferry riders going to The Basin, but there is a park use fee levied on vehicles driving into the park. Annual stickers can be used.
Some of the firetrail walks along the West Head road.
Roughly in order of difficulty, try the Willunga track, Red Hand Track, Topham track, Challenger track, America Bay Track, Salvation loop (with or without the Wallaroo extension), Flint and Steel track, Bibbenluke track, Smith's Creek East track, Ryland track, Bairne track (with or without Soldier's Point track), Bobbin Head to the Sphinx, Elvina Track, Basin Trail Walk, Warrimoo track, and the Waratah track for starters.
I will deal with some of these walks in more detail later.
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Catch a train to Chatswood station, and then catch a private route 56 bus (timetable information 9450-2277) to Roseville bridge. The STA bus route 136 can also drop you there. If you have a car, drive towards the Roseville bridge from the Forestville side, and take the side lane that drops off to the left just before the bridge. This is a one-way route: if you are coming from the Chatswood side, you need to cross the bridge, go up the hill, make a right turn into a dead-end street (Bangalla Place), turn there, and drive back down the hill again, as though you had come from the Forestville side in the first place. Or drive to the traffic lights at the crown of the hill, turn off to the left at the shops, where you can buy liquor and some types of food, and use the traffic lights to come back out again and turn right to go down the hill. This is probably safer if traffic is busy.
Middle Harbour around Roseville bridge was dredged for sand for many years, and the picnic area is the result of repair work done by the dredgers as "restoration". How good they have been, you may judge by walking upstream, and looking at the higher areas where there has been neither dredging nor restoration. The walk up-river from the picnic area is pleasant, but not after heavy rain. You can also ride a bicycle up this track if you wish.
Garigal National Park
Getting there
The Davidson Picnic Area, once called the Davidson State Recreation Area is a popular weekend picnic spot, which fails to reach its full potential, mainly because people don't know how to make full use of it. This is because most people know just the small picnic area, below the Roseville Bridge. There is a great deal more to be found, because this is part of an extensive park.
Access, times, entry costs
Opens: sunrise to sunset
Entry fees: A normal National Parks charge applies for vehicles at the Davidson area. Look for the ticket machines. I am fairly sure that people on foot get in for free.
What to do there
There are many more foot tracks through the area, and there are some good walks to be had, some of them entering the park from other places. The walk down towards Bantry Bay from the picnic area, past the old dance hall, is a good one. Downstream from Roseville bridge, the track follows the main (buried) sewer pipe-line for some distance. You eventually come to a small beach, and the track appears to die out there, but it can be found again on the other side, and followed all the way round to Bantry Bay and the former explosives depot there. This will involve some bush-bashing, but from there you can actually push on through to Seaforth, if you are tough enough!
What to watch out for
It is possible to go upstream by boat for some kilometres, to a track which comes in from St Ives, but if you are boating, keep an eye out. This is a more likely event than you may realise, due to the large number of powerboats which churn up and down the water.
Contact details, Web links
Phone: 9451 3479
Web: http://www.npws.nsw.gov.au/parks/metro/Met014.html
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Lane Cover River National Park
You can find information about this park at this link.
You can drive there from the city by going along the Pacific Highway to Chatswood, turning into Fullers Road, following Route 29, and turning off to the right at Fuller's Bridge when you get to the very bottom of the hill. By public transport, catch a train to Chatswood station, and then catch a bus from there.
Power boats are not permitted above the weir, making the area fairly safe for children. Swimming in the water is not a good idea, especially after heavy rain, when the water can become quite polluted.
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Blue Mountains National Park
You can find information about this park at this link.
It takes about 90 minutes or two hours to drive from the city to Katoomba, if that is where you are headed - you can get there just as fast by train, with less stress and strain. There are also tourist trips by coach, most of the starting at Circular Quay.
From the centre of the city, given reasonable traffic conditions (i.e., not Friday evening peak hours) you should get there in a couple of hours. An alternative route is along Bell's line of road, named after Archibald Bell, who surveyed the route in the early days. You go out through Richmond and Kurrajong. Why not drive there one way, and come back by the other route?
You will need to carry water with you, sufficient for your needs. Even boiled water is unsafe. You have been warned! This is a mountain area, and can be quite cold. Fogs can come up quite suddenly: you need map, compass, and lots of good sense. The outer areas are not really for an amateur to wander around in, alone and unattended. There are usually several firms offering guided tours in the area, both one-day and longer duration, but these come and go, so you will need to investigate this on your own. (One of the advantages of hostel accommodation is that you get to compare notes, but chatting with other people on tours can be almost as useful to you.)
If you do decide to go out there on your own, most of the books of walks around Sydney will have information about day walks in the Blue Mountains area. Of course, "walking on your own" should not mean solo walking: that's asking for trouble in unfamiliar country. When we say "on your own", we mean "without a guide". Stay on the made trails, OK? And wear sensible shoes, too!
The Blue Mountains is a tourist area, and you will find more links there. In any case, you will have no trouble finding things to do, in or out of the park. It is, however, a bit beyond Sydney, so rather than giving you pointers to other entries, here are some brief details of other attractions.
You could do a lot worse than call in at the Royal Botanic Gardens' annexe at Mount Tomah, especially in spring for the flowers, summer for the cool, and autumn for the autumn leaves on the exotics planted in the gardens and in the surrounding district. It is on Bell's line of road, which would make a pleasant alternative route for your return. You get across from the highway by turning north at Mount Victoria.
There is also the historic site at Hartley (http://www.npws.nsw.gov.au/parks/metro/met12.htm), just off the Great Western Highway (highway 32) on the Jenolan Caves road, which is open every day. There used to be a museum in the old court house, and a visitors' centre, but these appeared to be closed during a visit in 2006.
Good walks in the area include the Scenic railway to Ruined Castle Walk, the Three Sisters Walk and the Scenic Railway to Furber's Steps. For other ideas, look at Walks and runs.
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Bouddi National Park
You can find information about this park at this link. The name rhymes with 'moody'.
Getting there
Bouddi National Park is about 70 km north of Sydney, still within commuting distance for the hardy, and it offers 1150 hectares of coastline, heath, and many animals. The park is on the ocean coast, just north of Broken Bay. Take the Pacific Highway north through Hornsby, and join the freeway to Gosford. You can either drive through Gosford and through Kincumber and along the Scenic Road, or you can pass through Woy Woy and over The Rip bridge.
If you are using public transport, catch a train from Central Railway to Gosford, and then catch a bus to Killcare. These run four times a day on weekdays, with no service on weekends, and it is some 30 km to Gosford, making taxis expensive: phone 02 4368 2277 for times and other details. (There are occasional buses to McMaster's Beach on the weekend, bringing you within 5 km.)
You have to book in advance from the National Parks and Wildlife Service: get the details off the Web. You can book up to three months in advance, all payments have to be in within ten days, and the Parks people need to hold ballots over the busiest periods. The conditions in the camping areas are comparatively primitive, but all explained in leaflets available from the park headquarters in Gosford. There is no water at Tallow Beach or Little Beach.
Bush walking, swimming, fishing, snorkelling (the park includes a marine extension), being generally lazy. Maitland Bay is named after an old wreck dating from 1898, the S.S. Maitland, bits of which can still be seen at low tide. The walk is pleasant, the surf has always seemed a bit risky, with several prominent rips, but it is well worth a visit.
The rock platform at the northern end of the beach is well worth exploring at low tide, but remember that it is still in the national park: the marine extension covers all of Maitland Bay. That means no souvenirs! Tallow Beach has a tremendous advantage for serious campers: it is one kilometre from the nearest road, and there is no tap or tank water, and it is the cheapest of the three venues.
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Brisbane Water National Park
You can find information about this park at this link.
Drive north from Sydney through Hornsby, and on to the freeway north. As soon as you cross the Hawkesbury River at Broken Bay, you have the park on your right, and this continues almost until you reach the Old Sydney Town turn-off. To get into the park, you can turn into Girrakool, stop off at Mooney Creek, or drive to Pearl Beach or Patonga. You get to Girrakool by turning off the Australian Reptile Park turnoff, and then into Quarry Road.
You can also get to parts of the park by ferry to Patonga from Brooklyn railway station, or from Palm Beach in school holidays, or by train from Sydney to Wondabyne. There are also buses running from Woy Woy (get to Woy Woy by train) to Pearl Beach and Patonga.
This file is http://members.ozemail.com.au/~macinnis/syd/natparks.htm, first created on February 28, 2006. Last recorded revision (well I get lazy and forget sometimes!) was on October 9, 2006.