The Top Ways to Get Amongst Nature in Any Corner of Sydney
Take a break from scrolling and screens, and make your way to some pristine greenery in your slice of Sydney.
Not to sound like a nagging parent but it might be time for a screen break, hey buddy? How did you find this article? Are you deep-feed scrolling on your socials? Trawling through messages and emails? Well, consider this a sign amid the endless scroll that it’s time to power down and go touch some grass.
To save you the additional screen-time of googling the location of your nearest nature spot, we’ve teamed up with the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney to compile a guide to the best green spaces around town. Whether your home is by the water, landlocked, over a bridge, ten stories off the ground or through a distributor tunnel, there’s some serious greenery within a day-trip’s distance. Perfect to detox from screens both big and small.
Central Sydney
There’s no competition for greenery in the heart of Sydney. Just to the east of the centre of town is the Sydney Royal Botanic Garden. Here, you can immerse yourself in the botanical beauty of the Love Your Nature Exhibit. This immersive horticultural installation has been decked out to explore all things plant love and reproduction, from prehistoric flowerless plants to the plants that hitch a ride on passing animals and everything in between. It contains over 20,000 plants and one of the biggest living walls in the southern hemisphere.
If you live north of – or don’t mind a trip over – the Harbour Bridge, there’s a close second for gorgeous views and greenery. Nestled at the rear of Lavender Bay is Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden, a verdant park that’s built for quiet moments amid nature. Maintained by local artist Wendy Whiteley and her team, this is one of Sydney’s worst-best-kept secrets and deserves a visit as soon as you can.
Northern Sydney
Almost a million Sydney residents live north of the Harbour Bridge and have quick access to some of the best nature spots around. Despite the endless supply of beaches, the north is dominated by the huge Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Within this bushland kingdom are dozens of walking tracks, fishing and swimming spots, First Nations sites, European and WWII-era sites and thousands of hectares of Australian bushland.
You might need an expert to show you around if you want to go further afield. Locally-owned and operated Paddlecraft Kayaks offer a range of options to get you outdoors and amongst the pristine landscape of Pittwater and the Ku-ring-gai Chase park. Their full-day bush-to-beach tour will take you over water from Bayview to Lovett Bay, to Scotland Island, then Great Mackerel Beach for a final bushwalk to West Head lookout. Then you get a breezy car ride back to the store.
Images: Rodney Campbell, Emmett Anderson, Destination NSW
Western Sydney
Is west truly best? Locals would say yes. Western Sydney is by far the largest region by size and it helps that it has fewer bodies of water than others. That leaves room for spaces like the Australian Botanic Garden, which covers 416 hectares of pristine greenery, woodlands and unique educational opportunities. You can take a guided walking tour, get a masterclass in nature photography and visit operations like the Australian PlantBank, which stores over 100,000,000 seed samples of native flora as insurance for extinction.
If you prefer your nature with more teeth, drive to Eastern Creek and Sydney Zoo (it only opened in 2019). The menagerie is over 4,000 strong and includes unique additions like bull sharks, hyenas, cheetahs and Sydney’s only white rhino. You can wander and observe any animals or book close-up encounters to get face-to-snout with red pandas, meerkats, capybaras, lions, Asian elephants and more.
Images: Asad Abdullah, Royal Botanic Garden
Southern Sydney
Southern Sydney residents are surrounded on multiple sides by swathes of greenery and ocean vistas, but most impressive of all is the unofficial backyard of the city – the Royal National Park. This 15,000-hectare reserve was established in 1879, making it one of the country’s oldest national parks. It’s jam-packed with scenic trails and sites tucked in the deep forests, but it’s also famous for its picture-perfect coastline and waterfront activities.
Experienced hikers can take on The Coast Walk, a 26km (one-way) trip that takes you past some of the best bits of the park – camping overnight is recommended. If it’s day-tripping you seek, the Karloo walking track is a more leisurely 10km return trip that takes you past one of the best swimming spots in Sydney, Karloo Pools. There are also some seriously underrated beaches, including Wattamolla and Garie, along the park’s coastline.
Images: Weareadventurers, Simonology, Aidan Casey
Eastern Sydney
Eastern Sydney is known for lots of things: good coffee, great food and beautiful beaches most of all. At the top of the local nature list is Gordons Bay, a small beach that borders a beautiful sheltered marine reserve. Swimmers, snorkelers and divers can trace a dedicated 600m sightseeing trail marked by concrete drums bearing plaques that detail the local underwater residents. It’s best for divers but also great for swimmers and snorkelers when the conditions are tip-top.
As magical as the underwater trail is, some of us prefer dry land, and that’s okay. For an accessible and scenic immersion in some green, head straight to Malabar Headland National Park. This small park is built around a local firing range with a 7km circuit track of two halves. The Western Escarpment track is mostly bushland and connects Maroubra beach to Malabar beach. Second is the Boora Point walking track, which carries you past stunning ocean views and remnants of WWII-era military infrastructure.
Images: Ai Yoshi, Julien Virvy, Nick Clark
To be immersed in all things botany and learn a thing or two about conservation, or to find your nearest Royal Botanic Garden location in Sydney, head to their website.