Natural Bushland
See also: Sydney and Suburban Bush Walks
Numerous pockets of natural bushland have escaped urban development, in most instances because of the difficulty of the terrain. It is here, right on the city's doorstep and often in small valleys, that you'll find Sydney's special places of natural beauty.
Forsyth Park Reserve, Neutral Bay
Name another big city anywhere in the world that has an untouched piece of natural vegetation like this just 3km from its central business area. An oasis of bushland just a couple of minutes’ drive from the harbour bridge, Forsyth Park Reserve is wedged in the gully between the Ben Boyd Road ridge and Bent Street. The vegetation remains in the same virgin state as when the Aborigines used to hunt and gather here, long before white men arrived. Wildlife Watch volunteer sightings indicate that there is a diversity of owl species in the area. The White-throated Nightjar, Barn Owl and Tawny Frogmouth have all been seen in the bushland of Forsyth Park.
Forsyth Park's bushland pocket is on the corner of Bent St and Yeo St, Neutral Bay, however access is best from Montpelier St.
UBD Map 7 Ref M 4.
Milray Reserve, Wollstonecraft
Another delightful strip of natural bushland just 2 km as the crow flies to the city centre. It is a short walk from Wollstonecraft Railway Station, which itself is a mere three stations up the line from the business heart of Sydney! The narrow valley through which Berry's Creek flows survived the onslaught of suburbia years ago, no doubt because the terrain did not lend itself to development. Seeing the creek wending its way through the lightly wooded dell, then leaping over a small waterfall on its way to Gore Cove and Sydney Harbour, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that this serene place is nestled in the middle of one of Australia's densest population areas. Access is via a walking path leading from Smoothey Park near the railway station, through Milray Reserve to Gore Cove and on to Berry Island Reserve.
UBD Map 6 Ref H 2.
Bents Basin, Wallacia
This deep waterhole is situated at the end of the Gulger Gorge on the Nepean River, between Camden and Penrith. The basin is a natural geological feature on the junction of the Cumberland Plain and the Blue Mountains escarpment. It is popular among residents of western Sydney who here come to and participate in activities such as walking, fishing, swimming and canoeing. The Basin a camping area and an education centre utilised by local school groups. There are picnic areas with barbecues, fireplaces and accessible toilet facilities (though the Basin is not accessible by wheelchair). Entry daily fees apply for vehicle access.
On your way there, you will pass through the sleepy village of Greendale, where stands one of the oldest Anglican churches in Australia, built around 1848. This is but one of numerous colonial buildings remaining in this area of rural Sydney.
Location: 60 km west of Sydney, 25 km south of Penrith along Wolstenholme Avenue off Greendale Road from Wallacia in the north or Liverpool in the east.
UBD Map 263 Ref B 9.
Flat Rock Bay, Killarney Heights
At the southern tip of Killarney Heights on Middle Harbour is a beautiful, secluded bay with a small beach that feels as though it is miles from anywhere. On the southern fringe of Garigal National Park, it is one of those places that the essence of can never be fully captured in a photograph. On weekends, families come here for a swim in its calm waters and a clamber over the rocks at the head of the cove, followed by a beach picnic. On weekdays, there is rarely anyone here, so those who do visit generally have the place to themselves.
Gore Creek Reserve, Northwood
Like many of its neighbouring inlets, Gore Creek has a delightful stand of natural bushland above where it flows into the harbour. Here the creek tumbles its way over the very pretty Lilly Pilly Falls and down races through a bushland valley before emptying into the bay. A sign-posted bush walk alongside the creek was once the transport route for barges moving timber from the North Shore. The path itself follows tracks made by bullock drays, which hauled the timber to the barges. It's an easy walk of less than 3 km down to the harbour from an entry point where River Road cross over Gore Creek. There is a small waterfront area adjoining Gore Creek with a sports oval, toilets and BBQ facilities. Parking is limited. Like most bushland localities around Sydney, this reserve is at its best after rain, when the creeks and rapids are flowing, however paths can be more slippery then. Direct motor vehicle access to Gore Cove via Gore Street, Greenwich.
UBD Map 21 Ref B 16.
Lane Cove Bushland Park, Gore Hill
Cross the road opposite the entrance to Gore Creek Reserve on River Road and you are in Lane Cove Bushland Park. You can head north, or east behind the golf course, for easy bushland walking. Lane Cove Bushland Park, which is the north branch, is a delightful, lightly wooded area of restored bush with some interesting flora and fauna. Like most bushland localities around Sydney, these natural reserves are at their best after rain, when the creeks and rapids are flowing, however paths can be more slippery.
UBD Map 21 Ref A 12.
Natural Bridge, Garigal National Park
Garigal is one of my favourite National Parks around Sydney for walking as it is within, as opposed to beyond the metropolitan area, as most are, its walking tracks are generally short and easy and the landscapes it incorporates are diverse.
The Park is home to the only natural rock arch in the Sydney metropolitan area. A sandstone arch, it spans an unnamed creek feeding into Bantry Bay. Though the Natural Bridge track uses the bridge to cross the creek, the bridge is not always noticed by walkers as the surrounding vegetation hides the full view of the feature from the track.
The easiest access to the arch is from Cook Street, Forestville, following the Bates Creek Track into the valley to an intersection where the signposted Natural Bridge Track heads off to the right. If you keep on the track after it passes over the bridge, it climbs the hillside before joining The Bluff track near the end of Grattan Crescent. The Bluff is large rocky point nearby, with plenty of interesting shapes and a fantastic view down Middle Harbour and across to the city.
UBD Map 176 Ref J 12.
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Bungaroo, Middle Harbour
Located at the head of Middle Harbour, this secluded bushland reserve in the heart of Garigal National Park will delight everyone from the ardent bushwalker to the family looking for a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a few hours. Bungaroo has historical significance as it was here, where a rocky bar separates the salt waters of Middle Harbour from the fresh water of Middle Harbour Creek, that an exploration party dispatched by Captain Arthur Phillip camped on the night of 16th April 1788. It was the first of a number of inland treks dispatched by Phillip in his quest to find land which could provide a reliable food source for the colony.
Ingleburn Weir, Ingleburn
Though it does not have the same profile as the Parramatta River, the Gorges River, which flows through Sydney southern and south western suburbs before emptying into Botany Bay, has remained a popular and much loved waterway for those who live around it. In the early days it was the main highway to the Macarthur region, and was used to carry goods to and from the region, while downstream its oyster beds provided oysters for the tables of Sydney.
These days, the river is used for recreational purposes only, and many spots for fishing, swimming and boating have been developed along its banks all the way to Campbelltown.
The reserve that contains Ingleburn Weir was one of the first locations on the river to be dedicated for recreational purposes, and the setting is as tranquil today as it was in the 1870s when it was first set aside. The weir was constructed sometime between 1939 to 1940 to provide a local swimming facility and quickly became a very popular picnic area used by many of the local residents. The locality has full picnic facilities including barbecues.
UBD Map 308 Ref G 10.
Coopers Park, Woollahra
A 15 hectare reserve comprising of picnic, recreation and sporting facilities, Coopers Park contains one of the largest remaining areas of natural bushland in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. The creek running though the Park, which flows over waterfalls and cascades, is largely natural and follows the line of a volcanic dyke of the Jurassic age. The hillsides support a wide variety of native trees and shrubs. The creek and the upper valley's tree ferns and forest environment create a feeling of tranquillity in this relatively untouched natural oasis. The well maintained walking trails have rest stops at convenient locations.
UBD Map 257 Ref G 1
Boronia Park, Gladesville
This bushland reserve is set in the valley of Brickmakers Creek, which flows into the Lane Cove River at Boronia Park in Gladesville. It was for centuries a campsite for the local Aborigine. Evidence of their camps abounds in the midden deposits and rock art throughout the park. The main attraction for the natives was the creek which provided a year round supply of fresh water.
In what is now Boronia Park, the creek tumbled into a small valley over what was named Tipperary Falls to the white settlers. The now silted rock pool which once existed at the base of the falls was used extensively by the Aborigines not just as a watering place but to sharpen their stone tools. In early colonial days, the location became a popular picnic spot and swimming hole and remained that way well into the 20th century when urban development in the creek's catchment area caused its strong flow to be reduced considerably.
The waterfall flows best after rain and this is the best time to visit. A surveyor has marked the letters "BM 1831" into the rock near the falls. While there, take a walk to the river foreshore where there is a smoke-blackened cave and midden, both evidences of its use as an Aboriginal campsite. The path beside Lane Cove River, which is part of the Great North Walking Track, provides riverside access past mangroves to Buffalo Creek Reserve and Field of Mars Wildlife Refuge.
UBD Map 214 Ref K 6
Fidden's Wharf, Lane Cove National Park
The Lane Cove River valley is home to some of the finest bushland in the Sydney area. There are bushland tracks leading into the park from most suburbs surrounding the park so access to its natural bushland is easy. One of the more popular access points is Fidden's Wharf, an historic section of the Park, the name of which recalls Joseph Fidden, who ran a timber getting business at the end here in the early 1800s. Back then, timber cut across the Lower North Shore was brought along a bullock track (now Fiddens Wharf Road) to the wharf, from where the logs were floated downstream to Sydney. Convict steps to the Old Government Sawing Establishment above Fidden's Wharf remain. Trails through the bushland up and downstream, which are part of the Great North Walk permit bushwalking alongside the river.
How to Get There: train to Chatswood, Bus No. 565, alight at terminus; or drive to end of Fiddens Wharf Rd, Killara.
Upper Lane Cove Valley, North Epping
The Lane Cove Valley Walk and Whale Rock Circuit give access to the valleys of the upper Lane Cove River, Devlins Creek and other lesser tributaries. The upper reaches of the river within the National Park are surrounded by virgin bushland, and are well serviced by tracks for bushwalking. You can make your walk as long or as short as you like, from an hour around Devlins Creek to a full day's trek taking in Wahroonga, Pymble, Killara, Chatswood West, East Ryde and Gladesville (following the Great North Walk). A walk from the end of Boundary Rd, North Epping to Browns Waterhole and return is some 4 km in length and takes in Whale Rock and Hanging Rock, numerous water races and Aboriginal rock art. Easy to moderate, includes fording Devlins Creek.
How to get there: drive by car to end of Boundary Rd, North Epping. Follow walking track.
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