Sydney's Great West Walk - the walking (parts 1, 2, & 3)

The bushwalking club has now done the first three of the four stages of the Great West Walk that I'd been surveying.

Here we are, setting out from Parramatta.

Toongabbie Creek

Western Sydney Parklands

Nurragingy Reserve and some unexpected visitors

A big kangaroo in Lucy Cobcroft Park, Mt Druitt
















Below: a Western Sydney special: last night's burnt-out stolen car, still smelling all sweet and rubbery!

 (Some photos courtesy of Leah Taylor)

Nurragingy

It's 15 years or so since I last visited the Nurragingy Reserve. At that time it was probably in its infancy as a local attraction, and my memories were of a patch of scrubby bush with a few picnic tables and an uninviting bush track or two. Plus a couple of blacksmith's huts, I remember.

Since then it was in the news because of a prominent 2010 murder case - a young child was murdered and her body was dumped here. Not something to enhance one's image of a beauty spot.

Well it's actually come on quite a lot, as we discovered the other day. It's now very inviting indeed, with lots of appealing facilities. The blacksmith's huts are still there, and there are now lots of lawns, picnic areas, specialist gardens, a good value for money kiosk, playgrounds, cycle paths and water features.

We didn't have time to do justice to the place. Just enough time to have a quick lunch and a brief sojourn into the Chinese Garden, but we plan to return soon to explore it all a bit further.

Nurragingy Reserve is in Doonside in Western Sydney, and is managed by Blacktown City Council.