Whether you’re looking for a great walking park, stunning vistas, somewhere to spend an active day with the family or simply a pleasant place to sit alone with a coffee and a good book, one of these gardens and parks in Sydney will definitely do the trick.
Looking back towards the Oxford Street entrance to the Paddington Reservoir Gardens through the Victorian fern garden. Photo © Tristan Davey, licensed Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike.
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden (420 Mona Vale Rd., St. Ives, tel. 02/9424-0353, daily 8am-5pm, free) is a mix of traditional bush land, heathland, fern tree gullies, ponds, and waterfalls spread across 123 hectares. Within the garden visitors can choose from a range of public access walking tracks, including the accessible Senses Track (15 minutes) or the more challenging Mueller Track (2 hours). Amenities include picnic areas with barbecues (some available for hire), on-site parking, toilet facilities, and a children’s playground.
Found along the Rose Bay to Watsons Bay walk, Nielsen Park (Greycliffe Ave., Vaucluse, tel. 02/9253-0888, daily sunrise-sunset but may close occasionally due to fire risk or severe weather, free) is part of the Sydney Harbour National Park, with stunning vistas across Sydney Harbour. It’s a comfortable mix of open space and shady reserves, plus it features one of inner Sydney’s best family beaches, Shark Beach, which is a great spot for snorkeling and swimming within the safe shark net. Amenities include a kiosk, toilet facilities, picnic tables with barbecues, and drinking water fountains.
The Paddington reservoir was a vital source of water for Sydney’s rapidly growing population in the 19th century but eventually ceased supplying water in 1899. The site was neglected and fell into disuse until it was heritage-listed by the state and reinvented. Now an award-winning garden with parts of the original brickwork and timber and iron framework restored and incorporated in the design, Paddington Reservoir Gardens (251-255 Oxford St., tel. 02/9265-9333, daily sunrise-sunset, free) is an intriguing mix of ancient Roman-style baths and immaculate European gardens. This is a small secluded park, not necessarily a walking park, but perfect for a coffee and a book.
Excerpted from the First Edition of Moon Sydney & the Great Barrier Reef.
