It has has been a while since we went deep into the heart of Centennial Park. It is so easy to get distracted by its circumference: the soft-land playgrounds and walking circuits as well as the coffee shop. But if you walk off the well-trodden path, you can find yourself in a stunning woodland that is almost deserted. A few weeks ago we went exploring and revisited some of our favourite finds from last year - a site where you can build forts out of large tree branches, a path past Lily Pond and into Lachlan Swamp, which is a boardwalk area through a cacophony of noisy hanging fruit bats. Nearby is a new addition too - the Centennial Park Labyrinth, an 11-circuit sandstone design based on one from the 13th century Chartres Cathedral in France. There really was something for everyone.
We first heard about Lane Cove National Park a few years ago when one of our neighbours said they went camping there with their young children. It seemed like a great idea - getting your children to test-drive sleeping in a tent without having to drive for hours beforehand. We've been meaning to check out the parklands ever since, and finally got to it over the weekend.
It was a taster only, as the park has many features to offer, including a boat shed where you can hire peddle boats and kayaks. However, we wanted to get a sense of the scale of the place, and just spend some time hanging out in nature.
We took a walk through some bushland, saw many varieties of ducks and birdlife, and spotted a couple of Eastern Water Dragons.
As we walked we collected various feathers that we found along the way, and was quite impressed with the colour and mix when we had a closer look at them when we were back home.
Tips
* Bike-riding in the park is popular. It's quite hilly in sections so suited mainly to competent riders, however, there were much smaller children's tracks too.
* There are plenty of picnic tables and areas to sit and have lunch, and be able to enjoy the surrounding bush.
* There's a boat shed with paddle boats and kayaks for hire, although it seemed closed for renovation when we visited.
images the indigo crew
