I love this beach as it's quiet and has a great view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House…read more It's a little annoying to get to as there's stairs but you can push the stroller/pram down the grassy hill. It's a two man job though. You can park for free on the street then walk down the long driveway. It is close to a high school and boats so expect a few of them around but they keep to themselves. Unfortunately one of them threw a beer bottle in the water and so there can be broken glass. I recommend bringing lunch like takeaway fish and chips, lots of water and a bottle of wine and just relaxing when you get here. You can also bring shade like a beach tent or umbrella.

Name was misleading, please read up on consumer law- no milk to be seen anywhere! However, the…read morebeach was pretty decent and there were some yummy fellas there. Nice and secluded, beautiful view, even better men.

This entire garden is a landscape architecture gem. It has won numerous award and is the staple…read moreproject on every architecture fan's lips. A must visit. Arguably one of the best adaptive reuse project in Australia, the reservoir promotes and celebrates the beauty of its past life while revels in the future and its potential. It's wide enough to host functions and gatherings etc, and when I was there, people used it for work meetings or simply just to meet up with friends. The bench initiative where you get to grab a deck chair and sit wherever you want is genius. Protip: come during sunset and watch the world go by as the sun goes down. It is stunning.

D1 and 30-40 of her boho buddies had her 21st here. I got the food organised and dropped it off for…read moreher. Then I was told I was no longer needed. Three things amazed me about this place. First it is a brilliant restoration of an archeologically important site that can actually be used. It is not a museum 'look but don't touch' place. Second, it was kept away from developers even though its location must have made them hyperventilate at the profits that could have been made by destroying it. Third, its free. Her 21st was free! I cannot believe my luck! Apart from some students making a short film and a couple taking wedding shots there was no one else there. Chairs are provided and there are undercover areas if the weather turns, it has everything. I was overcome by my creative side, a side that appears only to me and which is denied by my family who say it is simply boredom. Anyway, I took some photos, some of my best work I think. Its a great spot.

Not a difficult hike. I think it was about 2 miles. Accessible by bus or ferry. Taking the bus 342…read moremake sure it goes to the Watsons Bay as there's also a shorter round. Not a long walk from Robertsons Park. Maybe 2 miles? However, you can extend for a longer coastAl walk by combining it with the Bondi, which could go on for over 12 km. Much of the power has fencing for safety. Paved throughout.

Beautiful views of downtown Sydney from here. And the smell of fish and chips from Doyle's is…read moreincredible. We laughed hysterically watching a woman with a bag of fish & chips get chased screaming by about 25 large, loud & hungry seagulls. There were lots of beautiful sailboats and a quiet pristine beach. It appears that the indigenous tribes were here in the 1900s & lived around the giant fig tree. The first European settlement were here in 1790 as the bricklayers, carpenters & fishermen. Now Doyle's fish and chips and the Watson Bay boutique hotel are the places to stop here. The special forces the Australian military equivalent to the American navy seals are housed here with lots of equipment.

Found this great little hidden headland after reading reading David S.'s review on Yelp. Thanks…read morebuddy! It's right out of the way, near the Waverton naval base, not an area of the world you end up in unless you're there for a reason, which means it's largely undiscovered. Drive in, park anywhere you want, and trot down the bush path, past magpies and bush turkeys with their red heads and golden collars. You'll stumble upon sweet little reserves and lookouts, and charming picnic and play areas. Go further down and you'll find paths down to the water, where you can dip your feet in and cool those bunions, or say what the hell and slip into the Harbour itself for a dip. There are gum trees waving gently at you and on a sunny day it's a minor, uninhabited paradise.

I have to say that the views from here are simply outstanding - you get great views of the bridge…read moreand the city, and all from a natural bushland in the heart of the city. I have intended on going was a harbourside walk on the Northshore and had, for some reason, randomly picked this place, and it was one of the most awesome random picks that I have ever done. I disappeared into a tunnel at the Coal Loader and stepped out into what appeared to be a national park, and when you walk about the bluff, the view you get is nothing short of awe inspiring. In fact it is one of those places, if you are so inclinded, to set up and easel and paint. Definitely a great place to go for a bush walk if you don't want to travel too far out of the city.

This is one of my favorite open spaces in the inner west ..... it's full of life ..... wild and…read moreotherwise ....... full of history too .... Did you know this is where 'Bradman' scored his first ..... first class century ..... no ! ..... well now you do. It's a place to chill ..... exercise..... have kiddie parties ..... take your pet for a walk ..... or watch a cricket or baseball match ..... also perfect for a picnic with some special or anyone at all !! ...... it's Green and looks great !!! Please keep it in a great state and it will be around for many many years for another generation to enjoy. Ps ..... a great swimming pool is incorporated in the park too ..... !!! ..... bring your swimmers !!

Also known as Petersham Park, this is a great park to have a picnic, watch a cricket match, or go…read morefor a swim. It is the biggest open space in the area and you'll find lots of people exercising and playing with their kids and dogs. It almost deserves five stars, but the people using the park don't take especially good care of it. After a weekend of heavy use, there is rubbish everywhere. I take my kid to the playground here almost daily and spend a good portion of my time picking up broken glass -- I've come to the conclusion that if somebody breaks a bottle anywhere in Petersham, they pick up the pieces to distribute across the playground. Pick up after yourselves, people!!!

During our visit to Manly, since we thought it was a bit too chilly to hang out on the beach, we…read moretook a nice walk along the Manly Scenic Walkway from the corner of Manly Beach by the Manly Life Saving Club to Shelley Beach, and back again. It is a relatively safe, mostly fenced in path by the water. Basically, you would have to be taking some large risks to fall in, though there are places you may venture forth onto relatively flat rocks or around a neat outdoor swimming pool. With a leisurely pace and pauses for photos or just to sit back and relax, the round trip took us an hour and 15 minutes. I particularly enjoyed the metal sculptures set in the rocky ledges along the walkway leading towards Shelley Beach, known as the Cabbage Tree Bay Eco Sculpture Walk. Also outstanding, at Shelley Beach, there were quite a few wild turkeys wandering about.

The Manly to Shelly Beach Walk is located in an area known as the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve…read more The boundaries are from the south end of Manly Beach to the north end of Shelly Beach. This area is full of rocky shores which you see numerous people walking around in. The waters of the reserve is home to more than 160 species of fish along with kelp and seagrass. While the actual walkway on Marine Parade is a nice place for walker and joggers/runners to get some physical activity while being amidst some natural beauty. Along the walk you see a lot of waterfront houses. Saw a number of houses perched on top of rock formations and walls. It must be nice living in these homes as they are seaside, but in walking distance to the city portion of Manly. At the end of walk you arrive at Shelly Beach which is a pleasant beach that is more secluded than the larger Manly Beach. It is also covered in trees so it has an island paradise vibe to it. If you are looking for a relaxed beach, Shelly Beach is a good spot. While Manly Beach is the main attraction in the area, this beach walk is nice too as you can get an opposite side view of Manly Beach. The rocky shores and rock wall formations in the area also are reasons to take this walk.

I debated if I should write a review about Strickland House because it is one of my favorite places…read morein all of Sydney. But, in the spirit of sharing I've decided to go ahead. A bit off the beaten track, Strickland House was once home to a Lord Mayor and then once a nursing home so the history here is in abundance. The grounds are spectacular and they boast some of the best views in Sydney. If you creep down the hill you'll chance upon a secluded beach which is now busy on the weekends, but during the week it's like your own private beach on Sydney Harbour. This is a great spot to take anybody who has never been here before - people who live in Sydney and those who don't. Creep round the back of the old house for maximum impact - when you get around the corner the revel of the view is spectacular.

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.