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Gosford
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To get anywhere on the Central Coast, you need to go through
GOSFORD
, perched on the north shore of Brisbane Water and just about within commuting distance of Sydney. Its proximity to the city has resulted in uncontrolled residential sprawl along much of the Central Coast, which has put a great strain on the once-unspoilt lakes. Although there's plenty of accommodation in and around Gosford - details from
Central Coast Tourism
, near the train station at 200 Mann St (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm & Sun 9am-3pm school holidays and long weekends only; tel 02/4385 4074,
www.cctourism.com.au
) - there's not much incentive to stay. Gosford's main appeal though is as a gateway to two excellent national parks, beyond which are two idyllic beach retreats - Pearl Beach and nearby Patonga.
Old Sydney Town (daily 10am-4pm; $22), southwest of Gosford just off the Pacific Highway, is a reconstruction of Sydney as it looked in the early years of the penal settlement. "Everyday" scenes, such as a convict's escape or a flogging, are acted out, and a token gesture towards Aboriginal culture has been made in the form of a Koorie Trading Post, which sells souvenirs. Most tour buses include Old Sydney Town in their itineraries. Take Peninsula Bus Lines #38 to Old Sydney Town from Gosford. Brisbane Waters National Park , immediately south of Gosford, is the site of the Bulgandry Aboriginal engravings , which are of a style unique to the Sydney region, with figurative outlines scratched boldly into sandstone. The site, no longer frequented by the Guringgai people - whose territory ranged south as far as Sydney Harbour and north to Lake Macquarie - is 7km southwest of Gosford off the Woy Woy Road. Tiny Bouddi National Park is 20km southeast along the coast, at the northern mouth of Broken Bay, and is a great spot for bushwalking, with camping facilities at Putty Beach, Little Beach and Tallow Beach: book through the NPWS office at 207 Albury St, Gosford (tel 02/4324 4911), which also has information on both parks. Surrounded by Brisbane Waters National Park, friendly, undeveloped PEARL BEACH is a small community which expands on weekends. There are holiday houses to rent, but no other accommodation. Besides a popular cafe and a beachfront restaurant, Pearls on the Beach (licensed and BYO; bookings advised on 02/4342 4400; closed Mon-Wed, no dinner Sun), there's a general store (daily 8am-6pm) also selling petrol, a real estate agent who can arrange holiday lets (tel 02/4341 7555, fax 4341 9665, www.pearlbeachrealestate.com.au ; from $550 per week in peak season), and some tennis courts. The very pretty, sheltered beach, popular with families, has a relaxing open-access saltwater pool at one end. You can walk from the end of Crystal Avenue to the neighbouring beach settlement of PATONGA visiting a lookout and the Crommelin Native Arboretum en route. The walk takes about 45 minutes and is best undertaken on the last Sunday of the month when the Patonga Beach market is held (8am-4pm), with arts and crafts, food stalls and buskers. Central Coast Kayak Tours, 25 Broken Bay Rd, Ettalong Beach (tel 02/4342 2222, www.kayaktours.com ), does kayaking trips on Patonga Creek for $88 with pick-ups from Woy Woy train station. They also hire out kayaks (single kayak $30 half-day, $49.50 full day).
To get to Pearl Beach or Patonga, you can take the Busways Peninsula
bus
(tel 02/4392 6666) from Woy Woy train station; or take the Palm Beach ferry. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Australia,
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