North Lawson Waterfalls

For this excursion the train trip from Sydney's Central station to Lawson in the Blue Mountains, took about 1hr 45mins. This walk started beyond the Swimming Centre at the end of St Bernard's Drive, on the northern side of Lawson station.

  The north Lawson walking tracks are quite rough in places, but it is a very pleasant walk even on a cloudy day, as you can see from the photos. The bush walk we did was 7Km, but this will vary depending on the route taken. If you would like a short walk just walk to 'Fairy Falls' and return the same way.

Most of the walking group I was with had a coffee or hot chocolate at this cafe before catching the train home. (It's behind the shops in Honour Ave)

Circular Quay to Parramatta by RiverCat

This excursion is on Sydney Ferries RiverCat  catamaran (express service), which takes you under the Sydney Harbour and Gladesville bridges, on a pleasant 20Km cruise from Sydney's Circular Quay to Parramatta City.

The vessels can hold over 200 people, mostly in the cabin area, but they can get crowded, so we chose a weekday for this outing. We were fortunate that we were able to find a spot outside at the bow, as it’s the best spot if the weather is suitable.

The cruise takes about an hour to reach the wharf at Parramatta. The Parramatta River is tidal to the Parramatta wharf and some services don’t run because of low tides, check for affected services before you travel.

From the wharf (photo left) you can catch a free shuttle bus around Parramatta (the bus operates frequently Monday to Saturday). I suggest you catch the bus to Macquarie Street West (stop3), then walk to Parramatta Park and up the hill to Old Government house, Australia's oldest public building. It was the country residence of the first ten Governors of the colony and primary residence of Governor Lauchlan Macquarie. It has a restaurant/café on the site. (See ‘Walk Parramatta Map’ download, page 2).
The previous stop at “Westfield”, has a good basement food court and a connecting tunnel to Parramatta Station to return to the city by train.

Tip: If you are traveling from Parramatta, leave after the morning commuters. 

More photos near Parramatta ferry wharf