I love taking my kids to this park. Locally situated in North Parramatta, it has undercover tables,…read morea park with swings/slides and lookouts, plenty of tree cover and open space and a bubbler for when you get thirsty. For the sports minded people, there is a half court basketball court and a half court netball court.

Definitely the biggest playground I've ever been to! It has it all... swings, giant climbing…read morestructure and very high rope bridge, flying fox, tunnels and slides, rope climbing web, etc. We spent more than 2 hours here and had a group of kids ranging from age 1 to 12. We definitely will be back whenever we're in the area!!

Drawn in by the potential of the Armory Wharf Cafe (review http://frid.co/nikCOQ) I found my self…read moredriving a bit out of my way to give it a go. Not knowing a great deal about this park, when I arrived I was amazed to see the play area with the shiny slippery slides, climbing areas and massive swings. This is an awesome park. While some parts of it still seem under development, and there is a real lack of shade areas, this has to be one of the best play areas I have seen in Sydney. If your kids can not have fun here they are simply not trying hard enough. While it appeared there was a tonne of parking available, on the weekend you are going to find it challenging. As for what to bring when you come, if you have a bike, bring it as there is a huge bike track to check out. If you don't have one, you can rent one ( http://frid.co/qSpPMO ). Of course if you want to chill out and relax, perhaps with a coffee, then head to either the Armory Wharf Cafe or the Armory Wharf Canteen ( http://frid.co/nKLbIw - which is only open on weekends and public holidays). Alternatively you could grab one of the benches near the free BBQ hot plates and cook up a couple of snags. If you are looking for the perfect place to have a kids birthday party, this might be it! You just might not want to do it on the weekend...

"Government Hoose uz mye hoose! And its duhmain uz mye duhmain, no' a public resort!"…read more Much to the ol' Scotch-tongued Guvnor Macquarie's chagrin, the everyday people of the colony did treat this place as a "public resort" or "Common" long before it officially became one (in 1858). In the 1820s, these colonists committed "various Depredations on the Trees...intended for Ornament," disfiguring and destroying them for firewood and bark to shingle their dwellings, dug sand for their mortar, and grazed their cattle right up until they were threatened with prosecution for such offences to the Guv's private property. No doubt it is because this 85-hectare heritage-listed park began as the Governor's private domain that, even today, one feels as though one is perambulating through an impressive, peaceful country estate, far removed from the bustle of the CBD rather than where one actually is: in the middle of it! Locals (including the cute and boisterous wildlife - corellas and cockatoos) are often to be found taking full advantage of this pastoral oasis, cycling, picnicking with family and frolicking along its river, beneath its handsome trees or in the vicinity of picturesque, colonial architectural gems including; the Georgian McMansion known as "Old Government House;" the Tudor revivalism of the George Street "Tudor" Gatehouse, (on the cusp of becoming a café / restaurant and reclaiming its status as the official entry point to the park in the near future); the Gothic design of the Macquarie Street Gatehouse (the perfect place for a high tea or a quick coffee and cake) and the considerably humbler convict-built Salter's Cottage, which eventually became the Governor's "Dairy Cottage" as well as the adjacent Ranger's Cottage. The Mays Hill Gatehouse has also just been newly restored and it is pretty as a picture. Believe it or no' (sorry, I momentarily slipped back into my Scottish accent) that is just for starters, because the park is a veritable hot bed of historicity!* Indigenous history is brought to the fore in a bush regeneration program currently underway within the park, which will restore a remnant of Sydney's Coastal River-Flat Forest. Introduced exotic trees and plants are being removed to allow native species to regenerate so visitors will experience the landscape as it was for the Darug people for at least 20,000 years. At the "Murray Gardens" you can stand in the very spot where convicts built their huts from 1788-1810 and at the "Rumsey Rose Gardens" see the heritage rose species on display as well as where cons once worked in the government lumberyard (1790-1815). Partial to a Georgian cannon? As am I! There are two at the stunning sandstone Boer War Memorial with numbers and such engraved on them in an old-timey hand, and not far from there you can stand at the site of Parramatta's first building, Governor Phillip's Redoubt, and see what remains of the Governor's Bath House (now a pavilion) and Observatory. There you'll see an obelisk marking the Observatory's "transit instrument." And, while it may be hard to believe, it is not the only obelisk around these parts. There's another one on "Oak Drive" which serves as a memorial to a Governor's wife who died in an horrific horse and carriage accident in 1847. The Female Factory Precinct, old Parra Gaol and the Old King's School are all very close to Parramatta Park, too. See? "Hotbed of historicity" was not mere hyperbole! And if you do get peckish or thirsty and you aren't in possession of a picnic, the afore mentioned heritage-listed Macquarie Street Gatehouse is a winner, as are Lachlan's café and restaurant at Old Government House and the Parramatta Park Café. Seriously, I can't think of another park in the wider Sydney area that has this much going for it! * You can learn a lot about the history of Parra Park simply by wandering around aimlessly and reading the abundant, well-researched signage at significant locations as you stumble upon 'em, pick up some self-guided tour brochures from the Parramatta Heritage Centre, or download the free historic walking tour app "DigiMacq," which I've already reviewed thoroughly on Yelp. * Review originally written and posted 4 May 2014. Info about Mays Hill Gatehouse restoration reflects more recent developments in 2015.

Yesterweek, in the intense autumnal sun* I walked along the Parramatta riverbank. I was not…read moreunaccompanied. Sunday morning joggers, dog-walkers, touristy hikers passed me by while less active nappers stretched out on the grass. But my Riverside Walk was also accompanied by something else: a colonial soundscape. Before setting out on my self-guided tour of four historically-evocative artwork installations on the river foreshore, I downloaded the FREE podcast "Life Along the Riverbank" via iTunes, which includes four audio tracks and a full colour brochure of the tour. The idea is that the artworks, the text incorporated into these visual works, and the audio conjure up the colonial world of the early 1800s. You get to hear real stories of real everyday people; cons, free men and women, children, aboriginal people of the region - the Burramatta - and soldiers, while you stand in the very spots where their histories unfolded and became entangled forever. The audio tracks are great; the voiceovers capture the accents authentic to the period and the quotations have been pulled directly from primary sources. Some choice sound effects also transport you to a time when Parramatta was a brutal military garrison town. The artworks and soundscape aim to reveal "stories of hardship, love, loss, survival, order and punishment" and in that they certainly succeed! The tour itself is very short in terms of walking distance; beginning just behind the Parramatta Wharf where the Rivercat comes in and ending at the Gasworks Bridge. The audio tracks are also not overly long. I still managed to draw the whole tour out to a couple of hours, however, as I photographed every inch of the spaces at every conceivable angle and, if I'm honest, had a little difficulty finding Stop 2 and Stop 4...but I'll say more on that later. You could do the whole tour much quicker than I did. In fact, the total audio time is approximately 10 minutes. Stop 1 "STORYWALLS" harmonise nicely with the natural landscape as they look like brown hills beneath a beautiful old shady tree. Each "hill" contains text; details of notables who lived in Parramatta; an Aboriginal missionary, a female teacher, convicts (including poor Ann Mash who was sentenced to seven years for stealing a bushel of wheat!), and the painted, spear-weilding Baluderri who "came to Governor Phillip's hut in a violent rage" threatening to kill the white men who had broken his canoe." These people are made more real to you as you listen to the podcast. Stop 2 "THE BACKYARD OF HARRISFORD" was a bit hard to find! I also recommend you actually walk up the path and follow it right past the new apartment blocks there to look at the front of HARRISFORD, which was the original school for colonial children and went on to become the first King's School. Conservation work is currently underway, but there is plenty to see even from the outside. Listen to the podcast to hear the tales of students who used to play there. Stop 3 "SENTRY BOX" - you can't miss this one. A bright red and white striped artistic re-interpretation of a colonial military Sentry Box that once stood here in the 1790s. It is rather gothic-looking with the shovels and pitchforks etc that stick out the top. Inside the Sentry Box are more primary source quotes, which you can listen to on the podcast. Stop 4 "WINDMILL SHADOW" - I walked right over this one just in front of the Gasworks Bridge initially as this artwork is subtle compared to the nearby Sentry Box. It is comprised of charcoal tiles against the otherwise white cement pavement. The charcoal lines represent approximately where the shadow of Howell's mill would have fallen if it were still standing. The audio track for this one was my favourite. A 48-second folk song about Howell's Mill sung in that really open-throated colonial way that you'd normally associate with sea shanties including songs like "Botany Bay." I confess to playing that track a few times before moving on! It utterly transported me to a time when the colonists relied heavily on windmills for the power that would help them survive an incredible unforgiving environment. It's so peaceful here now, but the self-guided tour podcast and these artworks go a long way towards helping you imagine a time when it was anything but. The artworks and the podcast are all part of Parramatta City Council's "Parramatta Stories Project" and were created by historian Michael Flynn and artists Susan Milne and Greg Stonehouse. It's great that Parramatta Council has made such an effort to preserve the incredible historical heritage of Parramatta. *Review was originally written and posted 29 March 2014.

When you get off the Rivercat at Parramatta wharf, you're right at the end of the navigable part of…read morethe river. There's a little weir, with a walkway over the top, and beyond that, parks and walkways along the foreshore. When I arrived on a bright, sunny day, there was a guy fishing over the weir, officeworkers inhaling lunch under the trees and others power-walking, trying ever so hard not to puff. As I sat on the plentiful grass, a kookaburra chased off some somnolent looking pigeons and then flew off over the waterlilies. Never having visited the river here before, I was amazed to see so much green space so near the city centre of Parramatta, and greatly enjoyed my walk up to the Heritage Centre, just over Lennox Bridge. Along much of the way, you can enjoy the 'Riverside Walk' artpiece by Aboriginal artist Jamie Eastwood. It visually represents the history of the area from an Aboriginal point of view. There's little plaques giving a historical backing to the visuals, and would make a great way to educate the kids. This area's been inhabited for tens of thousands of years, and it's quite a legacy to think about as you take each step. The ancient history of this country and its people may not be as visible as the Pyramids or Stonehenge, but it's here, under our feet. It just takes a bit more imaginative effort and interest on our part to conjure up. It's only a ten minute walk or so up to the Heritage centre (and a stop on the free bus loop) and beats pounding the asphalt no end.

Great watermark and play areas for the kids. There's a…read moremodern bbq area. Plenty of parking. Although not that easy to get to from the Train Station

150 acres of bushland and a big lake within a few km's of Parramatta CBD - what else needs to be…read moresaid? Lake Parramatta is like a little piece of the Blue Mountains in suburbia. It's tucked away between James Ruse Drive, Pennant Hills Road and North Rocks Road and surprisingly there are even locals that don't realise its there or haven't been there. The lake has only just re opened for swimming this year (2015) and there is a smallish roped off swimming section with a few life guards watching. (Not sure if these are only there on the weekends though). Plenty of people were swimming elsewhere anyway and the area off the wharf at the Southern end seems popular for people to swim with their dogs and the rocks on the North Rocks Rd side popular with kids for jumping off the rocks into the water. If you drop in during the week, especially in the morning, its like a 'who's who' of govt departments and local tradies. They all seem to drive there and pull up for the morning coffee and newspaper overlooking the lake. Weekends in summer are extremely busy and parking within the reserve can be a struggle. A vacant picnic table is about as rare as a flying unicorn unless you get there early so bring a rug as there is plenty of grassed areas to lay about on. In terms of facilities there are BBQ's, kids play ground, toilets, and a cafe serving decent food, okay coffee, and gelato. There are also great marked bushwalking trails right around the perimeter of the lake. Great place to escape the hustle and bustle without needing to go too far!

Nice on lead dog walk with the opportunity for a good dog swim. Depending on our walking pace it…read moreshould take just over an hour.

HUGE park, great for Tropfest, but I wish I had known it was in the middle of the park! Might have…read morebeen more prepared for that walk in 45C/104F. As you can see from pictures, it needs more trees for shade, I'm not sure what people do on hot days here.

When I was planning my trip to Sydney last year I discovered that there was this really cool…read morelooking gate at the entrance to this park, however I also noticed that this park was quite large. As it turns out large is a bit of an understatement - it is absolutely huge. So huge that it contains a relic of Australia's convict past - Old Government House. There are some huge flat grasses areas, large enough to have a round-robin professional football festival (though I am exaggerating a bit, but it is still pretty big). The Parramatta River also runs through the middle of the park, though it isn't really all that wide, but don't try to jump over it - you might end up getting wet. When I went for a wander around here I barely even scratched the surface, but it certainly is a decent place was a walk, jog, picnic, or even a game of One Day International Cricket.

Norwest business park was started in the late 80's and the developers built this large lake smack…read morein the middle of it with the shopping centre, restaurants, and grassed areas along its shoreline. The lake is great for kids as there are a heap of ducks who live there are jettys along the edge allow the kids to reach out and feed them with bread etc. On the weekend there are often groups of older men racing their radio controlled yachts around the lake which is also great to watch. Or if you just want to relax head to the side closest to the shopping centre and there is a few grassed areas shaded by trees. Theres also a great seafood place in the shopping centre so fish & chips by the lake is a great relaxing arvo!