Only a short drive from Newcastle up the Pacific Highway, the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens has great displays of local and Australian native plants. Well set out in themed gardens it is a peaceful and relaxing place to wander around and admire a range of plant species.
Our trip started in the gift shop and café where we paid the entrance fee and enjoyed a coffee. When paying for entrance you will be given a token which operates the car park boom gate when you leave. This is just a gold coin fee.
The café also has a supply of insect repellent for free which was fantastic as the mosquitoes were everywhere.
Sir Joseph Banks Bust
Botanic Walk
Hunter Region Botanic Gardens
Waterfall Garden
Waterfall Garden
Grevillea and Banksia Gardens
Grevillea
Myrtaceae Callistemon Attentuatum
Grevillea
Grevillea
Succulent Garden
Succulent Garden
Succulent Garden
Wetlands Boardwalk
Wetlands Boardwalk
Rainforest and Palm Garden
The Palm Garden
Orchid and Bromeliad Houses
Bromeliads
Orchid House
What Did We Think?
We spent an hour and
a half walking around enjoying what was on display and admiring the spring
blooms.
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
Abercrombie Caves offer a great self guided as well as several accompanied tours of their caves. Use care when driving on the access road down to the caves, as it is windy and narrow, with many blind spots. Camping sites are available and a large car park next to the park’s office is for day visitors. Purchase your tickets ($20.00 per person in 2018) at the office.
Archway Cave
We chose to do the self guided tour of the Archway Cave, because it looked interesting and exploring was at our own pace. The attendant gives a comprehensive overview of the caves and the history, which helped in our understanding of the area. You receive a pamphlet describing each area you pass through describing the history, geology and local wildlife. The walk is great, passing through attractive bush land and crossing a suspension bridge.
Limestone Cliff
Pathway Down to Archway Cave
Part of the attraction of the caves is the association with bush rangers and signs point out places connected to them. The”Ribbon Gang” of escaped convicts used the area as a hideout, keeping their horses in the nearby Stable Arch.
Inside
the caves, you follow the tracks in any order, looking at the formations. There
is another rope suspension bridge here, which you can cross and imagine
yourself as Indiana Jones. This bridge crosses a small creek that flows through
the cave.
Entrance to Archway Cave
Stream inside Archway Cave Abercrombie Caves
Walkway inside Archway Cave
Suspension Bridge inside Archway Cave
Suspension Bridge inside Archway Cave
What Did We Think?
It is unfortunate that the guided tours run infrequently as they offer a more interesting experience, but the self guided tour is not bad. It is certainly better than some we have been on. If you have never been in a cave before, this is a great first experience.
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
The West Head area of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park has some wonderful bush walks with fantastic views over the surrounding waterways.
Driving into the park you get to see lots of natural scenery, whilst on a good sealed road. The road has a lot of hills – with poor visibility at times, this mainly refers to the huge amount of cyclists (there were groups and dozens of single riders on the road). We had to drive slowly as it was not always safe to pass then.
We chose to do the Red Hands Track and Resolute Track to West Head Beach. There is plenty of parking available in a well sign posted car park. For us the first track was a little disappointing, with uninspiring bush land and badly damaged aboriginal hand stencils. The second walk however made up for it, being a challenging grade 4 walk. We liked it because is provided a different challenge to the ordinary tracks,with more unpredictable laid out paths and natural rock formations that we needed to navigate to continue on the walk. At the same time it was still easy to find your way through. At the beginning of the tracks, there are maps with details of each walk. On the tracks, you will be rewarded with an amazing views, beaches, wildlife, and Australian bush scenery.
Red Hands
West Head Lookout
The walk commenced at the West Head Lookout, which has great views. Take a look at the picture below! We spent some time here enjoying the views over Broken Bay before, planning our walk on the Resolute Track.
View From West Head Lookout
Resolute Track to West Head Beach
The Resolute Track took us through great bush scenery, climbing over rocks, enjoying varied stops to look out at the different views as we descended to the bottom towards West Head Beach. The track continues past the beach, but we turned here to walk down and enjoy all this little beach offered. The steps down and back up are steep, but the reward is a lovely little remote beach, with scenic inlet views and yacht watching. If the weather is good, you could take your bathers and have a swim. The walk is very hilly so wear good waking shoes, to protect your feet. You can take your shoes off to walk in the water.
Walking around the beach we found some amazing weathered rocks looking like honeycombs as well as some great views over the water. We were the only ones there on our visit, We sat on the rocks and had a bite to eat, it was very peaceful.
The return walk to the lookout was very steep, but we stopped regularly to enjoy the natural surroundings and take some photos.
Steps Going Down
Steps Going Up
West Head Beach
Honey Comb Rock
The Resolute Track and West Head Beach were beautiful and we really enjoyed the opportunity to spend the morning walking, savouring the great scenery and the amazing views in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
