Hyde Park, New South Wales

Located in Sydney's central business district is Australia's oldest park- Hyde Park. It has well-kept gardens and a mixture of approximately  580 trees. These large leafy trees give shades to park goers. There are lots of benches as well for people to rest and just enjoy the greeneries. There is wide lush grass area where you can see people sitting and soaking in the sun.  

The main avenue is lined with fig trees. It is wide enough to accommodate runners and park strollers.

 There are interesting structures and monuments that can be found at the park and around the park.

The ANZAC War Memorial  was built in remembrance of Australians who served in the war. This remarkable art deco architecture has a pool in front which they called Pool of Reflection.  It is located at the southend of the park.

 
The centerpiece of the park -the Archibald Fountain  was designed by François Sicard and completed in 1932. It has sculpted bronze figure of Apollo surrounded by  mythical creatures, horses’ heads, dolphins with spectacular spray  of waters.  It is one of the most photographed sites in Sydney.

Walking distance from Archibald's Fountain on the eastside is St Mary's Cathedral .It is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney and the mother diocese of Australia. It's architecture is gothic style.

 There is also an Obelisk which is civic monument installed in the park in 1857. It is facing Bathurst Street and  is irreverently known as George Thornton's scent bottle. It is actually an air vent for the underground sewer, cleverly disguised as a replica of Cleopatra's Needle.

Sydney Tower can also be seen from the park.

Standing near the corner of Park and College streets on the northeastern section is a statue of Captain James Cook, the English explorer of Australia's east coast. The statue was erected in 1879 to mark his death centenary.

Other random pictures taken at Hyde Park

Hyde Park is very accessible and free.Public toilets are provided. One can reach the park via Museum and St James train stations which are beneath the park or you can take your pick of many bus routes.

DIY - Blue Mountains New South Wales

A trip to Sydney is not complete without visiting Blue Mountains.

Blue Mountains is a major national park in New South Wales and is a UNESCO Heritage Area. The region is renowned for its beautiful mountain ranges and majestic scenery.

One can get a package tour or DIY day trip. With Sydney's efficient transportation system and tourist friendly locals, a DIY would be more economical and fun.

My husband and I opted for a DIY. We took the train to Katoomba from Sydney Central station. Fare was about $8 each and travel time was more or less 2 hours.

Central Station

sight along the way

 It was very windy and cold when we arrived at Katoomba. We walked to the ticketing office and purchased 2 types of tickets- one for the Explorer Bus and the other for the Scenic World. These 2 tickets cost $78 per person. We hopped on to the waiting Explorer bus. The driver was jolly and greeting the passengers in different languages. He gave commentaries as we passed by areas in Katoomba.

We alighted at the Scenic World stop. The Scenic World ticket entitled us to entrance to the Scenic Railway, Scenic Cableway, Scenic Walkway and Scenic Skyway.

We hopped on the cableway. The Scenic Cableway is an enclosed glass cabin with vantage point for viewing the Three Sisters and Jamison Valley. It slowly descends into the valley and at the end bottom station once can access the Scenic Walkway. It has a pathway 2.5km through the forest.

The walkway is very convenient and safe. There are tall trees on both sides of the walkway. There are rest benches along the route. There is also a portion showing a coal mine entrance.

coal mine entrance

 At the end of the walkway is the Scenic Railway. At this point, the railway will ascend.

We went back to the Cableway and went up back to the main area. We queued to the Skyway.

The Skyway is a suspended cablecar 270 meters above the ravines and runs from one mountain to another. It provides best views of Katoomba waterfalls, Three Sisters and Jamison Valley. The glass cabin floor reveals unique views of the rainforest.

At noon, we bought our lunch at Terrace Cafe located inside the Scenic World reception area. We ordered salmon burritos and pumpkin soup to warm us up. The dining area has glass walls and you can have a glimpse of the beautiful mountains.

After lunch, I tried the Scenic Railway. The Scenic Railway is inclined at 52 degrees making it the steepest railway in the world. The red carriages are custom designed to allow passengers to adjust the seated position up to 20 degrees.

select your seat incline

The railway will descend 310 meters through cliff sided tunnel and will stop at the Jamison Valley floor and exit to the Walkway and to the Cableway.

We left the Scenic World and hopped on the Explorer bus going to Echo Point. Echo Point is the most popular attraction in Katoomba. It is a lookout with amazing views of Mount Solitary and the Three Sisters. The Three Sisters is a three weathered sandstone peaks believed to have been formed thousands of years ago through erosion.

 The lookout is crowded with droves of tourists wanting to have a vantage view for picture taking.  As the wind continued to blow harder , we left Echo Point and our next stop was the Leuralla toy and train museum.

Using the Explorer pass, we paid a discounted entrance fee of $12 each.

The museum is a big 2-storey house with a 12 acre garden.

 Inside, there are huge collections of iconic toys, literature and model trains by Hornby, Marklin and Bing.

 Outside, there are displays of railway tracks and station memorabilia including benches and signs. There are also trees and flowerbeds.

We left the museum past 3pm and hailed the Explorer bus. The driver was kind enough to remind the passengers who want to catch the train back to the city. The train would be stopping in 20 minutes and he drove us to the station and we were able to catch it back to Sydney Central Station.

Our expenses for this DIY is $ 126 per person. I was happy that our DIY was a success.
Tip:
Be early to avoid the crowd
Purchase unlimited ride at Scenic World

DIY to Blue Mountain:
Go to Sydney Central Station and take the train to Katoomba. Fare is $8
From Katoomba station, walk to the Explorer Bus ticketing office; purchase ticket and hop on to the red bus and enjoy.