Park sights in Australia
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Kyneton Botanic Gardens
Don’t miss the Botanic Gardens, beside the Campaspe River, that Baron Ferdinand von Mueller established in the 1860s.
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City Botanic Gardens Park
On the river, Brisbane's favourite green space is a mass of lawns, towering Moreton Bay figs, bunya pines, macadamia trees and other tropical flora, descending gently from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) campus. Its lawns are popular with lunching office workers, joggers and picnickers.
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City Park
Wonderful, green City Park has enormous oaks and plane trees, an elegant fountain, a conservatory with changing plant displays, a Victorian bandstand and a playground and mini train for kids. A glass-walled enclosure of Japanese macaques, a gift from Japanese sister city Ikeda, will fascinate little ones for hours.
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Esplanade Reserve
A large park shaded by Norfolk Island pines between the city and Fishing Boat Harbour.
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Hammond Park
A good spot for kids, with playgrounds, aviaries, kangaroos, emus and a miniature Bavarian castle.
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Kalgoorlie Arboretum
Twenty-six hectares of DEC-managed parkland set around a lake, with 50 native tree species and information panels.
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Karlkurla Park
Get out on the red dirt in this regenerated bushland on the north-western edge of town and enjoy the 4km of walking trails.
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Katherine Low Level Nature Park
The park is a scenic spot on the banks of the babbling Katherine River, just off the Victoria Hwy (Rte 1) 4km from town. It has a popular dry-season swimming hole linked to crystalline thermal pools (access via Murray St) and town by a tree-lined shared cycle way/footpath.
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Kings Park & Botanic Garden
The bush-filled 400-hectare expanse of Kings Park is where the city's good burghers head for a picnic under the trees or to let the kids off the leash in one of the playgrounds. Its numerous tracks are popular with walkers, while the steep stairs leading up from the river support a steady procession of masochistic middle-aged joggers. Apart from buns of steel, the exertion is rewarded by wonderful views from the top.
At the park's heart is the 17-hectare Botanic Garden, containing over 2000 indigenous plant species. In spring there's an impressive display of the state's famed wildflowers. A highlight is the Lotterywest Federation Walkway, a 620m path through the gardens…
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Cremorne Reserve
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Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
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Horsham Botanic Gardens
Horsham’s Botanic Gardens were established in the 1870s and designed by the curator of Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens, William Guilfoyle.
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Yarra Bend Park
Escape the city without leaving town. About 5km northeast of the city centre, the Yarra River flows through bushland, an area cherished by runners, rowers, cyclists, picnickers and strollers.
Yarra Bend Park has huge tracts of densely tree-covered land (not to mention two golf courses and numerous sports grounds) that are great for walking. Cockatoos screech by the banks and grey-headed flying foxes roost in the trees: it's hard to believe you're 10 minutes from office towers and industry. At the end of Boathouse Rd is the 1860s Studley Park Boathouse, which has a kiosk and restaurant, BBQ facilities, flocks of ducks, and boats and canoes for hire. Kanes suspension…
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Wynyard Park
Above Wynyard train station is this rare wedge of downtown greenery. Surrounded by skyscrapers and spindly plane trees, it has a certain Manhattan vibe to it. Office workers chew sandwiches, smoke, kick off their heels, read magazines and bitch about the boss.
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Neild Avenue Maze
This tiny maze of thigh-high hedges hides behind a gargantuan plane tree on a Paddington back street, squished into a cranny between a gallery and someone’s back fence. It mightn’t take you forever to find your way through, but it’ll add a smile to your day.
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Roma Street Parkland
The 16-hectare Roma St Parkland is one of the world's largest subtropical urban gardens. Formerly the site of a market and later a railway yard, the parkland features 40 varieties of Australian native trees, a lake, three waterfalls, a playground and public barbecues.
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Rushcutters Bay
Surrounded by enormous Moreton Bay fig trees, luxury yachts and pampered pooches, this unpretentious waterfront park is a beaut spot for a quiet stroll or jog. In December the world’s greatest yachties prepare for the gruelling Sydney to Hobart race here. Rushcutters Bay Park Tennis Courts are also on hand.
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Cataract Gorge
A 10-minute walk west of the city is the fabulous Cataract Gorge. Surrounded by a wildlife reserve, near-vertical basalt cliffs crowd the banks of the South Esk River as it enters the Tamar. During the day, teens plunge into the river and rock-climbers defy gravity; at night the floodlit cliffs take on a shifty, shadow-strewn countenance.
Walking tracks on either side of the gorge lead from Kings Bridge up to First Basin, where there's a swimming pool, picnic grounds, a quality restaurant with resident peacocks, and trails leading to vista-packed lookouts. Both a suspension bridge and a chairlift sail across First Basin. A walking track (45 minutes one way) leads further…
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Rosalind Park
In the city centre, this lovely green space has lawns, big old trees, fernery and the fabulous Cascades Fountain, which was excavated after being buried for 120 years. Climb to the top of the lookout tower for sensational 360-degree views or wander through the Conservatory Gardens.
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Sydney Park
Full of dog walkers, kite flyers and stragglers from last night’s party, 40-hectare Sydney Park is a great place to chill out. From the bald hilltop the city rises like a volcanic island from a sea of suburbia, while to the south there are views over the airport to Botany Bay. Much of the land has been reclaimed from swamps, clay pits and brickworks.
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Bellevue Park
This quiet suburban park has killer views over Bondi and all the heads: North, South and Middle. Early Irish convicts named it Vinegar Hill, after a battle in the 1798 Irish Rebellion, but Governor Macquarie pooh-poohed the idea and renamed it Bellevue Hill. The surrounding streets are home to a large Jewish community and some of Sydney’s rich-and-famous, including the Packer media tribe and actress Toni Collette.
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Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens, Mount Tomah
Between Bilpin and Bell, Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens is the cool-climate sibling of Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens. Native plants cuddle up next to exotic species, including magnificent rhododendron displays.
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Dolphin Point
This grassy tract at Coogee Beach’s northern end has superb ocean views and the sea-salty Giles Baths ocean pool. A sobering shrine commemorates the 2002 Bali bombings. Coogee was hit hard by the tragedy, with 20 of the 89 Australians killed coming from hereabouts.
Formerly known as Dunningham Park, its name was changed to honour the six members of the Coogee Dolphins rugby league team who died in the blast.
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Mt Wellington
Cloaked in winter snow,Mt Wellington peaks at 1270m, towering above Hobart like a benevolent overlord. The citizens find reassurance in its constant, solid presence, while outdoors types find the space to hike and bike on its leafy flanks. And the view from the top is unbelievable! Don't be deterred if the sky is overcast – often the peak rises above cloud level and looks out over a magic carpet of cotton-topped clouds.
Hacked out of the mountainside during the Great Depression, the 22km road to the top winds up from the city through thick temperate forest, opening out to lunar rockscapes at the summit. If you don't have wheels, local buses 48 and 49 stop at Fern Tree…
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