Bungendore Park was gazetted in 1897, originally as a timber reserve. This remnant piece of bushland covers 498 hectares and is used for research purposes and field studies because it is home to 350 plant species and 160 animal species. Access to the park is from Albany Highway or Admiral Road. We parked at Admiral Road as we had just been exploring Wungong Dam, featured in our 3 Very Different Dams blog. From the carpark a wide fire trail passes behind Southern Hills Chris

Canning Dam Exploring the hills area around Armadale we drove to Canning Dam, a beautiful drive which reminds me of Caves Road. We parked at the lower picnic area and through the trees could just make out the wall of the dam rising high above us – WOW it is unexpectedly massive! That's it where the green arrow is pointing at the trees! The picnic area is lovely and shaded and still had a tinge of autumn colour in early June. There is a small fenced playground, barbecues, pi

Most people head to Araluen for the annual spring display of tulip blooms but Araluen is spectacular all year around. We visited late in November to take advantage of the 90th birthday special entry rate of $5 per person. An advantage of coming in the "off" season is that you almost have this beautiful park to yourself! We had a quick stop at Raeburn Orchards as it was on the way and we hadn't been here before. There is a cafe, gift shop and fruit and veg for sale so it is w