Sydney Information

Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, is Australia's oldest and largest city with a population of around 3,986,700. Sydney is built around a huge harbour and hosts many tourist attractions as well as a number of beaches, bays and a couple of national parks.

Sydney has many influences upon its style. Aboriginal sites and engravings can still be seen from the original occupiers, the Eora tribe. The city also has an anglo-mediterranean style and a growing Chinese and Asian influence.

The city is divided into North and South by the Sydney Harbour, with both Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel connecting them. Most of the tourist attractions are in the South part of the city, with a large business and residential area in the North.

The South part of the city consists of The Rocks and Circular Quay to the North, with the Central Station marking the South. Darling Harbour marks the West and there are a number of parks to the East.

National Parks

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 Ph: (02) 9668 9111, 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.