Sydney & Australia's New South Wales

By Holly Smith

Following is an excerpt from this extensive & highly detailed guide by a lifetime resident of Australia. The guide covers all the hotels, restaurants, sights to see and activities, from beachgoing to hiking, kayaking to exploring the Outback or the cultur

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hunter Publishing
• Release date: Aug 3, 2009
• ISBN: 9781588437754

Holly Smith

Holly was born in Hamilton, Ontario. She moved to the island of Victoria, British Columbia, with her two young children and they all spent countless summer vacations on Salt Spring Island with her two brothers, Joey and Tony. Holly now resides in the quaint, seaside village of Dundarave in West Vancouver, with her two chubby cats and writes children’s books with her beautiful daughter, Krista. This is her second book. Krista grew up on Vancouver Island in Victoria, British Columbia and now lives with her husband and daughter close to Vancouver in the beautiful city of Port Moody. She loves writing, especially stories with her mom, traveling, hanging out with her family, and spending time at the beach. This is her second book.

Book preview

Sydney & Australia's New South Wales

HUNTER PUBLISHING, INC.

www.hunterpublishing.com

E-mail [e-mail]

IN CANADA:

Ulysses Travel Publications

4176 Saint-Denis, Montréal, Québec

Canada H2W 2M5

tel. [phone] ext. 2232 / fax [phone]

IN THE UNITED KINGDOM:

Windsor Books International

5, Castle End Park, Castle End Rd, Ruscombe

Berkshire, RG10 9XQ England

tel. [phone] / fax [phone]

This and other Hunter travel guides are also available as e-books

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. Brief excerpts for review or promotional purposes are permitted.

This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim any responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any liability for loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

Contents

All About Australia

The Dreamtime

The Explorers

The Criminals

The Settlers

The Gold-Seekers

The Vintners

The Adventurers

The Rebels

The Citizens

The Soldiers

The Australians

Six States, Two Territories, & Many Islands

Surrounding Properties

The Government

The Land

A Moving Puzzle

A Vast & Barren Core

Refreshing Waterways

Farmland Bounty & Natural Riches

Australian Flora: Unique & Unexpected

The Forests & Fields

The Deserts

Australian Wildlife: Weird & Wonderful

Brilliant Bird Life

Bugs, Grubs, & Spiders

Turtles, Snakes, & Crocs

Other Water Creatures

National Parks & Protected Areas

The Australians

The People

Crazy for Sports

Australian Arts

Poets & Writers

Visual Arts

On the Stage & Big Screen

Theater

Movies

Australian Music

The Australian Palate

Distinctly Aussie Cuisine

Down the Hatch

Getting Here & Getting Around

Getting to Australia

By Air

From North America

From Europe

From Africa

From Asia

Connections with China

Connections with India

Connections with Indonesia

Connections with Malaysia & Singapore

To Antarctica

By Sea

Cruise Ships

Getting Around Australia

By Air

Major Airlines

Regional Airlines

Charter Airlines

By Sea

Cruise Ships

By Train

By Road

Buses

Driving

Basic Road Rules

Car Seats for Children

Major Preparations

Car Rentals

Other Helpful National Resources

Motorcycles

Biking

Travel Information

General Information

Addresses & Phone Numbers

Banking

Businesses, Shops, & Attractions

Climate

Credit Cards

Currency & Exchange

Customs

Disabled Travelers

Health & Safety

Internet

Language & Manners

Lodging

Major Hotels, Motels, & Resorts

Apartment Rentals

Home Exchanges

Bed-&-Breakfasts & Guesthouses

Hostels & Budget Accommodations

Camping

Mail & Postal Services

News

Shopping

Taxes

The Tourist Refund Scheme

The Mysterious VAT

Telephones

Cellphone Rentals

Time Zones

Tipping

Visa Requirements

Embassies & Consulates in Australia

Voltage

Whom to Contact

Australian Tourism Authorities

State Tourism Boards

City Information

Websites

Sydney & New South Wales

Diverse Adventures

What to See & Do

Jumping-Off Points

Getting Here

By Air

Airports

Transfers

Other Major Airports

Airlines

By Water

Ports

By Rail

National Lines

Getting Around

Tips & Discounts

By Air

Regional Airlines

By Water

Ferries

Sydney

By Rail

State Lines

Monorail & Light Rail

Around Sydney

By Road

Taxis

Sydney

Buses

National & State Lines in New South Wales

Stations

Local Lines

Information Sources

Local Tourism Boards & Travel Offices

Sydney & Environs

Adventures Around Sydney

In the Air

Flightseeing

From Sydney

Around Port Stephens

Helicopters

The Mountains

The Coast

Port Stephens

Hot Air Ballooning

Sydney

The Hunter Valley

Great Air Journeys

To Antarctica

On Foot

Bushwalking

Around Sydney

Sydney Harbour National Park

Garigal National Park

The Islands

The Mountains

Blue Mountains National Park

Historic Routes

Contacts

Tours

Kanangra-Boyd National Park

Warrumbungle National Park

The Snowy Mountains

The Coast

Royal National Park

Statewide Bushwalking Tours

The Islands

Lord Howe Island

Beach Walking

Around Sydney

Around Newcastle

Lake Macquarie

Myall Lakes National Park

Around Gosford

Broadwater National Park

Bouddi National Park

Yuraygir National Park

The Far South

Jervis Bay National Park

Seven Mile Beach National Park

Sandboarding

The Coast

Stockton Bight National Park

Climbing

Sydney

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Abseiling & Rock Climbing

Spelunking & Fossicking

The Snowy Mountains

Kosciuszko National Park

The West

Broken Hill

Wildlife Watching

The Mountains

Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

Around Dubbo

Western Plains Zoo

The Hunter Valley

Hunter Wetlands Centre

The South

Barren Grounds Nature Reserve

The Coast

Cape Byron Marine Park

Around Port Stephens

Batemans Bay Marine Park

Jervis Bay Marine Park

Kanangra-Boyd National Park

The West

Kinchega National Park

Sturt National Park

On Camel & Horseback

Around Sydney

The Mountains

New England

Around Barrington

Around Blackheath

Around Glenworth

The Hunter Valley

Around Pokolbin

Scone

The West

Around Tamworth

The Outback

Around Silverton

The South

On Rails

Great Rail Journeys

Sydney

Sydney Tramway Museum

The Mountains

The Zig Zag Railway

Katoomba's Scenic Railway

Blue Mountains Trolley

The South

Thirlmere Railway Museum

On Wheels

Bicycling & Mountain Biking

Around Sydney

Homebush Bay Olympic Mountain Bike Track

Resources

The Hunter Valley

The South

Kosciuszko National Park

Motorcycle Adventures

Sydney

Four-Wheel-Drive Excursions

Scenic Drives

Around Sydney

On the Water

Boating & Sailing

Sydney

The South

The Hawkesbury River

The Murray River

From Yarrawonga

Canoeing, Kayaking, & Whitewater Rafting

Sydney

The Mountains

Barrington Tops National Park

The Blue Mountains - Around Penrith

The Murray River

Around Albury

Khancoban

On Snow

Best Bases

Jindabyne

Thredbo

Snowboarding

Thredbo

Cultural Excursions

The Coast

Around Byron Bay

Broken Head Nature Reserve

The South

Biamanga National Park

Gulaga National Park

Bega

Central Tilba

Around Jervis Bay

Throsby Park Historic Site

The Islands

Norfolk Island

Sightseeing

The Rocks

Tours

Around The Rocks

Sydney Observatory

East of The Rocks

The Sydney Opera House

Circular Quay

Central Sydney

Darling Harbour

Must-See Attractions

The Australian Museum

Luna Park

Sydney Olympic Park & Telstra Stadium

Sydney Tower & OzTrek

Taronga Zoo

The Coast

The North

Around Coffs Harbour

Around Port Stephens

Williamstown

Where to Stay

Sydney

Major Hotels & Resorts

Small Hotels & Boutique Accommodations

The North

The Blue Mountains

The Coast

Byron Bay

The South

The Snowy Mountains

Around Thredbo

The Islands

The North

Norfolk Island

The Far West

Near Mildura

Mungo National Park

White Cliffs

Apartments

Sydney

Houseboats

Around Sydney

The Mountains

The North

The Hawkesbury River

The Coast

The North

Ballina

The South

Batemans Bay

The Murray River

Pubs & Roadhouses

Around the State

The Far West

Bed-and-Breakfasts, Farmstays, & Guesthouses

The Hunter Valley

Around Tamworth

The South

The Snowy Mountains

Around Charlotte Pass

Around Cowra

The Coast

The North

Around Byron Bay

Around Port Macquarie

Port Stephens

The South

Kangaroo Valley

The Southern Highlands

The Far West

Around Bourke

Gundabooka National Park

Broken Hill

Around Griffith

Willandra National Park

Kinchega National Park

Around White Cliffs

The Northwest

The Southwest

Budget Accommodations & Hostels

The Islands

Where to Eat

Sydney

Tours

Recommendations

Unusual Options

Cruises

Where to Shop

Malls

Around Sydney

Markets

Around Sydney

Around New South Wales

All About Australia

The Dreamtime

Imagine a world covered in ice sheets more than a kilometer thick, with the endless forests and fields between them covering a landscape that today is deep underwater. A dry, flat valley connects the Australia mainland with New Guinea to the northeast, and just 45 miles/72 km of sea – rather than some 299 miles/483 km, as it is now – separates the continent's northwestern edge from the southeast coast of Asia. Inland, cool greenery covers what will in eons be the stark red Outback desert, and the very heart of the country is pocketed with vast lakes and wetlands surrounded with lush, windswept fields. This was Australia 60,000 years ago, in the time of the first Aborigines.

What brought these first dark-skinned, wiry-haired, bony-limbed humans to the continent is a mystery, but the abundance of food kept waves of humans migrating south. The original settlers first camped along the islands and north coasts near Darwin, then worked their way down the east coast near Sydney over the next 15,000 years. Slowly, tribes moved farther down the continent, finally reaching the south coast near Melbourne about 40,000 years ago, and even Tasmania by around 28,000 BC.

The new cultures thrived on this freshly-carved continent, living nomadic lives that took little from the land and flourished in both tropical and desert environments. Tribes were adept at the arts, painting hundreds of images along sheltered rock overhangs and in shallow caves, where the earliest, simple scenes of families and hunters gradually expanded to include kangaroos, thylacines, boomerangs, spears, and even the surrounding foliage. More than 500 Aboriginal groups existed throughout Australia, most with their own language or dialect. Each culture's traditions and events were preserved through songs, stories, and finely-honed rock etchings and paintings. The tribes also appointed themselves caretakers of the earth around them, their art and rituals recording specific characteristics of the land and creatures under their domain.

And to survive in what was quickly becoming one of the world's harshest environments, the Aborigines created an innovative array of tools for hunting and building. The most unusual was the boomerang, a flat, curving piece of wood thrown outward to knock out game. Smaller weapons were flung at small prey such as birds. They returned to the hunter in a full circle if he missed. Bigger, heavier boomerangs, which were often carved and painted with intricate designs, were used to stun larger prey like kangaroos. The tribes also used axes, javelins, and woomeras, long attachments that extended the range of their spears. Nets were woven to trap wallabies, wombats, and smaller game. Dingos were domesticated and taught to chase down kangaroos, or to search for such burrowing game as wombats.

Everyone participated in finding bounty on the earth. Women gathered bush raisins and bush tomatoes (fruits and berries from desert plants). Seeds were stone-ground into flour, mixed with moisture into a pasty dough, and cooked over the fire. Water was found at billabongs, by tapping into underground streams, and by cutting into the hollow roots of moisture-rich shrubs and trees. Certain types of frogs, which lived deep underground in drought times, were eaten for the moisture stored in their bodies. Small, sharp sticks were whittled to dig plump white, protein-rich witchetty grubs from the earth, while longer sticks helped reach into termite and ant mounds, or dig up deep-set plants with edible roots. The land was regularly burned to create new pastures, where fresh plants would grow and grazing animals could be easily hunted.

The Explorers

To outsiders, the Australian continent was sheer enigma during these eras, and most of those in the burgeoning cities of Europe and Asia had neither care nor curiosity about its existence. Known only as Terra Australis Incognita, or The Unknown Southern Land, Australia conjured up images of clear, sparkling seas and white, sandy coasts, with snowy mountains and alpine valleys in between. In the 1400s, Portuguese traders made their way along Australia's north and east coasts; their sketches, known as the Dieppe Maps, were crude but accurate clues to the vast continent. In 1606, William Jansz cast off from Java toward the Cape York Peninsula in the Duyfken, and christened the land New Holland. A year later, the Spanish explorer Torres – as in the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea – made his way down the Great Barrier Reef.

The Dutch continued to make headway toward mapping the continent, as Dirk Hartog's Eendracht cruised into Shark Bay in 1616, and Francois Pelseart's Batavia cruised toward the western coast in 1629. Abel Tasman wandered along the south coast and Tasmania in 1642, calling his discovery Van Diemen's Land after the governor of the Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia). The remote, foreboding spot was turned into a harshly-managed penal colony, and it was 202 years before the island was rechristened in Tasman's namesake to shake off its stigma of death and despair.

In 1688 and 1699, the British arrived on Australia's west coast when pirate William Dampier traversed the shoreline between Carnarvon and Broome on his way north to Indonesia. A scientific expedition in the Pacific Ocean, mounted in 1768 by the British, finally led foreign explorers to actually get a foothold on the Australian continent. Manning the Endeavor was 40-year-old Captain James Cook, who was in charge of an intrepid group of naturalists, scientists, artists, and astronomers employed to record everything they found on their journey. Somehow, even after Dampier's adventure, England had so far missed out on the fact that Terra Australis was no longer a myth. Hence, the crew's mission was to first find the continent, and then to actually dock the boat, get out, and explore for all they were worth.

The team first landed in New Zealand, then made it to the far southeastern tip of Australia, which Cook dubbed Point Hicks. The crew couldn't find a safe landing spot, however, so they headed north along the coast for nine more days until they came to a sheltered spot they named Botany Bay. After a respite to log accounts of the area's strange flora and fauna, the men again headed northwest, this time skimming along the coast parallel to the Great Barrier Reef. The sharp shelves snagged the ship in