Overview
When we travel, we often find ourselves soaking up as much information as we can about the people, food, culture and history of the places we visit. But this isn't always the case when it comes to our home cities. So, in a year when travelling overseas is off the cards, why not take the time to learn something new about where you spend most of your time? You could discover wild foods growing on your favourite coastal paths, deserted beaches hiding in plain sight, the origins of place names you see every day. We've partnered with La Bella Verde to bring you this list of Sydney tours that can give you a greater perspective on your home city, so you can discover more about where you live.
Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
ABORIGINAL HERITAGE TOUR
In this 90-minute tour of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, you'll learn more about native foods than you probably did at school. Josh Brown, a Worimi man of the Forster-Tuncurry area, has an extensive knowledge of the bush foods and medicinal plants in the Botanic Gardens. He'll pick out lemon myrtle, wattle seeds, finger limes and tell you about their importance to the Cadigal People, as well as letting you taste and smell as you go. The aim is to preserve and protect local knowledge, sharing it with whoever books into the $42 tour. Simply book into one of the thrice weekly tours online, or meet at the Garden Shop on Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays from 10am–11.30am (excluding public holidays). All tours are COVID-safe and tickets can be transferred if you're feeling unwell on the day.
Diego Bonetto/Archie Rose
DIEGO BONETTO'S FORAGING TOURS
Wild food expert Diego Bonetto has a cult-like following for his foraging tours. Held across urban spaces in Sydney, each two-hour adventure will take you to an inner west park, eastern coastal path or western riverbank, depending on your preference, where you'll be treated to a botanical lesson in edible and medicinal plants. He'll pick out dandelions, sow thistle, warrigal greens, nettle and fennel, describing how you can forage each weed or native plant for use in soups, teas, salads and casseroles. You'll learn about what's growing in your garden, what edibles are considered a nuisance, and any natural remedies you can safely source without dropping a cent. Tours range from $30–50 and each person receives an information booklet on the 16 most common wild edibles in Sydney. Tours go ahead in all weather conditions and often sell out long in advance, so book ahead online.
Sydney Opera House
SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE TOUR
When your city's leading landmarks are a beacon for tourists, locals tend to give them a wide berth, especially in the height of summer. As 2020 has been anything but a normal year, this is the time to revisit our most famous buildings to see them from a different angle. Have you ever visited the Opera House's green room, where all the stars grab a bite to eat before they take to the stage? Or wandered around the cavernous loading dock to see where the sets and costumes arrive before a big show? You can learn a lot about the history, and future, of the world-famous arts centre in a one-hour tour that's limited to just 15 people each time. You'll come away with fun snippets like that time a chicken fell from the stage onto a cellist and how Arnold Schwarzenegger won his final Mr Olympia body-building title in the Concert Hall. Sydney Opera House tours run from 10.30am or 2pm from Thursdays to Mondays, and you can book tickets online for $42 per person. See here for its mobility access and Auslan tours, too.
Benjamin Williams
LA BELLA VERDE ECO TOURS
Take to the water in an environmentally friendly way and you can discover hidden coves and secluded beaches around Sydney Harbour that you might otherwise have designated to the Too Hard Basket. A new eco tour run by La Bella Verde will have you cruising around the harbour in a 100 percent solar-powered catamaran, taking you to lesser known sandy spots for bush walks, snorkelling, paddle boarding and yoga. The full-day tours are run in collaboration with Pittwater Eco Adventures and start from $300 per person per day. You can enquire online, detailing your preferred pick-up locations and number of guests.
Tour guide Margret Campbell. Image: Destination NSW
THE ROCKS ABORIGINAL DREAMING TOUR
Wholly Aboriginal-owned tour operator Dreamtime Southern X runs daily tours of The Rocks that can be tailored to the experiences and knowledge of those along for the ride. The 90-minute walking adventure is led by Margret Campbell, who introduces Dreamtime stories about the landscape, from Sydney's waters to the sandstone surrounding it. Tours begin at Cadman's Cottage, moving through Bligh and Barney Reserve to point out lilly pilly, cabbage palm trees, bracken fern and wollemia pines. Campbell shares some Gadigal language, the practice of ochre painting in cultural ceremonies, and cultural objects that you're welcomed to handle and observe. Each tour is $59 per adult, starting at 10.30am, which you can book online.
Find out more about La Bella Verde tours, here.
Top image: Aboriginal Heritage Tour, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney