Lake Macquarie State Conservation Area is a hidden gem on the shores of Lake Macquarie. Several tracks wind through this coastal rain forest and form a loop so that you can see both the ridgeline and lake shore. It is graded at level three making it a fairly easy walk. The tracks are easy to follow and generally well made with any creek crossings made with steel and wooden bridges.
The vegetation is generally eucalyptus with ferns with she oaks on the lake shore. Our walk was in autumn and there were a number of mushrooms in the leaf litter and at the base of the trees, which we found to be a good photo opportunity. At the northern end is a nice picnic area allowing you to have a relaxing stop with a view over the lake before or after the walk.
Walking TrailWhite Mushroom in Leaf LitterOrange Mushroom in Leaf LitterOld Foundation on the ShorelineLake Macquarie Shore LinePicnic Area Lake Macquarie
Bradman Museum & International Cricket Hall of Fame
The Bradman Museum is a world-class facility, located in rural Bowral. Every cricketing fan needs to go there at some stage, just to get a feel for the history of the game. If you are not a cricket enthusiast, this is a great place to learn about the game and its history.
Sir Donald Bradman Statue
Exhibits
The Game of Cricket
If you are new to cricket, or have been a life-time fan, this section will set you up on how cricket has developed over the last 200 years. From rules, equipment game formats all the way through to information about previous and current players, it provides a comprehensive description of the game and its history.
A lot of memorabilia is on display, from bats signed by famous teams, to players caps and photos.
Bradman Museum Bowral NSW
Bradman Museum Bowral NSW
The Bradman Gallery
Dedicated to the famous Australian Captain and batsman, this section describes Bradman’s career through displays and interactive screens. An amazing amount of information allows you to find out about Bradman’s incredible achievements and his life.
Some of the Bradman Exhibit
The Invincibles – Bradman Museum Bowral NSW
The World of Cricket
This fascinating, interactive section shows how widespread the game is with its 105 member nations. The status of each nation is shown, along with what level of game they played and which formats (T20, one day internationals and tests).
The Greats of the Game
In this section, the museum shows the greatest players of the game using memorabilia, photos, statistics and on-demand audio and visual footage. Not only does this provide details of the latest players, but those dating back to be beginning of international cricket as well. Players from all nations are there, so you can find your favourite player, whether its Bradman, Tendulkar, Richards or Hammond.
Gift Shop and Cafe
The museum has an on-site cafe and gift shop, so after you have immersed yourself in cricket history, you can purchase something to remember your visit and re-fuel before heading off.
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
How often have you seen shows on television where people get dressed up in white protective clothes and open up a beehive? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have bees crawling over and flying around you while you looked at their hive? If you do, Hands On Beekeeping WorkshopNewcastle is a great educational experience that we really enjoyed.
The Hands on Beekeeping Workshop is run in Toronto (Newcastle New South Wales; not the Toronto in Canada). The workshop is scheduled to run two and a half hours, but often goes longer, to ensure everyone gets to participate and all questions are answered. Ours went for three hours and we enjoyed every minute, because it was so interesting.
Bee Keeping Theory
Starting with the different types of hives and their maintenance, we then moved on to learn about keeping the bees healthy and the hives clean of pests. We were shown how the bees build their honeycombs and raise new worker, drone and queen bees. This theory section was fascinating and provided all of the information we would need to start our own hives.
The Hands On Bit
The practical section started with smoking the bees to make them docile, followed by removing the lid. A brood frame was removed and any bees on it removed by shaking them back into the hive. This ensures they are safe during the cleaning process. In order to check each frame with ease you need to put the brood frame on the ground beside the hive. Using a hive tool the frames were cleaned of extra bits of burr comb . Each frame is then taken out Individually to inspect before being replaced. The last step is to put everything back together, being careful not to hurt any bees. Everyone was able to do this and is was incredibly interesting, it was deceiving how heavy some of the frames were when filled with honey. We enjoyed doing this!
With the practical side finished, we tasted some of the honey we had harvested. It really tastes great straight from the honeycomb, because it is so fresh.
What Did We Think?
We had a great time doing something different and came away with the knowledge to start up a hive if we want to. The hands on experience was great, because you were able to do everything yourself.
Bee Hives
Bees Entering the Hive
Open Hive
Worker Bee
