A good place to be married
Sydney CBD
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
On our visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney on our recent holiday we saw this wedding party. Parks and gardens are popular places to hold weddings in Australia and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney are no exception to this. The wonderful weather for much of the year in places like Sydney make outdoor events like weddings a good choice.
The Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney are somewhat disappointing in regards the range of plants being grown, especially when compared with other similar gardens elsewhere in the country. The range of Australian plants is particularly poor. Despite that these particular gardens are well utilized by both locals and visitors. It is a popular spot to relax, read a book in a quiet corner, go for a walk or jog, have a picnic or hold a formal event like a wedding. Many thousands of visitors use the gardens on a daily basis.
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, St Ives, Sydney
No Comments »1st October, 2007; Category: Birds, Botanic Gardens, New South Wales, Parks and Gardens
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
One of the places we wanted to revisit during our stay in Sydney was the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens. These gardens are in St Ives, in the northern parts of Sydney. They abut the Ku-ring-gai National Park, another great place to visit for the wildflowers, birds, bushwalking and picnics.
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney
On arrival we had a picnic lunch in the grounds of the gardens near the Visitor Centre. Two Laughing Kookaburras kept a close eye on our lunch, we kept a close eye on them. We didn’t share any with them. The bird watching was a little slow during our visit but I did see a few good species. I have good memories of a visit seven years ago.
Laughing Kookaburras
After looking at the displays in the Visitor Centre we spent several hours wandering the various paths around the gardens. Many of the paths are paved roads making the walking easy. There are many other dirt tracks linking the paved roads and these take a little more care. Some sections are a little steep but most reasonably fit walkers would negotiate them with ease.
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney
While there were quite a few plants in flower for us to admire and photograph, it was a little disappointing. We estimated that we were about three to five weeks too early for the main spring flowering time. Despite this, we still enjoyed our time there. In fact we spent so much time in the gardens we ran out of time to visit the nearby national park. We will leave that for our next visit.
Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney
Images of Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens
No Comments »27th September, 2007; Category: Botanic Gardens, Holidays, New South Wales, Parks and Gardens
Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
Today I have included more images of the Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens. These gardens are in the blue Mountains west of Sydney.
Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW
Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW
Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW
Click on any photo to enlarge the image.
See more photos on my photo gallery here.
Going botanical – more about Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens
No Comments »26th September, 2007; Category: Botanic Gardens, Holidays, New South Wales, Parks and Gardens
Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
Yesterday I wrote about our visit to Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens. These gardens are in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. These extensive gardens are landscaped into the side of the mountain. The walking tracks, however, are not too steep. In fact many of the walking tracks are suitable for wheelchairs.
Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW
The gardens also include a restaurant, bookshop and visitor information centre. We didn’t try out the food but the bookshop stocks an extensive range of book, cards, paintings and other items related directly to things botanical.
Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW
Going botanical – Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens
No Comments »25th September, 2007; Category: Botanic Gardens, Holidays, New South Wales, Parks and Gardens
Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
One of the places we wanted to visit during this holiday was the Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens in the Blue Mountains north west of Sydney. On the drive from Lithgow to the gardens we had driven through some quite heavy rain showers. It was looking gloomier by the minute, so when we arrived we armed ourselves with umbrellas expecting the worst. It never rained a drop while we were there.
Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW
During our visit I was on the lookout for birds, especially those I hadn’t seen on the trip to that point. I chased a beautiful Superb Fairy-wren around some bushes but he was too slick for me, constantly hopping along the ground. I was also pleased to see some White-browed Scrubwrens but the photos didn’t turn out. They are also fast movers and hard to focus on. I heard an Eastern Whipbird but couldn’t find him in the undergrowth.
Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens