Jenolan Caves

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A large portion of Australian’s who live in NSW probably remember going on a school trip to Jenolan Caves at some point during primary school. I was in year 4 when my class went and we stayed the night in Caves House, the historic onsite accommodation on the isolated site of the caves. I don’t remember much of the caves themselves but I do remember being very impressed by the blue lake that greets you when you arrive at the site. I am still in awe of the unnatural colour of the water today. I took so many photos!

If you can only make it to one cave, I highly recommend the cave we visited, The Orient Cave. It is as beautiful as promised and was the tour guides favorite cave as well. The tour last about hour and a half and while this is plenty of time to enjoy the caves beauty, I didn’t want it to end. This time I know that I will remember the caves well. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries right at the beginning of the tour, so my photos don’t really convey how beautiful it is. I suspect it is probably something you have to see with your own eyes for it to be truly appreciated anyway.

We also did the complimentary self guided tour of the Nettle cave and the Devil’s Coach House, which gives you a lot of interesting information about the history and formation of the caves. The Devils Coach house huge and impressive.

I recommend packing your own lunch. The food from the kiosk was very overpriced and very average. Watch out for the very cute but cheeky, rosellas that help you eat your lunch! It is also a beautiful spot to have a picnic or BBQ and there are gas powered/coin operated BBQ s on site. 

There is no public transport to the cave but Trolley Tours have a daily tour leaving from Katoomba at 9am and there are regular trains to Katoomba from Sydney. There are also day tours with various companies that leave from Sydney.

Enjoy!

Spit to Manly Walk

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The idea of walking through national parks with crystal clear water and secluded beaches on one side and native flora and fauna on the other side is very appealing, so I was really excited to be doing the Spit to Manly walk.

Crater Cove, Sydney National Park

Ok, so I found out about this walk because apparently it is one of the must see tourist destinations of Sydney. I had never heard of it before stumbling across it while browsing the web and couldn’t wait to try it.

I have to say it doesn’t disappoint and is one of my favourite Sydney spots so far!

Middle Harbour, Sydney Harbour National Park

My partner and I started the day at Milson’s Point for breakfast. There are several cafes to choose from in Kirribilli, which despite the CBD being visible across the harbour, has a surprisingly Australian country town feel to it. There are also several options on the other side of the the bridge. The place we intended to eat had just closed for breakfast, so we wandered until a menu caught our eye.

From here we caught a bus to Spit Bridge (the bus leaves from just near the ferry stop). It turns out that the bus only went as far Spit Junction. There are a few buses on this route that go all the way to the bridge but the bus we were on was not one of them. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. On the 2 km walk to The Spit we turned down Parrawi Road,  and the view is stunning! It is a residential tree lined street on the edge of a very steep drop, which people have built houses that are nothing short of million dollar mansions looking over a bay of aqua water. You also pass one of two lighthouses that are still used to guide boats into the harbour. It is hard to believe that a place of such natural beauty exists within 20 minutes of the city. It was a great start to the walk.

Once you cross spit bridge, the walk begins and is very well sign-posted. There are numerous spots to go swimming, stop for a picnic and just soak up the scenery.

One of my favourite stops was at Reef Beach. It is secluded and clean and was one of the nicest places I have been swimming.

Reef Beach, Sydney Harbour National Park

The full walk is estimated to take 3 hours, but it took us closer to five with stops along the way for snacks and swimming plus a few detours. We found the maps along the way to be useful for helping keep tabs of where we were up to on the walk.

Make sure you take water and snacks and plenty of sun cream! There are plenty of buses to The Spit from near Wynyard station in the CBD.

We finished a great day with a ferry ride back to Circular Quay, bliss!

Enjoy!

Wendy Whitley’s Secret Garden, Lavender Bay

One of the prettiest gardens I have been to in Sydney so far has to be Wendy Whitely’s Secret Garden. Tucked away behind Clark Park and a city rail shunting yard on the shore of Lavender Bay. The park is a green oasis with great views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Wendy, Australian artist and wife of artist Brett Whitely, lovingly transformed the site after the death of her husband. The land was a disused wasteland owned by the Rail Corporation, who were happy for it to be converted into the paradise it is today.

Shaded by beautiful Morton Bay Fig trees, the garden is full of colour.

One of my favourite aspects of the park is the feeling of discovery as you wind along the paths which bring you to different areas of the garden. Some of the spaces are small and intimate and are the perfect spots to curl up with your imagination, while others are more open and more about the landscape as a whole.

There is also a real sense of homeliness which is not present in council parks and gardens. I think this is achieved by features such as organic looking wooden handrails and the thoughfully placed garden furniture.

There are several ways to get to the garden and it can be accessed from Lavender Street in Lavender Bay. I took the ferry from Circular Quay to Milson’s Point and walked though Luna Park and along the board walk. I recommend this because you will be rewarded with more spectacular views of the harbour and a ferry ride, which in my opinion can’t be beaten. Also look out for the statues in the garden of the board walk of famous Australian children’s characters such as May Gibbs’ Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.

If you are in need of a coffee there are a number of great little cafes, restaurants and shops on Blue’s Point Road not far from the garden. If you do come this way, it is worthwhile making your way down to the bottom of the hill to Blue’s Point Reserve for some of the most spectacular views of Sydney Harbour you will find. You can make your way home on the McMahon’s Point ferry at the edge of the reserve.

Enjoy!