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Category: National Park

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Newington Armory

Buildings Behind Earth Bunds Newington Armory Sydney Australia

Newington Armory

Newington Armory was originally a storage facility for the Australian Army and Navy’s explosives and weaponry. Now disused, many of the buildings have been re-purposed and the whole site is part of a museum and national park.

If you are travelling with children, there is a huge playground, just before you reach the entrance to the Armory. This looks like a great place to let them work off some excess energy either before or after your visit.

Wharf Area

The wharf area is now quiet, but this was where explosives were shipped from. Some old cranes and buildings are still present, giving a great backdrop to the area. The old wharf office is now a small cafe, which is where we started our day, sitting on the wharf having a coffee in the morning sunlight was very peaceful.

  • Crane at the Old Wharf Newington Armory Sydney Australia
    Crane at the Old Wharf

Armory Buildings

The armory site itself is extensive and it is free to walk around examining the old buildings and going into those that are open. Many of the buildings are locked up, but you can walk around the outside and examine them and take the photos.

It’s interesting to see the precautions that were set up to protect each building in case of an explosion. Surrounded by concrete walls or large earthworks to contain any mishaps, many buildings are partially hidden.

Buildings near the entrance are in use so you can go inside. Make sure you go around the back and between them to see the explosion protection.

  • Concrete Blast Protection Newington Armory Sydney Australia
    Concrete Blast Protection
  • Blast Protection Newington Armory Sydney Australia
    Blast Protection
  • Buildings Behind Earth Bunds Newington Armory Sydney Australia
    Buildings Behind Earth Bunds

Armory Train

The train tracks that were set up to move items around of the armory are still in place and on Sunday a train runs so people can travel and have a look around the site while enjoying a ride.

There is a bird sanctuary discovery area in the centre of the park, where you can learn about the bird life in the area. If the birds interest you, there is a great bird watching area not far away in the wetlands.

Nearby are the train loading stations which are still in place and make a good photo opportunity. You can also walk over the old explosives’ magazines with their earth coverings but can’t go inside.

  • Explosives Magazine Newington Armory Sydney Australia
    Explosives Magazine

A throw disc golf course has been set up which visitors can use. Rules are provided and although we didn’t play it looked like fun. Something families would enjoy.

  • Golf Course Newington Armory Sydney Australia
    Golf Course

From the Newington Armory, we walked to the Homebush shipwrecks before catching the ferry from Sydney Olympic Park Wharf to Circular Quay.

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

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Great North Road Convict Trail

Convict Trail Marker Great North Road Convict Trail

Built between 1826 and 1834 by convict labour the Great North Road was one of the first great projects undertaken by the colony of New South Wales. It was built to connect Sydney with Newcastle and the Upper Hunter Valley. Some of the stonework for culverts, buttresses and bridges can still be seen today.

Getting To the Great North Road

We drove down part of the northern section from Singleton as far as the Circuit Flat Walking Track Bridge. The total driving time, one way was about 90 minutes, but took much longer with stops to examine remnants of the road.

As well as the road, the scenery is great, and you drive through some historic towns, such as Wollombi.

Great North Road Map Convict Trail
Great North Road Map

Thompson’s Bridge

Flanked by a stone retaining wall, Thompson’s Bridge is about 15 km south of Laguna. The stone walls on each side are course rubble work which is not like the other stonework in this area, which is mostly close fitting dry stone construction. This has led to debate as to whether this is original or later work.

  • Thonpson's Bridge Embankment Great North Road Convict Trail
    Thonpson’s Bridge Embankment
  • Thonpson's Bridge Great North Road Convict Trail
    Thonpson’s Bridge

Murray’s Run Culvert

Murray’s Run Culvert is one kilometre south of Thompson’s Bridge. This culvert has an elaborate decorative arch that supports the retaining wall above. A sign post helps you find this culvert, but the obvious old road off to the side is easy to spot.

  • Murray's Run Culvert Great North Road Convict Trail
    Murray’s Run Culvert

Fernances Culvert

Fernances Crossing culvert is just beside the present road and located about seven kilometres north of the original Buckety intersection. We found it to be well sign posted and easy to find. Parking off the road is available. Constructed in 1830 by Road Party 27 it consists of a curved stone retaining wall with a rectangular culvert that carried the road across a small gully.

  • The Furnaces Crossing Culvert Great North Road Convict Trail
    The Fernances Crossing Culvert

Buckety Precinct

The Buckety Precinct was the largest of the Great North Road relics that we visited.  Situated at the intersection of the Great North Road and George Downes Drive, the area is approximately 400m long. The Buckety Wall is a very nice preserved section of dry stone retaining wall and is the first thing you see when entering the area.  Walking up hill from here, is a large section of the original road surface, as constructed by the convicts.

  • Buckety Wall Precinct Great North Road Convict Trail
    Buckety Wall Precinct
  • Original Pavement Great North Road Convict Trail
    Original Pavement

St. Alban’s Road Ramp

This large retaining wall was the tallest that we saw on our trip.  Still used to support the current roadway the road ramp is worth the stop to admire.  There is a signpost marking the spot, but the wall is on the opposite side of the road, over the embankment.

  • St Alban's Road Ramp Great North Road Convict Trail
    St Alban’s Road Ramp

Circuit Flat Bridge

The turn-off to get to Circuit Flat Bridge is sign posted as Mt Manning Intersection.  If you follow this track for about 3 kilometers in your car,  you will arrive at the remains of the bridge. We chose to drive further down Wollombi Road to the Mogo Camp Ground.  From here there is a nice three kilometer walk to the bridge, which took us about 45 minutes, with a further 30 minutes to walk back via the road.

  • Circuit Flat Bridge Great North Road Convict Trail
    Circuit Flat Bridge
  • Mt Manning Marker
    Mt Manning Marker

Wollombi

We stopped at Wollombi on our way home for afternoon tea.  There are several cafes and restaurants in the village as well as the famous Wollomi Tavern.

After a refuelling stop, we walked around the village and admired the old buildings, notably St Michael’s Church and the buildings along the main street.

  • The Historical Town of Wollombi in the Hunter Valley
    Wollombi
  • St Michael's Church Wollombi
    St Michael’s Church Wollombi
  • Old Wollombi Police Station
    Old Wollombi Police Station
  • Wollombi Tavern
    Wollombi Tavern
  • Wollombi
    Wollombi

Sights Along the Road

As you drive along there are some great sights on the side of the road.  One of the best was this rhinoceros sculpture just outside Wollombi.

  • Rhino Sculpture Outside Wollombi
    Rhino Sculpture Outside Wollombi

We really enjoyed our day out along the Great North Road, following the Convict Trail.  As well as doing some bush walking and learning some convict history, we were able to see some historical buildings all in a very picturesque setting.

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

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Royal National Park

Wedding Cake Rock Royal National Park Sydney

Royal National Park is located south of Sydney. To drive there from Singleton took us 4 hours, because we drove through Sydney and hit rush hour traffic . Once we arrived however it was worth it because of the fantastic scenery. 

  • Royal National Park Map
    Royal National Park Map

Visitor Information Centre

Our first stop was the Visitor Information Centre which caters for the national park, where we got directions to the Wedding Cake Rock car park.. After a coffee we set off to Bundeena where we parked in the small car park and set of for our walk.

The Balconies

Our first track took us to the balconies which was only 800 metres from the car park. As well as fantastic views along the coast, you can see the cliff faces going down into the ocean. There are also some fantastic weathered rock formations and we spent some time looking around them and taking photos.

  • Coastal Cliffs Royal National Park Sydney
    Coastal Cliffs
  • Weathered Rocks Royal National Park Sydney
    Weathered Rocks
  • Weathered Rocks Royal National Park Sydney
    Weathered Rocks

Royal National Park  Walking Tracks

The next destination was nearly four km away and the walking track changed from dirt and rock to a mostly metal foot way which made walking easy. However, there were some very steep sections with steps cut into the rocks and stairs constructed so you get up or down. There is one very large valley, where a creek runs down into the sea. with some fantastic sandstone stepping-stones to get from one side to the other. These are as interesting as your destination and we stopped it take some photos.

  • Metal Walk Way Royal National Park Sydney
    Metal Walk Way
  • Banksia ericifolia Royal National Park Sydney
    Banksia ericifolia
  • Sandstone Stepping Stones Royal National Park Sydney
    Sandstone Stepping Stones
  • Sandstone Stepping Stones Royal National Park Sydney
    Sandstone Stepping Stones

Wedding Cake Rock

The most famous part of this section of Royal National Park is the Wedding Cake Rock. The rock itself is unstable and fenced off with warning signs, because several people have fallen. However, there an ample opportunities and places where you can take photographs of the rock without having to climb the fence and put your life at risk.

  • Wedding Cake Rock Royal National Park Sydney
    Wedding Cake Rock

Lunch

The walk back to our car took about 45 minutes as we didn’t stop for many photos. We drove back to the Visitor Information Centre and sat outside at the Ironbark Flat Picnic Area, where we had lunch. This is a great picnic area set up next to the Hacking River, where we also took some photos of the birds that flocked around when we ate.

  • Sulphur Crested Cockatoo Royal National Park Sydney
    Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
  • Purple Swamphen Royal National Park Sydney
    Purple Swamphen

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