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Category: Garden

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The Calyx Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

The Calyx

The Calyx Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

Located in the Royal Botanic Garden the Calyx is a place of living art, with constantly changing displays. In botany, a calyx is the collective name for sepals of a flower, the usually green part that supports the petals. The Calyx in the Garden is a place where new displays are presented several times a year, making return trips worthwhile and interesting.

The last time we visited the display consisted of carnivorous plants, which was fascinating. We didn’t realise that there was so many varieties. Planted to produce a colourful display from leaves and flowers the green-wall had only recently been finished. Many plants were yet to reach their potential, but we intended to visit at a later date to see the final product. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has intervened and a lockdown means we are unable to travel to Sydney.

A small café located here is a great place to relax after looking at the displays.

  • The Calyx Calyx Royal Botanic Garden
    The Calyx
  • The Calyx Café Calyx Royal Botanic Garden
    Calyx Café
  • The Green Wall
    The Green Wall
  • The Green Wall
    Recently Replanted Green Wall
  • The Green Wall Calyx Royal Botanic Garden
    The Green Wall
  • The Green Wall Calyx Royal Botanic Garden
    The Green Wall

Some Carnivorous Plants From Our Last Visit

  • Pitcher Plants The Calyx
    Pitcher Plants The Calyx
  • Grevillea Hunter Region Botanic Gardens Newcastle NSW Australia
    Grevillea
  • Pitcher Plants The Calyx
    Pitcher Plants The Calyx

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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Chinese Garden of Friendship

Dragons

Chinese Garden of Friendship

Located in Darling Harbour next to Chinatown, the Chinese Garden of Friendship has been a place of relaxation in Sydney since 1988. Built as a symbol of friendship between Sydney, New South Wales and the city of Guangzhou in the province of Guangdong, China (sister cities of sister states), to mark Australia’s bicentennial in 1988, it is one of only a few public Chinese gardens outside mainland China.

Open daily, there is an entry fee which includes a guided tour if you don’t want to wander around and discover the gardens for yourself.

Getting There

We walked here from Chinatown, but the closest light rail stations are Paddy’s Market, Chinatown and Exhibition Centre, each a five-minute walk away. The closest ferry wharf is Barangaroo, although that is a 20-minute walk.

Gardens

Unlike most of the other gardens found in Sydney, there are no formally laid out flowerbeds or manicured lawns here. Instead, wild aspects of nature are recreated in landscapes that feature waterfalls, mountains, lakes and forests.

Following the Taoist principles of ‘Yin-Yang’, the opposing yet complementary and balanced forces, and ‘Wu-Xing’, the five elements or phases—wood, fire, earth, metal and water, the gardens are peaceful and relaxing. 

Chinese Garden
Chinese Garden
View of the Temple over the Pond
View of the Temple over the Pond
Pond
Pond
Waterfall
Waterfall

Garden Walls

Two of the impressive walls within the garden are the Cloud and Dragon walls. Featuring two flying dragons, the Dragon Wall was a gift from Guangdong, with the brown dragon representing Guangdong, and the blue dragon New South Wales.

Chinese Garden of Friendship Circular Entrance
Cloud Wall
Chinese Garden of Friendship Dragon Wall
The Dragon Wall

Pavilion

There are 17 pavilions in the Gardens, but one is larger than the others and overlooks the pond.

  • Chinese Garden of Friendship Temple
    Temple
  • Chinese Garden of Friendship Temple
    Pavilion
  • Carving Inside Temple
    Carving Inside Pavilion
  • Pavilion Ceiling

What Did We Think of the Chinese Garden of Friendship ?

A relaxing place to visit and get away from the city for a while and take in some Chinese culture.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

Our photos are available for purchase on

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Ballast Point Park Sydney Harbour

Tank 101 which symbolises the site's working harbour history

Ballast Point Park

Getting There

Located near Balmain Ferry Wharf, the easiest way to get to Ballast Point Park, is ferry. When you arrive, check out the old ferry wharf building, which is now a community library. Originally a fuel storage area, Ballast Point is now a beautifully rehabilitated public space on Sydney Harbour. Intended for sale to developers but saved by a community action group, which resulted in its current use as a public park.

Balmain Ferry Wharf
Balmain Ferry Wharf

Mort’s Dock

Walking from the ferry to the park, we walked past a memorial to one of Sydney’s ship building docks. Now filled in, Mort’s Dock was the first dry dock in Australia, operating from 1855 until its closure in 1959. Between 1940 and 1945, Mort’s Dock constructed fourteen of the sixty Bathurst-class corvettes built in Australia during the war, as well as four of the twelve River-class frigates. The memorial commemorates their construction and service in the Royal Australian Navy.

  • Mort's Dock
    Mort’s Dock
  • Mort's Dock Plaque
    Mort’s Dock Plaque
  • View of Mort Bay
    View of Mort Bay
  • Sandstone Wall on Mort Bay
    Sandstone Wall on Mort Bay

Ballast Point Park

Deriving its name from colonial times, when ships returning to England empty would source ballast here, Ballast Point Park is now a beautiful park overlooking Sydney Harbour. Previous owned by Texaco, it was planned to develop the area for housing, but a local action group convinced the State Government to retain it for public use.

The site required decontamination because of its industrial past. Retaining walls in the park re-used rubble from the demolished buildings. Several old fuel tanks remain, as a reminder of the area’s past use, along with information boards describing the fuel depot. Scattered throughout the park, shade structures, provide great places to sit and relax, while admiring the views over the harbour.

We enjoyed walking around here, especially the old tanks and the conversion of tank 101 into a huge piece of artwork.

  • View of Sydney Harbour From Ballast Point
    View of Sydney Harbour From Ballast Point
  • Ballast Point Park Tank 101 which symbolises the site's working harbour history
    Tank 101 which symbolises the site’s working harbour history
  • How Ballast Point Looked as an Industrial Site
    How Ballast Point Looked as an Industrial Site
  • Ballast Point Park Remaining Fuel Tanks
    Remaining Fuel Tanks