Nepean Belle Paddlewheeler
A great way to experience the Nepean River at Penrith is to take a cruise on the Nepean Belle Paddlewheeler down the 50 million year old gorge. This gives you a nice relaxed environment, while viewing the river and enjoying morning tea or lunch.
We chose the morning tea cruise, giving us an early start, but being able to enjoy the whole day in the Penrith area. Arriving early, we grabbed a coffee from one of the cafes across the road from the Nepean Belle carpark. There was ample car parking available near the Paddlewheel. We just needed to provide our ticket and have our names ticked off, making the boarding process easy.
The Nepean Belle Paddlewheeler Tour
Once we boarded the Paddlewheeler, we were allocated a table on the upper level by a window, giving us great views over the river. This tour was 1.5 hours, but there are quite a few tours to choose from including twilight dinner tours etc.
The Nepean Belle is very stable on the water and once underway, you can walk around freely, admiring the views natural flora and native wildlife around the river. There was a lot of birdlife on the water and we were pleased to have seen a few eagles as flying overhead. The captain gave ample information about the area. There were people kayaking on the river and enjoying water sports as well.
Morning Tea
Morning tea was tea/coffee and delicious fluffy scones with home-made jam and cream, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The staff were exceptional and the captain a wealth of knowledge. It’s nice to be able to go on this cruise with so many staff who were so welcoming and really appeared to love what they do!
It was a relaxed way to start the day on a nice old boat while getting to see the Nepean River.
We spent the afternoon at Knapsack Bridge, Lennox Bridge and Mt Schoenstatt Spirituality Centre.
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
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