Past adventure.
 

ADVENTURE REPORT
Today 12 of our tribe went for a wander in and around Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney’s Inner West. SOP is best know for it’s sporting facilities and the show grounds, but these only occupy a fraction of the park. It was the rest of the park and it’s surrounding areas that we explored.

We were spoilt with a paved flat track most of the time but I couldn’t resist going rogue towards the end with a couple of hills and a bit of mud. Sorry about that guys.

We crossed the Parramatta River from our starting point in Meadowbank via the grand old rusty John Whitton railway bridge built in the era of the Harbour Bridge, and now a repurposed and popular pedestrian bridge. It was then along the landscaped Rhodes waterfront past wall to wall modern apartment blocks built on former industrial sites.

This lead us into SOP proper. Here we criss crossed waterways and mangrove swamps for some time. We scaled a 3 story observation tower to take in the parkland and the distant commercial and residential development now around the core Olympic precinct. The notorious Opal building was amongst several in the area. It was then on & into Bicentennial Park and around the beautiful manmade Lake Belvedere.

Out and back into the mangrove areas again, we past vast bird sanctuary wetland areas, and past a graveyard of ships abandoned after scrape metal prices plummeted and the Sydney ship wrecking yards in the area went bust. By far the best wreck was the picturesque and aptly named floating garden now overrun by a mangrove forest onboard. We read interesting stories of some of the wrecks, including three that played pivotal roles in WW2 with US troops, and others in the protection of Darwin and Sydney Harbour.

The highlight in the variety of things we saw today was the amazing Brick Pit, a large old disused quarry and brick manufacturing facility. Here we walked around the 18m elevated ring platform high above the quarry floor and over the water that filled the deeper parts of it.

We concluded the walk by crossing two large manmade hills (beautified and managed waste dumps), and took a quick ferry ride back to our starting point. Here a well deserved lunch was shared along with caffeine and further discussion.

All in all it was a very enjoyable walk. Thanks for your great company and enthusiasm Barb, Di, Sandra, Bruce, Sue, Carlene, Narelle, Jenny, Shane, and Marian.

Yours in adventure Nick

DETAILS
An easy and interesting 13km all weather urban walk around Rhodes, Sydney Olympic Park & Wentworth Point. We’ll enjoy Old Rusty the repurposed old railway bridge  that crosses the Parramatta River, the Rhodes Waterfront around Homebush Bay, Bicentennial Park & Lake Belvedere, the zig-zag boardwalk through the mangroves, sunken ship wrecks, the unique Floating Garden, the spectacular Brick Pit, and some of the bushlands in The Sydney Olympic Park precinct. It’ll take about 4 hours to complete.

It’s a circular walk and includes a short ferry ride, so remember to bring your Opal.

Meet at Meadowbank Ferry Wharf. Tap the Meetup button below for directions. Free unrestricted parking is available in the vicinity. Car pooling is recommended to reduce the demand on parking spots. Public transport by way of ferry, bus, or train (500m away) is also a convenient option. Bring a snack or two to consume along the way. There are two cafes near the start/end.

SHORT COURSE OPTIONS
There are options to take shortcuts if you want a shorter adventure. Let me know and I’ll direct you at the time.