Sydney Outdoors Meetup Group

Bondi to Manly in 7 Stages! - Spit Bridge to Manly 12KM

In this 7-walk series, we cover 90.5KM in total to explore the worlds greatest harbour city at a pace which allows us to enjoy the amazing sights and sounds of Sydney!

In Episode 6, we meet directly outside Grumpys Wharf Café which is 30 metres from the intersection of Spit Road and Parriwi Road by no later than 10:30AM. (Bus service to this location is high frequency) We walk across the Spit Bridge and around to Clontarf Beach for a quick coffee stop and toilet break. A further 2km in we inspect Grotto Point Lighthouse (it is still operational) and the site of Aboriginal rock carvings and pushing along, past magnificent views of the east harbour, to Tania Park, Balgowlah, where we stop for lunch, 6.5KM in.

Lunch Options: Eat your packed lunch in Tania Park, where there is seating and a bathroom. Or, members can buy lunch at Balgowlah Bowling Club which is 300 meters away together with a Café and an Indian Takeout. Spoiled for choice!

After lunch we hit the Dobroyd Headland trail and descend to the lookout for some pictures, no doubt. We then pass Fourty Baskets Beach and Jillings Cove and head for Manly Wharf via the Fairlight Beach walk.

What to Bring: Please bring snacks and lunch, hat, sunscreen, plenty of water. Members may purchase lunch (see above options) or eat your own food at Tania Park.

Pub: Ivanhoe Hotel, Manly Corso

Suggested Donation: $10

By RSVPing to this event, you (and your guests) agree to and are bound by the terms and conditions of SOMG which you can view here:

Gangster Lands of Sydney! Carramar - Chipping Norton - Liverpool 21km Medium

This walk, through the thick of the Gangster Lands of Sydney, is actually full of surprises with a great variety of riverside park lands and places of historical interest. Leaving Carammar Train Station we head into Prospect Creek and turn south, through Lansdowne to Flinders Slopes and the Seven Peacekeepers Monument. At George's Hall, we circumnavigate Lake Gillawarna and head to Garrison Point for our first short break at Henry Lawson Reserve, where Prospect Creek spills into the Georges River.

Onward, with Bankstown Aerodrome to our left, we cross the river at Milperra and enter a beautiful walk around Chipping Norton Lakes which ends at Homestead Park, where we have our long lunch break. After lunch we follow the river to Lake Moore, Newbridge and Warwick Farm before crossing the Georges River Weir (pictured above; conditions allowing) and a climb out to Liverpool Train Station. For those who wish, we can grab a tasty beer close by before heading home.

Distance: 21KM

Type of Walk: This classic river walk is amazing, and we will see no evidence of Gangster stuff.

Difficulty: Moderate. There are get out points from about 8KM, if required.

Walking Pace: We will maintain a steady pace and average 4.5 km per hour.

Meeting Place and Transport: Meet at Carramar Station by no later than 9:30AM on the day. The first bathroom break is 5KM in a Flinders Slopes. Transport back is by trains or buses from Liverpool Train/Bus Station.

What to bring: Good walking shoes/trainers; 1.5-2 litres of water; hydrolytes; snacks and one lunch; light rain jacket depending on conditions; sunscreen and a cap or hat with a wide brim. THERE ARE NO CONVENIENT SHOPS AT OUR STOPS, SO PLEASE DO BRING YOUR FOOD!

Suggested Donation: $10

Pub: Club Liverpool

By RSVPing to this event, you (and your guests) agree to and are bound by the terms and conditions of SOMG which you can view here:

Bondi to Manly in 7 Stages! - Manly to North Head back to Manly! 13.5KM

In this 7-walk series, we cover 90.5KM in total to explore the worlds greatest harbour city at a pace which allows us to enjoy the amazing sights and sounds of Sydney!

In Final Episode 7, we meet at Circular Quay Ferry Wharf 3, Side B to catch the 10:30AM Ferry to Manly, arriving 10:52AM. Quickly underway we skirt East Cove, Little Manly Beach and Little Manly Point, before hitting a bush track through to Collins Beach. We avoid the security at the Australian Police management training institute, and walk up to North Head Scenic Drive which takes us to the historic Quarantine Station, its museum, Café , and toilets where we take lunch 5KM into the walk.

Lunch Options: Eat your packed lunch at the Q Station foreshore park where there is seating and a bathroom. Or, members can buy a light lunch at the Q Station Café. The coffee is good! Spoiled for choice, again!

After lunch we head for Fairfax Lookout and some of the most stunning views of Sydney Harbour; it is very striking. We then traverse the seaward side of North head, with a Hanging Swamp along the way and opening up to spectacular views north to the Central Coast; Norah head Lighthouse - 60KM away - is in view on a clear day. We finish our day walking through Shelley Beach and Fairy Bower on our way to the Corso and the Ivanhoe Hotel for a refreshment and to pat ourselves on the back for finishing this epic 90.5KM walk!

What to Bring: Please bring snacks and lunch, hat, sunscreen, plenty of water. Members may purchase lunch (see above options), or eat your own food at Q Station.

Pub: Ivanhoe Hotel, Manly Corso

Suggested Donation: $10

By RSVPing to this event, you (and your guests) agree to and are bound by the terms and conditions of SOMG which you can view here:

Mixed Up History: Balmain to Abbotsford: Wonderful History of Sydney! - 14KM Easy/Medium

We catch the ferry from Circular Quay Wharf 5, Side A to Balmain East Ferry Wharf. We head into historic backstreet and commence our exploration of the Balmain/Birchgrove Peninsula with Mort Bay and Ballast Point, taking views rarely seen of the CBD. Various parks and points of interest, including Dawn Fraser Swimming Baths, pass us by on our way through to Iron Cove Bay and Drummoyne where, 7KM in, we stop at the local shopping strip for a 40-minute lunch stop/bathroom break.

Following lunch, we cross Victoria Road into the backstreets of Drummoyne and strike out for Gladesville Bridge, perhaps the first ever computer designed bridge. Under the bridge we skip past Russell Lea and check out Chiswick, entering Abbotsford at a mansion linked to the poet/novelist Sir Walter Scott (d: 1832) and the biggest chocolate factory in the Southern Hemisphere. Well, the chocolate is long gone, now.

We end our tour of these historic suburbs, spread around the southern harbour, at Sydney Rowing Club (has superb harbour views) for a refreshment, or two. Abbotsford Ferry Wharf is 50 meters away, with a delightful 30-minute ferry trip back to Circular Quay departing every 30 minutes. The 504 bus also departs from just outside the Club at regular intervals.

Distance: 14KM

Type of Walk: This Sunday walk is filled with great variation, from heritage suburbs, great characters, famous houses and stuff like that!

Difficulty: Easy, peasy.

Walking Pace: We will average 4.5KM per hour and check all this stuff out.

Meeting Place and Transport: We meet at Wharf 5, Side A, Circular Quay at 10:30AM, with our Ferry departing at 10:42AM arriving Balmain East Ferry Wharf 10:54AM. Please, be on time and remember we are going to Balmain East Ferry Wharf, which is distinct from Balmain Ferry Wharf!

What to bring/wear: Trail runners/good walking shoes; 1.5 litres of water, refill along the way; hydrolytes; lunch; light rain jacket depending on conditions; sunscreen and a cap or hat with a wide brim. Plenty of food options at our lunch stop.

Suggested Donation: $10

Pub: Sydney Rowing Club

By RSVPing to this event, you (and your guests) agree to and are bound by the terms and conditions of SOMG which you can view here: