Day planner 1
Bundeena Art Trail
On the first Sunday of every month you and your family can join the
Bundeena Art Trail and discover the delights of the charming villages
of Bundeena and Maianbar in the Royal National Park, while
investigating the talents of the local residents.
Start with a half-hour trip from Cronulla to Bundeena on the ferry.
The M.V. Curranulla departs from the Cronulla public wharf in Tonkin
Street on the half hour starting at 8:30am, with the last ferry at 6pm
in winter and 7pm in summer. The wharf is a short walk from Cronulla
railway station.
A hop, skip and a jump from the Bundeena wharf is The Fringe Café
and Visitors Centre where you can collect the Art Trail walking tour
map and enjoy a latte and a snack.
The Art Trail has 27 artists who open their studios to visitors. Your map
will indicate which artists are displaying work on any particular Sunday.
Stop for lunch at the Bundeena RSL, where you can sit in the beer
garden and take in the picturesque views over Port Hacking.
Then take a stroll along Jibbon Beach, at the eastern end of Bundeena,
where you will see the rock carvings of the Dharawal Aboriginal
people. Birri Birri the Killer Whale and Kerrawah the Stingray are clearly
depicted on the rocky overhangs.
For the really energetic take in the bushland scenery and highlights of
Bundeena and Maianbar on the 17-kilometre Heritage Walk, or you can
opt for the shorter Maianbar bushwalk through the national park.
Before clambering aboard the return ferry, kick the sand and paddle
in the water at either Horderns, Gunyah or Bonnie Vale Beaches.
Day planner 2
Kid’s day out
Don’t forget the kids when you plan your next visit to the Shire. You
may be surprised at just how much fun you will have being a kid again.
On the edge of the Shire, and only a 15-minute drive from Sutherland,
is Symbio Wildlife Park where kids, young and old, can get up close and
personal with nature. The park is open daily from 9:30am.
Meet Arnie the hand-raised barking owl, the endangered alpine
mountain dingo brothers Malle and Dheoka, the park’s mascot Symbi
the koala, or pet a baby croc and an olive python. There’s plenty to see
and learn about wildlife at Symbio.
Back on the road and it’s only a 10-minute drive to Loftus and the
Sydney Tramway Museum, which is the oldest in Australia and the
largest in the southern hemisphere. The museum is open on Sundays
and public holidays from 10.00am till 5.00pm, and Wednesdays from
10.00am to 3.00pm.
It’s a trip back in time as you and the kids board one of the carriages to
head out along the three-kilometre track that winds through bushland
to the old national park railway station. While waiting for the return trip
check out the Bungonia Lookout and the National Park Visitor’s Centre.
The Australian Nuclear Scientifi c and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
off ers free tours on the fi rst Saturday of the month between 8:30am
and 5pm at its facility at Lucas Heights, a short drive from Engadine.
This place is the centre of Australia’s nuclear science capabilities and
expertise, and everyone in the family will be fascinated with what is on
show. You will meet OPAL, one of the world’s leading nuclear reactors,
learn what our scientists have discovered about curing diseases and
see the accelerators, the mass spectrometer and neutron guide hall.
Your day in the Shire would not be complete without a visit to Gymea’s
award-winning chocolate shop – Nina’s Chocolates.
Day planner 3
Walking the Cronulla Coast
The Cronulla Coast is famed for its beach culture, but there is a lot more
going on than salt and sand.
The Esplanade Walk
To get your bearings take the popular two-hour Cronulla Esplanade
Walk. Starting at Cronulla Beach, the walk skirts around the coastline past
secluded tidal beaches and rock pools, leafy parkland and quite bays,
all the time off ering spectacular views over the ocean and Port Hacking.
The walk links back to Cronulla CBD where you can have a refreshment
break at one of the many cafes dotted around Cronulla Plaza.
Kurnell Peninsula Walk
Head to Kurnell to visit the Botany Bay National Park and see the spot
where Captain Cook stepped ashore in 1770. You can walk in the
footsteps of Cook’s botanists on the Banks-Solander Track or amble
along the Cape Baily Coast Walk, with its windswept heaths, historic
sites and spectacular coastal views.
The Kurnell Peninsula is regarded as one of the best sites in Sydney
to watch the annual migration of whales along the NSW coast. On any
day in June and July each year you may witness whales frolicking off
Cape Solander.
Beach Walk
The Cronulla Coast is Sydney’s longest beach. A beach walk will take
you north from Cronulla Beach past North Cronulla, Elouera Beach,
Wanda Beach to Boat Harbour, near Kurnell.
You will get a fi rst-hand look at the local boardies surfi ng the hot spots at
The Alley, between Cronulla Beach and North Cronulla, The Wall, between
North Cronulla and Elouera, and Green Hills, to the north of Wanda.
Finish your day with a meal at Summersalt Restaurant located
in the Elourea Surf Life Saving Club. Commanding stunning beach
and coastal views, you can watch the last of the sun’s rays drift over
the water while you dine.
Weekend planner
Explore the Shire
Friday afternoon and it is time to leave the city and point the car
towards one of Sydney’s best kept-secrets – Sutherland Shire.
In less than 40 minutes metro world has been left behind and you are
sitting in Northies sipping a cocktail and watching the late afternoon
holidaymakers leave North Cronulla Beach.
Tonight you are staying in the four-star luxury of a newly refurbished
room at Rydges Cronulla. From the balcony you can see on the one
side the Cronulla Coast and on the other the quietly bobbing boats
anchored in Gunnamatta Bay.
You dine at Sealevel Restaurant with its unsurpassed views of the
waterfront and eclectic seafood menu and afterwards make your way
to Café Parlo for a late evening coff ee indulgence.
Saturday morning, and after a short walk through the Cronulla CBD
it is time to catch the ferry to Bundeena. The half-hour boat trip
provides ample opportunity to take in the sights of Port Hacking.
From the wharf you make your way into the village to The Fringe Café
and Visitors Centre for a late breakfast and to stock up on maps
and information for a day in Bundeena, Maianbar and the Royal
National Park.
First stop is Jibbon Beach. Here the sandy shore gives way to a rocky
headland that displays some of the best preserved and richest sites
for Aboriginal petroglyphs in the Sydney region.
The rest of the day is spent wandering the beach and bushland tracks
that wind through the national park and along the coast, visiting
Bundeena Picture Gallery and dropping by Club Bundee for a game
of barefoot bowls and a snack in the beer garden.
An early dinner at the Bundeena RSL’s Bayside Brassiere is a memorable
aff air. The restaurant off ers not only 180-degree views across Port
Hacking to Cronulla, but a menu stamped with tasty cuisine.
It’s time to explore one of the many B&Bs this village has to
off er. Beachhaven is located on Hordens Beach and the fi ve-star
accommodation is private and peaceful.
The next morning sleepy heads awaken to the gentle sound of lapping
water and following breakfast on the patio overlooking the garden
its time to board the ferry.
After fossicking through the shops in the Cronulla CBD and armed
with special purchases, it is time to iron out the body wrinkles with
a relaxing massage at the Tamarind Day Spa. In keeping with the
relaxation theme, the next stop is a calming walk through 1000-plus
fl oral displays at the EG Waterhouse National Camellia Gardens
in Miranda.
Lunch in the Japanese inspired Teahouse Camellia Gardens should
probably involve a more traditional meal but who can pass up the
massive, tasty scones that are the mainstay of the teahouse’s famed
Devonshire tea.
All too soon the weekend is drawing to a close, but there is one more
stop before becoming city-bound, and that is to Hazelhurst Regional
Gallery and Arts Centre to view the latest exhibition and eek out a little
more time exploring the Shire.
