Sydney offers a number of wonderful National Parks surrounding the attractive city. The Sydney Harbour National Park is made up of several islands and bushland around the harbour.
It offers Aboriginal carvings, history, views and walks. The areas included as part of the National Park are Ashton Park, Dobroyd Head, Fort Denison, Goat Clarke, Middle Head, Nielsen Park, North Head, Rodd Island, Shark Island and South Head.
Botany Bay National Park is situated south of Sydney on Botany Bay. The beautiful National Park offers plenty of fabulous walking trails around the bay. There is an interesting Discovery Centre, which tells the history of the area, and the story of the first European landing in Australia. There is also a monument at Kurnell for the arrival of Captain Cook.
Further south off of Port Hacking are both the Heathcote National Park and the Royal National Park. There are some fantastic walking trails within the Heathcote National Park, as well as a number of pleasant swimming pools. You can also bush camp within the park, which is a great way to see the rugged and beautiful Australian bushland.
Adjoining Heathcote National Park is the Royal National Park which continues along the coastline. There are some fabulous beaches within the Royal National Park, as well as wonderful clifftop scenery.
A fantastic walk is the coastal walk which is 26km long, but well worth following. Along the way you will pass the pretty Wattamolla Beach, as well as Burning Beach, Era Beach and Garie Beach which are all great surfing spots. There are also a number of shorter walking trails throughout the park. To get a walking permit you should phone the Visitors Centre Ph: (02) 9542 0648.
You should also get permits for bush camping within the Royal National Park from the Visitors Centre. There is also a camping site at Bonnie Vale, as well as the Garie Beach YHA (members only), and the Imperial Hotel. You can get to the Royal National Park along the Princess Highway from Sydney and Wollongong or along the wonderful coastal road from Wollongong. There is also a train service which runs to nearby Loftus. There is also a ferry service to Bundeena, run by the Cronulla National Park Ferries Ph: (02) 9523 2990.
North of Sydney near Broken Bay and Palm Beach is the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. There are a number of fabulous walking trails around the beautiful bushland of the National Park. Several trails include the America Bay Trail, the Gibberagong Trail and the Sphinx Trail, as well as the Basin Trail and the Garigal Trail where you can see some fantastic Aboriginal Rock Engravings.
West Head gives fantastic views over Broken Bay, and although you can't swim there (due to sharks) there are some great swimming spots at the Basin and Illawong Bay. You can also camp at the Basin Ph: (02) 9972 7378 as well as at the Pittwater YHA Ph: (02) 9999 5748, which is just south of the basin. You can get to the park driving from Colah, Church Point, Terrey Hills and Turramurra. If you don't have your own transport then Shorelink Buses run a service from Turramurra into the park. There is also a ferry service from Palm Beach, run by the Palm Beach Ferry Service to the Basin and Bobbin Head.
Featured Sydney CBD Activities
TOUR NAME
LOCATION
RATES (AUD) from
Sydney City Tour(EX571) (Bushwalking, Nature & Wildlife) Sydney Harbour reputedly one of the most beautiful in world, will not disappoint. And the city that sits around it is one of fine weather, sunshine, glorious ocean beaches with a vibrant big city vibe...
Sydney City Tour with Opera House Tour(EX574) (Bushwalking, Nature & Wildlife) This tour is a great example of what Sydney has to offer. Tour for the main duration of the experience and at the conclusion of the Sydney City Tour you then join a guided tour of Australia's most fam...
Sydney Sunset(EX579) (Bushwalking, Nature & Wildlife) Sydney - a fast paced city with style and history set on one of the world's most beautiful harbours. Take a comprehensive look at Manly Tour 202 and meet our marine wildlife at the state of the art Sy...
Purchase this DVD that captures the sweeping contrasts of New South Wales. Includes footage of the Great Dividing Range to Bathurst, Goulburn and Albury, through the rich grazing lands.
Marvel at Dubbo's Western Plain Zoo and discover the rare opal at Lightning Ridge. Explore the Ghost Towns and outback city of Broken Hill and admire the splendour of the Menindee Lakes in the Kinchega National Park.
Investigate the Minnamurra Rainforest and enjoy the waterfalls of the Illawarra Plateau. Explore the snowfields of the Snowy Mountains, Mt Kosciusko and traverse the Murray River from the Alpine headwaters to Lake Hume. Moving on to the Southern Coast of New South Wales and the panoramic vistas's of Jervis Bay, the famous Blow Hole at Kiama and north to Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay.
PLEASE NOTE: The New South Wales travel destinations outlined above are only a small selection from the tens of thousands of Australian travel information pages available on Australian Explorer. A comprehensive list of destinations for New South Wales Holidays can be found on the main New South Wales Holidays location guide.
