Hello! Join me in walking Sydney's coastal and bushwalks!
Search This Blog
Federation Cliff Walk
Federation Cliff Walk is a 6km coastal and suburban walk looking out to the Pacific Ocean from Dover Heights to Watsons Bay. This walk is a combination of different reserves, parks and cliff walks and has multiple detours along residential roads. Some portions can be difficult to find as there are not enough signs along the residential roads. Making the wrong turn or walking along the wrong street would end up at a dead end or at someone's backyard.
I took a ferry to Watsons Bay and Bus 380 to bus stop 'Military Rd at Raleigh St' to get to Raleigh Reserve. This walk can also be taken the other way starting from Watsons Bay and ending at Dover Heights.
Raleigh Reserve
The walk starts at Raleigh Reserve. It is a big empty space of grass with a few trees but with amazing views of Pacific Ocean. There are dogs and families walking here.
Rodney Reserve
Rodney Reserve is very similar to Raleigh Reserve, but much bigger.
From Rodney Reserve, exit via Blake St and turn right along Military Rd.
Dudley Page Reserve
Dudley Page Reserve is a big park with plenty of grass and a few trees. It has panoramic views of the city.
From Dudley Page Reserve, turn right along Lancaster Rd to find the start of the Eastern Reserve Cliff Walk. I missed this turn and ended up at the end of Eastern Reserve.
Eastern Reserve
If starting at Lancaster Rd, there should be steps along the cliff of Eastern Reserve. Along Eastern Reserve, there are interesting limestone formations.
Diamond Cliff Walk
Diamond Cliff Walk is my favorite part of this walk. It is made of wooden paths along the cliff. The view of the aqua blue water against the rocks here is amazing.
After the wooden path, Diamond Bay Reserve becomes a grassy path along the coast. Just follow the coast and then walk along Marne St and Jensen St to reach Clarke Reserve.
Clarke Reserve and Christison Park
Clarke Reserve and Christison Park are busier parts of this walk with a lot of families walking and enjoying the park. From here the path becomes easier to follow with more informative signs.
Lighthouse Reserve
At the Lighthouse Reserve, you will be able to view the Macquarie Lighthouse. However access to it is along the other side at Old South Head Rd. There are a lot of limestone formations along this path.
Limestone paths
Macquarie Lighthouse from Dunbar Head
Signal Hill Reserve
At Signal Hill Reserve are some remains of military structures.
Signal Hill Battery
Gap Park
Gap Park must be the most popular part of this walk. This is directly accessible from Watsons Bay. From here are fantastic views of the Gap Bluff. There are also panoramic views of the city from this park.
View of North Head from Gap Park
The park is infamous from numerous suicides
Don Ritchie Grove is an optional detour along this walk
Man made shelter
Panoramic view of the city
Dunbar Wreck Memorial
Gap Bluff
The Gap Lookout
At the end of the Gap Park take the stairs for the Gap Lookout. However the views here are obstructed by high fences. I reckon they are placed there to prevent people from climbing over the lower fences.
There is a public toilet at the Robertson Park. To get back to the city I took the ferry from Watsons Bay to Circular Quay.
Concord Foreshore Trail is a 6km tree trail from Rhodes to Concord West. It passes through the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway, around Concord Repatriation General Hospital and around Yaralla House. This trail is one of the quietest tracks I have taken so far having seen only a few people along the trail. This can be relaxing but can also be a bit uncomfortable. There is construction work at the hospital which forced me to go around residential streets to find the access back to the trail. Without this detour the trail would only be 5km. To get to the starting point of this trail I took the train to Rhodes. From the train station, cross the roads to Brays Bay Reserve. Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway Concord Foreshore Trail starts at Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway. It is a very well maintained concrete and wooden track. There are also audio guides playing along the walkway. Brays Bay Reserve At the end of this walkway, the trail loops around the Concord Repatriation General Hospita...
Busbys Pond and Duck Pond loop is a 4km loop around Centennial Park. It has asphalt pathway for walkers and joggers. Cars and bikes share the road around the park. Dogs are allowed on leash along the walking paths and allowed to roam on the grass. There are also dedicated paths for horses around the park. I took the tram from the city to Moore Park. Buses also go here from the city. From the tram/bus stop, walk along Lang Rd to get to the start of the loop. It was raining on that day. I was wondering why it's called a duck pond, and lo and behold, there are ducks crossing the street! It's amusing to see cars waiting for the ducks to cross the road. There are nice views of water and greenery around the Centennial Park. I will surely be back when the weather is nicer here at Centennial Park. Here is a Google Maps of the track I took: Google Maps of Busbys Pond and Duck Pond Loop Here is a short video of a part of the loop:
Kirribilli is a suburb located just north of the city. It is popular during Spring for the scattered jacaranda trees around the neighbourhood and along Milson Park. There are also several lookouts with amazing views of Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House and the city skyline. This is an urban walk that takes around 2km passing through Kirribilli streets and lookouts. To get to Kirribilli, I took a ferry from Circular Quay to Kirribilli Wharf. It is a short quiet ride on a smaller, less busy ferry. At Kiribilli wharf, there is a popular coffee shop called Celsius Coffee Co. The shop was very busy even on a weekday so I was not able to stop here for coffee. Other options of getting to Kirribilli is via North Sydney Wharf, if you want to get to Milsons Park directly. You can also get there by train, via Milsons Point station. Holbrook Ave Right outside the wharf along Holbrook Ave, you would be able to see plenty of jacaranda trees in bloom during Spring. Grab the chance to take p...
Comments
Post a Comment