Tours
Touring
Travel and Sightseeing
New South Wales -
Australia
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New South Wales has an abundance
of places for touring travel and sightseeing. Many are acessable by all
types of vehicles - some of the very best though are four
wheel drive only
Find it in Australian
4x4 - There is plenty to see and do |
Sydney
Sydney,
with it's harbour,
is without doubt one of
the more beautiful cities in the world. It is also the largest city in
Australia and the capital city of New South Wales.
The harbour offers recreational facilities for boating of all types,
swimming, fishing, walks, sightseeing and more.
The city is steeped in history and one of the oldest areas is around
The Rocks. The Rocks has been re-vamped over the years and is now a
prime tourist destination.
For sightseeing you have the choices of going by harbour ferry to
various points within the harbour or simply go for a round trip, or the
jet cats that go up the Parramatta River from Sydney to Parramatta,
passing through Homebush Bay which was the Olympic Games sitein the
year 2000.
There are open buses that do circular trips around the city and then,
of course, there is the Centrpoint Tower. Here you can get a 360 degree
view of the city and ocean with all of its fascinating coastline from
the observation platform, or how about having a meal at the revolving
restaurant.
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A
visit
to Sydney wouldn't be complete without a visit to Bondi Beach. Famous
the world over the beach becomes a sun worshiper's paradise in the
summer months. Get there early if you plan to stay around as the beach
get packed pretty quickly.
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New South Wales carries
almost half of
Australia's total population and most of those are concentrated in the
coastal plains area between Newcastle, about 200 km north of Sydney,
down the coast through Sydney and on to Woolongong, about 100 km south
of Sydney and then inland to the mountains which, from Sydney is about
75 km.
The direction in which you plan your traveling in New South Wales can
be broken up into distinct directions.
Out west, through The Blue Mountains, part of the great divide, then
right out west until New South Wales meets the South Australian border
the other side of the town of Broken Hill in The Outback.
North and south mainly follow the coastal regions on the eastern side
of The Great Divide, which is a range of mountains that runs right down
the Australian east coast. The southern areas tend to get more rain
than the north and have a cooler climate.
For this reason south is a little lusher, a little greener and
certainly a little cooler.
Then there is south west, inland of the Great Divide and, mainly,
either side of the Hume Highway, which is the main road between Sydney
and Melbourne.
This direction is home to the Snowy Mountains, Australia's winter
playground.
Going
West From Sydney
Day
Trips
Going out West your first place of attraction will be the Blue
Mountains. The start is about an hours drive from Sydney and you will
find the Blue Mountains
National Park.
The main entrance is reached
through the village of Glenbrook.
This isn't really four wheel drive country as the National Parks and
Wildlife Service have blocked off the old four wheel drive track that
goes to Woodford, further up the mountains. The old track is
still
a very popular cycling venue amongst Sydneysiders and visitors alike.
There are some stunning lookouts in the park, not far from Glenbrook,
over the Nepean River.
All the way up the mountains you will travel on The Great Western
Highway. There is spectacular scenery to be seen from many vantage
points along this route from Glenbrook to Mt Victoria as well as quaint
old villages.
The Blue Mountains are full of history. It is the area through which
the early settlers originally made their journeys out west having
departed from Sydney or Parramatta.
The temperature at the top of the mountains can be considerably cooler
than at Sydney.
There are four wheel driving trips that start from
the top of
the mountains around Bell and head off north into the Wollemi National
Park.
There are many historic sights in this area including abandoned
villages, old disused mines, excellent scenery and, in some cases and
only if you want to, some challenging four wheel driving.
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Going
West - For More Than A day
Back to Mount Victoria and heading further west out to Bathurst.
You could base yourself at Bathurst and spend several days exploring
the surrounding areas. Much of it is accessible by conventional
vehicles but four wheel drives will take you to the more remote areas.
If you plan to camp out in this area take lots of warm clothing,
particularly from autumn through to spring.
A particularly popular destination is Hill End area north of Bathurst.
This is an old gold mining town that in recent years has been restored.
South of Bathurst is Oberon and the Kanangra Boyd
National Park
as well
as the Jenolan Caves.
At the Kanangra Boyd National Park you will find the Kanangra
Walls, a
spectacular views. The short walk from the car park is more than worth
it.
If you are traveling by four wheel drive there are some drives from
this area that are simply awesome.
It is possible to travel from here right down to the south coast by
4x4. You will need some decent, up to date maps but the trip will be
well worth it and you should probably allow several days if you are
going the whole way. There are some fairly long stretches where you
will not be able to get supplies or fuel.
From Bathurst traveling west there is not much in the way of scenery
and not much touristy things to do. About 2.5 hours west of Bathurst
you will arrive at Dubbo. There are some historical attractions here
but the main draw card is The Western Plains Zoo a short distance out
of
town.
The
countryside out
here is very flat and not very interesting from a
four wheel drive point of view.
There are a few national parks dotted around the state to the west of
Dubbo but unless you were heading for Broken Hill and beyond you could
probably have more enjoyment closer the coast, both north and south,
particularly if you want to go four wheel driving.
Going
North From Sydney
Day
Trips
Back to Sydney and onto the trip up the North Coast.
You are now on the well worn tourist trail, heading towards Queensland.
This trip has plenty to divert you from short trips up to several days
if you wish.
There are many beaches that have four wheel drive access but they do
require you to have a permit to do so. Permits are normally available
from the local councils in the area from Monday to Friday during normal
business hours. A word of caution - they all have rangers who will
delight in fining you if you are caught without a permit - They work 7
days a week.
Close to Sydney you have the Central Coast and its enormous variety of
beaches parts of this coast are very pretty especially around the
Gosford Umina area.
About half an hours drive further up is the Lake Munmorah
National Park
with several walking tracks and coastal scenery. On the way up you will
pass by Tuggerah Lake, Budgewoi Lake and Lake Munmorah. All three are
inter linked and, if you like boating, make a peaceful days
outing.
Launch at The Entrance and head north up through the lakes. Take note
of the buoys that mark the channels as there are many shallow spots and
you will get stuck if you don't head the warnings.
You are now within a stones throw of Lake Macquarie which is truly a
magnificent boaters paradise. It is the largest salt water lake in
Australia with an outlet to the sea at Swansea. Make a mental note of
landmarks if you are going any distance as you can get lost with its
many bays and inlets.
Lake Macquarie caters for all types of boating and has several good
fishing spots.
Inland from the Central Coast is the Hunter Valley, which apart from
the scenery when you get closer to the foothills is a very prominent
wine producing area.
Further inland you have The Wollemi National Park, The Yengo National
Park and the Parr State
Recreational Area.
All three are accessible by
conventional vehicle but each also offers some spectacular scenery and
driving restricted to four wheel drives.
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Onwards north and the next major center is Newcastle.
Newcastle is a major exporting point for coal produced in the area. It
is not uncommon to see many ships at anchor along the coast waiting to
load their cargo.
Newcastle's economy relied very heavily on the BHP steel mills until
fairly recently when the mills closed down. The city has been
transformed into a modern center and major tourist destination.
The famous Stockton Beach is in the vicinity and is well known for four
wheel drive and other off-road vehicle activity.
A little north of Newcastle, and to the right of the Pacific Highway,
is Nelsons Bay and
the Myall
Lakes National Park.
Nelsons Bay is on the water and is
fairly commercialized. One of its main attractions are whale and
dolphin watching tours. (seasonal) Charter fishing trips are also
plentiful from Nelsons Bay.
The Myall Lakes are the absolute opposite and uncommercialised as they
are situated in The Myall Lakes National Park.
Going
North
Of Sydney For Longer Than A Day
There are some water tours that leave The Tea Gardens and go
up
the lower reaches of the lake area. If you have your own boat you can
launch at Mungo Brush north of, and access through, Hawks Nest. There
is no boat fuel available after you leave Tea Gardens.
You can boat from Mungo Brush right up to Bulahdelah.
Back a little towards Newcastle you will find a turnoff going inland to
Gloucester which on the outskirts of the Barrington Tops
National Park.
Barrington Tops National Park is a World Heritage Area and is part of
the Great Divide. There is magnificent scenery here as well as many
bush walks of varying length.
There used to be four wheel driving tracks all over the place here but
the National Parks and Wildlife have closed most off to vehicles due to
heavy use and abuse.
There are some still open though but they, as well, can be closed off
if there is rain and they become slippery and hard to traverse.
There are tourist spots with access by conventional vehicles and four
wheel driving tracks right up this coast but it would take a book to
describe them all.
Travelling north the next major center is Port Macqaurie situated at
the mouth of the Hastings River. Explore the historic sights, enjoy the
beautiful beaches and explore the hinterland. There are some excellent
lookouts just south of Port
To the west of Port Macquarie is the Werrikimbe
National Park
and Willi
Willi National Park. Here you
will be able to undertake several
different four wheel drive trips that vary in degrees of difficulty
from
easy to hard.
Much of this area is national park and relatively untouched. You could
spend many days here if you wished just enjoying the sheer splendor of
the countryside.
Go well stocked up with supplies and fuel as there is not much here.
You should also take warm clothing.
Once again there are plenty of places to see as you again head on up
north. But the next main center is Coffs Harbour, home of the big
banana.
There is some lovely countryside around Coffs. A trip into the Dorrigo
National Park, the Bellingen River
National Park
and, further, inland
the New England
National Park.
Much of this trip follows the route of
the Bellingen River.
There are several trips in this area for both conventional and four
wheel drive vehicles.
Much of the coastal strip from Coffs Harbour up to Ballina is
controlled by The National Parks and, therefore, is in a very natural
state. There are many sightseeing trips to be undertaken by both
conventional and four wheel drive vehicles.
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Byron
Bay - Is about the most
northerly tourist destination in
New South Wales. It is a very "trendy" resort and has become a popular
spot for the rich and famous. There are no shortage of bars and
restaurants in the area.
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Because of the hilly
terrain found around
Byron Bay and lush countryside there are many pleasant spots for
sightseeing by both conventional and four wheel drive vehicle.
Go to Cape Byron, just outside the town and you will be standing on the
most easterly point of Australia.
North west of Murwillumbah is the Border Ranges
National Park
which borders onto the New South Wales - Queensland border. From this
park you can head on further north, over the border via the Lamington
National Park
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Going South West Of
Sydney
Back to Sydney and the start of our journey
heading south west. This time we will be heading down the
Hume
Highway heading for Melbourne.
The New South Wales border is approximately 500 km down at
Albury. However there is a fair bit to see on the
way.
The first stop will probably be around the historic Bowral, Mittagong
area, known as the Southern Highlands. There is a lot of historical
significance to this area as well as being surrounded by some excellent
scenery in close proximity.
There is road access from here to the South Coast via Robertson that
comes out at Wollongong or via Kangaroo Valley that comes out further
south at Nowra.
Either way takes you over the Great Divide, which has been mentioned
before. Both trips are fairly windy as you go down the coastal side of
the mountain. There are some excellent coastal views as well as passing
the Morton National Park on the south side.
From Mittagong you could head west, inland, towards the Wombeyan Caves
on the southern most tip of the Blue Mountains National Park. From
there you could head northwards up the western edges of the Blue
Mountains National Park towards Oberon and Bathurst.
This trip is suitable for conventional and four wheel drive vehicles
although there is a "definitely four wheel drive only" route that can
also be taken.
South
West of Sydney for Longer Than A day
The conventional vehicle trip from Mittagong to Bathurst, mentioned
above would be a three or four day trip.
For the 4x4 version of the trip refer to the trip west out of Sydney
and over the
mountains and then south from Bathurst. Simply reverse the directions.
4wd drivers take note that the 4x4 track does not have
fuel supplies along the way.
Heading further south from Bowral and Mittagong you will come to
Goulburn. But before that you have the spectacular Morton
National Park.
This park has several four wheel driving tracks, the main one, however
comes in from the South Coast side and is centered around Yalwal.
This is a fairly large park and stretches from just south of Bundanoon,
off the M5 motorway right down south until it joins up with
the Baundawang
National Park.
There is almost a continuous stretch of parks a little south
of Bundawang National Park that ends up a little into the
Victorian border
south of Eden on the South Coast.
Heading
south
again along the M5 motorway towards Goulburn continue on
until you reach the turnoff to Canberra, the administrative capital of
Australia. Canberra is in the Australian Capital Territory,
also
as the ACT.
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Canberra has some of the countries major museums located there.
South west of Canberra is the Namadgi National
Park which
incorporates
nearly half of the ACT. It is an alpine region and snow is common in
winter months. Be aware of road closures if there have been heavy snow
falls.
The park is known for its excellent mountain scenery and walking
tracks. There are several very picturesque camping and picnic areas,
many situated alongside creeks and small rivers.
There are some excellent four wheel driving tracks around Canberra,
including into the small Brindabella
National Park,
just north of
Namadgi National Park.
To the west of Namadgi National Park is the famous Kosciuszko
National
Park, Australia's skiiing
playground in the winter. Kosciuszko
National
Park is world famous for its ski resorts.
In the summer it is a magnificent outdoors paradise for campers,
caravanners, cyclists, fishing enthusiasts, walkers and, of course,
four wheel drive enthusiasts.
This area is fondly known as The Snowy Mountains.
There is a wide range of drives available to four wheel drives in the
park, many of them are only available in the summer months though
because they are not passable in the snow season.
One of the excellent four wheel driving areas is around
the Yarrangobilly Caves. They can be reached by
turning of
the main road between the towns of Tummit to Cooma. This road runs
right across the national park. |
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| Going
South of Sydney (also
refered to as
the New South Wales
South Coast) |
Back to Sydney and heading of on a trip
down the New South Wales South Coast |
The
south coast is
cooler and less hustle and bustle than the central and north coasts of
New South Wales.
Probably due to the fact that it has a cooler climate and more rainfall
the preferred choice amongst holiday makers and those looking to
re-locate out of the big cities of Sydney and Melbourne has bee towards
the warmer regions.
The road network north has historically always been a little better as
well.
A lot of that has now changed. Roads down south have been improved and
many have chosen the quieter atmosphere of the south rather than the
north.
There are two approaches to the South Coast from Sydney. Both start on
the Princess Highway, which starts in Newtown, fairly close to the
central railway station in the city.
The route heads past the airport. Here is where you choice of route
takes place.
Continue on past Botany Bay and through Sydney's southern suburbs, or
turn west and get onto the M5 Motorway (Tollroad).
The first option of continuing down the Princess Highway gives you your
first sighting of open countryside outside of suburbia is as you
approach the Royal National
Park south
of Botany Bay.
There are some excellent beaches in the park as well as several places
that you can picnic and camp.
Heading further south you should turn off towards the coast and
Stanwell Park. Here you can stop at the Lawrence Hargraves Memorial and
Lookout to enjoy magnificent view of the coastline.
From here head for, and through, Wollongong.
The other route, when you turned off at the M5 Motorway, takes you
quickly down to Campbelltown. Don't take the first Campbelltown exit
but the second, at Narellan Road. At Narellan Road turn left and a few
traffic lights down turn right and follow the signs to Bulli.
At the end of the village of Appin the main road clearly goes left,
instead of straight. Follow this road the whole way down until you
reach Wollongong. There is a magnificent lookout over the ocean and
surrounding suburbs on the as you approach Wollongong.
The first city you will encounter going south is Wollongong. Keep going
on the road south.
There are several very popular tourist areas, caravan and camping sites
as well as beautiful beaches along the coastline south of Wollongong.
Some of the national parks have already been covered if you followed
the
south western trip out of Sydney.
Not far Sydney side of Nowra is the very popular,
historic village
of Berry. Don't be surprised to see the town bustling with people if it
is a nice day.
The
next major
town will be Nowra.
There are villages along the coast but they entail 20 to 30 minute
drives to the east as Nowra is not on the coast but situated on the
river. |
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In
fact, once you
leave Nowra there are not many places that you will see the sea from
the road even though you are driving close to, and parallel with, the
sea.
Nowra is well known for its links with the Australian Navy and there is
very much a naval presence in the town in the form of museums and the
naval base located in Jervis Bay, just to the South of Nowra.
South
of Sydney for Longer Than A day
From Nowra south there are, again, many seaside resorts with facilities
for caravaners, campers, bush walking, four wheel driving and so on.
Between Nowra and Ulladulla you have several sea side villages to the
left whilst on the right you will find the Moreton National Park, Budawang
National
Park, Clyde
River National
Park, Mungo
National Park, Deua
National Park, Kooraban
National Park, Wadbiliga
National
Park, Biamanga
National Park, South
East Forest National
Park and
several more, smaller, pockets of national park. |
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| Click
here to return to the top of the page |
| National
Parks
Mentioned on this page |
Barrington
Tops
National Park
Bellingen
River National Park
Biamanga
National Park
Blue
Mountains National Park
Border
Ranges
National Park
Brindabella National
Park
Budawang
National Park
Clyde
River National Park
Deua
National Park
Dorrigo
National
Park
Kanangra
Boyd
National Park
Kooraban
National Park
Kosciuszko
National Park
Lake
Munmorah National Park
Lamington
National
Park
Moreton
National Park
Mungo
National Park
Myall
Lakes National Park
Namadgi
National Park
New
England National
Park Royal National
Park
South
East Forest National Park
Wadbiliga National
Park
Werrikimbe
National Park
Willi
Willi
National Park
Wollemi National
Park
Yengo National
Park |
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