Grey Sky Sydney Excursion

As it was threatening to rain we decided to visit the city and see some of the ‘Bienhale’artworks (which were on display until the end of July).

                      We first visited the Museum of Contempory Art at Circular Quay.

           U.S. artist Roxy Paine's 'Neuron' is based on "dendrites and synapses" is outside the MCA

Leaving the MLC we saw there was a sponsored free ferry running from the western side of Circular Quay to Cockatoo Island which is playing host to many of the Bienhale exhibits.The island in Sydney Harbour, west of the Harbour Bridge, was a convict prison and former shipyard.

                                     Many of the old buildings house the art displays.

The free ferry service was understandably quite popular and the 12 noon ferry we caught was almost full. It is also possible to pay to travel by Sydney Ferries. 
 

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
      

Wellington Caves, NSW

We had an early start for this extended excursion  to Wellington NSW. We caught the Dubbo XPT train which left Sydney at 7.10am (You must pre-book seats). We bought some morning tea on the train, from the buffet car, and arrived in Wellington about 1pm.

Wellington, which is about 360Kms NW of Sydney, is a commercial centre for the surrounding agricultural area. Swift Street, which runs from the station, led us to the Mitchell Highway. We bought some lunch and found Cameron Park, across the road, was a pleasant place to eat it. After lunch we bought all the food for our stay from a nearby supermarket.
Hint: Include drinking water in your grocery purchases in Wellington. The Caves Kiosk sold some cooked food, but not much in the way of groceries other than milk.

The Wellington Caves are located on Caves Road, about 8km from Wellington on the Mitchell Highway.

You could describe this as a 'public transport adventure'. We caught a taxi from the town [131 008] to the Wellington Caves Caravan Park which adjoins the Caves. The taxi's boot was not large, so it was fortunate we didn’t take too much luggage, which gave enough room for the groceries.
We stayed in a self contained unit which looked out to the adjoining golf course. This was an average motel room setup, except that we had to hire the linen. It also had a basic kitchen.




We went on the Cathedral Cave and the Phosphate Mine tours and recommend both. The Cathedral Cave entrance is almost hidden, but in the cave you can see what is said to be the world's largest stalagmite.





Across the road from the caves there are also the Osawano Japanese gardens which were worth a visit.










Our return XPT left early afternoon so we walked along Lee Street (Mitchell Highway) to the Macquarie River and took some photos before going to the station.