WHEN IN SYDNEY...

Sunday, July 24, 2016

When in Sydney..

Visit the Royal National Park

Once you've experienced the hustle and bustle of Sydney CBD and its iconic delights such as the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour etc.. it's nice to get out of the city for a while. New South Wales has so much more to offer. The Royal National Park being one of them.

I have been in Sydney for 10 weeks and have planned to go to the park for a while now. The park is only an hours drive from the city centre and the park itself is absolutely huge spanning over 39536 acres, which gives you an idea of why I would recommend either driving there or taking a bus tour as there is quite a fair distance between each of the walking track areas.

It was a beautiful day in NSW, so when we arrived we found a delightful little cafe at the visitor centre which overlooked a lake with was host to various wildlife. It was a stunning setting and I could have sat there all day taking in the fresh air and sipping on my OJ but having refuelled it was time to decide on what area we wanted to visit. After having a chat with the lovely receptionist at the Visitor Centre in Audley we chose to visit Wattamolla. Being whale watching season we were recommended to take this route, unfortunately we didn't see any whales but we weren't disappointed.

When we arrived at Wattamolla, the first thing I wanted to do was go for a dip. There is a beautiful lagoon overlooking Wattamolla Beach with it's own little waterfalls. It's winter here in Sydney, so it is slightly too cold to swim in the lagoons at this time of year but never the less it was still great fun to clamber over the rocks to get the spectacular view of the beach and cliffs below us.

After splashing around in the lagoon, and having seriously damp shoes and feet for the rest of the day (it was worth it) it was time to start the trek up to the cliffs to see if we could find some whales. If your visiting the National Park during June - August then it's perfect timing to see the whales migrating. Unfortunately we didn't see any this time round, but the view was still spectacular.

There was absolutely no sign of anyone for miles. It was so peaceful and myself and Peter spent a lot of time sitting on the rocks taking in the view, this was before I near gave him heart failure by standing at the very edge of the cliff. Having been together over 2 years he knows how clumsy I am, so it was probably a good call to step away. Ah well, when in Oz right?

We have been working in Sydney for a while now so we treasure our days off together. The Royal National Park is a perfect day out. We got to chill out at the lake, take in the spectacular views and spend some quality time together. We are definitely going to go back and do another trail in the park before we leave Sydney, we were recommended to also see Bundeena. The Park is a place you will never get bored of exploring, it spans over such a vast area that every place has it's own wee special gem just waiting to be discovered and experienced.

If your looking for a short trail thats easy to get to from the visitor centre then I would highly recommend Wattamolla. The beach at Wattamolla took my breath away. The water was glistening emerald green and the secluded beach looked like no one had walked on it in months. It was pretty magical. I even resorted to getting Peter to give me a piggy back just to get the perfect shot. I loved this place so much and I think you will to.

For more information about the park visit the Royal National Park Website