Central Coast Archives - Page 2 of 9

13 December 20229 December 2022

Mount Penang Gardens

Located near Gosford on the New South Wales Central Coast, Mount Penang Gardens covers eight hectares of beautifully landscaped gardens. With twelve distinct garden rooms, the displays range from drought tolerant Australian natives to water lilies in the cascading wetlands area.

Parking is available adjacent to the gardens and is currently being expanded, along with improved road access to the area. Entry is free, but dogs are not permitted.

Entrance and Aquatic Garden

Entrance is via the Waterfall Café which overlooks a large pond. This is an excellent place to start your visit or relax after having explored the gardens. From the café, a bridge crosses the pond into the gardens.

Aquatic Garden — Café overlooking the pond

Wildlife

On entering, an information board shows the species of birds you might be lucky enough to see. During our visit though, we only saw a few wood ducks. Also, scattered throughout the gardens are some interesting insect hotels. These are designed to attract insects and provide shelter for them.

Birds of Mount Penang Gardens — Insect Hotel

The Gardens

Well maintained paths wind through the gardens taking you from one setting to another. The sloping terrain allows walled “rooms” to enclose area creating a micro-climate suitable for humidity-loving plants. The bromeliads and ferns growing in one of these rooms were impressive.

We loved the bottle tree grove at the top of the hill because they are such unusual trees. It was great to see them growing here on the Central coast.

Amphitheatre Mount Penang Gardens — Amphitheatre

Rainforest Mount Penang Gardens — Amphitheatre

Sculpture Garden

Created in 1987 by a group of international sculptors at waterside Wondabyne, these massive artworks carved from Gosford sandstone. Gifted to the people of Australia as a bi-centennial gift in 1988 to as a bicentennial they are as varied in style as the artists who made them.

Bird of Paradise Totem by Apkwina Asanamba

Zone of Peace by Nu Nem Raj Sakya Mount Penang Gardens — Bird of Paradise Totem by Apkwina Asanamba

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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3 November 202231 October 2022

Peace Dove Peter Ush

Peace Dove by Peter Ush

Located above the high tide mark on Wamberal Beach is a driftwood sculpture Peace Dove by Peter Ush. Built from local driftwood and cuttlefish, it will not last long, so see it soon before nature reclaims it. Wamberal is located on the New South Wales Central Coast around a 90 minute drive north from the Sydney CBD.

We parked at Spoon Bay Road Reserve, where we were lucky to find a park. On weekend, this is a popular access to the beach and soon becomes difficult to find a park. Alternately, parking is available at the other end of the beach at Wamberal. Walking time along the beach to the sculpture is around 15 minutes from either end.

Easy to find, nestled in the dunes, the dove overlooks the Pacific Ocean, which provides a beautiful backdrop.

A great place to visit in its own right, Wamberal Beach is long and sandy, with no need for people to crowd together. Recent storms have created a lot of driftwood, some of which was washed up here. Many of the pieces were mini-sculptures themselves.

22 June 202221 June 2022

Kanning Walk Kincumber Australia

Exposed rocks and boulders along the Kanning Walk

Kanning Walk Kincumber Australia

Located near Kincumber on the New South Wales Central Coast, Kanning Walk is a 1.2 km track as well as a cave and beautiful scenic Australian bush to enjoy.

We parked near the “mud brick building“, which is also marked as a kiosk. Unfortunately, it is closed, so any thought of a coffee was put aside until we finished the walk. This area also has toilets, electric barbecues, tables and sun shades. Along with the large grassed area, this would be a great place for a family picnic in summer. Also located here is Honeman’s Rock, a small rock outcrop overlooking the picnic grounds.

Kanning Walk

The walk begins near the carpark, where a sign points the way to go. One of the first sights is the root system of a fallen tree, which you pass through at the start. The well maintained track leads through eucalypt forest which was very shady and peaceful dover their uring our visit early on a winter’s morning.

After 200m, the track follows the base of a small sandstone outcrop which contain several small caves (more like rock overhangs). Probably so that visitors don’t think this is the main caves, a nearby sign points to its location 150m away.

Surprisingly large, the main cave is around 7m by 9m and provides nice shade from the weather. During summer this would be a great spot out of the sun.

Continuing on the walk, we passed some interestingly shaped trees that have been sculpted by bushfires over the years. As the track neared the return trail, some banksias in bloom were seen growing in the more exposed areas.

Around 100m passed the cave, the walk meets the Yanina Trail, which is a wide fire trail. Well signposted directions show the way back to the mudbrick building or adventuring on to other walks..

This was a fun easy walk with an interesting cave to see along the way.