'''The Sutherland Shire''' is a district in the south of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia around 25km south of Sydney City
Understand
Sutherland Shire is primarily a residential area. Its primary tourist destinations are the beach suburbs of Cronulla, the bushland of Australia's oldest national park the Royal National Park and the first landing point of Captain Cook at Botany Bay in Kurnell.
Many people refer to this area of Sydney as "the Shire". And certainly almost all of the residents of the area do.
It is surrounded by water, with the Ocean to the east, Port Hacking to the South, the Georges River and Botany bay on the North, and the Woronora river on the west. It has numerous opportunities for uncrowded swimming, boating, bushwalking, and exploring the parks, gardens and history of the area.
The Sutherland Shire would be a destination to consider if you were looking to stay in Sydney, but want to avoid the expense, parking hassles, and crowds of the city centre. It offers cheaper accommodation, less crowds, free parking, access to beaches, parks, and bushland, shopping and other amenities and is an 30-40 minute train trip or drive to the attractions at the city centre.
Get in
See Cronulla and Royal National Park for information on how to access those areas, and the information with the attractions on how to access them.
By train
Cityrail [http://www.cityrail.info] runs trains to the district every 15-30 minutes. The journey takes around 30-45 minutes. There are 13 Cityrail stations within the Sutherland Shire district.
The city train stations of Central, Town Hall, Martin Place and Kings Cross offer a direct service. From the other city stations you will need to change at Central to platforms 24/25.
From Sydney airport change at Wolli Creek station.
By car
From the north there are three bridges over the Georges River that link to the Sutherland Shire. If you follow the Princes Highway south from the Sydney CBD towards Wollongong, you will enter the Sutherland Shire crossing the river at the Tom Ugly's Bridge. The journey will take around 30 minutes. Alternatively, you could travel along Rocky Point Road and cross Captain Cook bridge to enter the shire through Taren Point.
From the south Wollongong just follow the signs to Sydney via the Sydney freeway, and as soon as you seen the "Welcome to Sydney" sign, you have made it. The journey takes around 30 minutes but can be congested at peak times.
By bicycle
The cycleway from Sydney Olympic Park follows the Cooks River to the edge of Botany Bay through Southern Sydney. It enters the Sutherland Shire over the Captain Cook bridge and continues largely off-road or on quiet roads to Cronulla. It then continues on a wide shoulder on a 80km/hr road to Kurnell. Sydney cycle routes are generally not well marked, and you should do some research on the route and take a map so you don't get lost or end up on a very busy road. Sharkbike [http://www.sharkbike.org.au] is the Sutherland Shire Bicycle User Group.
By bus
There are bus [http://www.131500.info] connections to Miranda direct from Hurstville and from Rockdale. Both are slower and more expensive than the train.
Get around
By car
Car is the easiest way to quickly and easily get around the district. It takes around 20 minutes to drive from east to west, and around 15 minutes north to south.
By public transport
Public transport is available, but it doesn't run with the frequency of services closer to the city. Expect Cityrail [http://www.cityrail.info] trains to run every 30 minutes all week connecting the major centres. Expect buses to run about every hour to most places on weekdays, up to 3 hourly on a weekend, and to stop running around 8pm.
Sydney Buses [http://www.sydneybuses.info] only runs one bus, to Miranda Fair from Rockdale. It services Taren Point on route.
Veolia [http://www.connexnsw.com.au] is the largest bus company operating in the District, services the areas away from Cronulla. It services Sutherland, Grays Point, Gymea Bay, and over the Menai.
Veolia now also incorporates the bus services linking Miranda, Caringbah, Cronulla and Kurnell. The timetables are up to date on their website, but their maps are not yet updated. Some of the buses still have the Buslink livery.
Caringbah Bus [http://www.caringbahbus.com.au/] services Lilli Pilli from Caringbah.
Sydney Transport Infoline [http://www.131500.info] provides information on all bus and train times to any street address or attraction. It will recommend the quickest method at the time you wish to travel.
See
See Cronulla and Royal National Park for sights in those areas of the Sutherland Shire.
Other sights in the Sutherland Shire include:
Parks and Gardens
E.G. Waterhouse National Camellia Garden. resident Avenue, Caringbah. minutes drive/20 minutes walk from Caringbah along President Avenue. am until 5pm. ree. A large garden area, with many varieties of flowers. Playground, artificial creeks and waterfalls, and a duck pond. Ducks are fat and usually very well fed. Teahouse in the gardens, popular spot.
Joseph Banks Native Plants Reserve. arnet Avenue, Kareela. ntrance is hard to find, take Bates Drive from Princes Hwy (signposted to Kareela), left on Alpita to end, Left on Garnet to end, left on Manooka to end. hours="until 4pm. ree. A large collection of native plants, paved walks, barbecues well stocked with wood, and water views. This place is unknown to most, and is never crowded, except when hosting and occasional wedding. Lots of Australian plant species, and well worth grabbing some sausages, some matches, and heading over for a barbecue.
Peace Park/Japanese Garden. ton Street Sutherland. ree. A small, unassuming garden in Sutherland, celebrating the sister city relationship between the Sutherland Shire and Chuo in Tokyo. Cherry blossoms flowering in the spring. Possibly a nice place to visit for any homesick Japanese tourists in the area.
Como Pleasure Grounds. remona Road, Como. alk down the hill from Como Station, turn left on Cremona Road, and follow until the end. ree. Historically Como was a popular recreation ground for Sydneysiders on the steam train for a day out by the water. Today, it is still a popular park. There is a swimming pool, swimming enclosure on the Georges River, a cafe on the waters edge, playground, barbecues, picnic tables. Its popular with teenagers on weekends to hang out, eat, swim. There is a marina where you can hire small motor boats to explore the Georges River. There is also a Thai restaurant, with a take away kiosk, serving Thai and Australian food.
History
Captain Cook's Landing Place. aptain Cook Drive, Kurnell. ver Captain Cook Bridge, and along Captain Cook Drive, or train to Cronulla station and a 987 bus to Kurnell. unrise to Sunset. ttp://www.whereculturesmeet.com.au/. here is a National Park Admission fee ($11/24hr) to drive into the Park. If you only want to visit the monuments and see the landing place you can easily park just by the beach outside the park and not incur any fee to walk along the monument track from the other end. Foot or bicycle access is always free.. You can stand on the rock where Captain Cook first stepped ashore, starting the process of European settlement. The landing place is also now next to a large oil refinery. There is a monument walk here, and an interpretive visitors centre. The area is never crowded with visitors, and many Sydneysiders have never visited. There are usually plenty of available and well maintained electric barbecues and picnic tables by the water. Buses can be a couple of hours apart so check the times. [http://www.connexnsw.com.au]. Sutherland Shire used to be named the birthplace of modern Australia, referring to European settlement. Now the aspects of the Aboriginal and European settlement interaction are emphasised, and interpreted in the visitors centre in the park.
Sydney Tramway Museum. awson Pde, Loftus. djacent to Loftus Railway Station, no entry from Metroad 1 heading south. ttp://www.sydneytramwaymuseum.com.au/. undays 10am until 5pm. dult $15 Child $8. They have an old Bondi tram, overseas trams, and tramrides, including rides to the
Towra Point Wetland. aptain Cook Drive. The Towra point wetland is an imporant resource for migratory birds, with mangroves and inter-tidal mud-flats. It is a protected area, and mostly not open to visitors. The National Park Visitors Centre at Kurnell does organise tours every month or so. There are three points available to view over the wetland, each off Captain Cook Drive, and worth stopping at if you are on the way to Kurnell. Between November and March you may spot the migratory Eastern Curlew, which spends the other half of the year in Russia. Take your binoculars.
Arts and Culture
Hazelhurst Regional Gallery. he Kingsway, Gymea. xist from the station, and proceed straight ahead. ttp://www.hazelhurst.com.au. 0am-5pm. ree. Very much a community art gallery, surrounded by pretty gardens. Nice coffee shop in amoungst it all.
Do
Do the things there are to do in Cronulla and the Royal National Park and then:
Dive. hiprock Point Marine Reserve. ttp://www.shiprockdive.com.au/. Shiprock point in Dolans Bay has a marine reserve. Some tropical fish can even be seen here in the summer months, when the water is warm in February mainly. You can see many fish varieties snorkelling along the rocks all the way around from Lilli Pilli point to Shiprock. Watch out for fishermen outside the reserve, and watch out for speedboats in the channel. Shiprock dive can hire equipment or do training courses.
Swim in the Port Hacking. illi Pilli Point, Gymea Bay, Grays Point. The Port Hacking River lies along the Southern Boundary of the Sutherland Shire, and separates it from the National Park. The Port Hacking is a clean waterway, nice for swimming (except for possibly the day after heavy rain). There are enclosures (nets) for swimming along the waterway, usually uncrowded. You can swim outside the enclosures if want to. The biggest threat is jetskis, sharks are very rarely seen. From Lilli Pilli Point, there is a large sand spit you can swim out to at low tide. There are some little sting rays out there that can sting you if you tread on them. It hurts, but it not otherwise dangerous.
Boat on the Georges RIver. remona Road, Como. ark at Como Pleasure Grounds, and walk down to the marina, or ten minutes walk down Cremona Road from Como Station. You hire a motor boat by the hour, a explore the Georges River and Woronora River waterways, for an hour, or take a picnic and make a day of it.
Kayak on the Woronora. oronora. y the old Wororora Bridge, if driving follow the signs to Woronora, or it is about 15 minutes walk steep downhill from Sutherland Station. You can catch the bus back up, but they run infrequently on weekends. Check the timetable [http://www.connexnsw.com.au]. You can hire a kayak from Woronora, and esplore the many inlets around Bonnet Bay, or if you are fit, even go upstream to the needles. In the summer, there are lots of opportunities for swimming. Take sunscreen, covering clothing, and a hat.
Buy
Cronulla has an open air shopping mall, but also:
Miranda Fair. he Kingsway, Miranda. mmediately adjacent to Miranda train station" url="http://www.westfield.com.au. on-Sun 8:30am 5:30pm, Thu open until 9pm. Food Hall open until 7pm nightly. Miranda Fair is the largest shopping mall in
Pauls Hamburgers. rinces Hwy, Sylvania. ednesday-Sunday. ust south of the Tom Uglys Bridge. A local institution, was serving hamburgers through a hole in the wall 40 years ago. Any resemblance to the chain hamburgers is entirely coincidental, this is a different animal. Order one with the lot, and a Pina Colada milkshake, and walk down to the river and eat it under the bridge.
Moderate
Gymea Bay Road (North). ust north of Gymea train station, turn right out of the station. ymea Bay Road. Lots of great cafe food in Gymea. Modern Australian Cuisine
Moshka. ust east of the train station at Jannali. ox Rd, Jannali. Moderately priced Indian restaurant with flair, and really tasty food. If you don't feel like Indian, the Thai Tiger, is next door down, and Little Italy is on the corner. You will need to book on Friday/Saturday nights, but other times just walk in.
Splurge
Drink
Historic Como Hotel. omo Hilton. remona Rd, Como. rom Como station walk down the hill to Cremona Road, and turn left. Short walk to the hotel.. ttp://www.thecomo.com.au/. The original Como Hotel burnt down in 1996. See the original burnt door still in the Hotel. The new hotel looks even more historic than the old one did, and has a great balcony overlooking the bay and the cricket oval. There is a barbecue on the balcony most weekend lunchtimes.
Sleep
There is accommodation in Cronulla and there is camping and a YHA in the Royal National Park. Please see those articles fro details.
Also in the Sutherland Shire there is:
Abcot Inn. rinces Hwy, Sylvania Heights. n the left hand side of the Princes Hwy heading south, about 2km after Tom Uglys Bridge. ttp://www.abcot.com.au.
Sutherland Motel. ldgate St, Sutherland. ttp://www.sutherlandmotel.com/. Motel style accommodation, easy walking to the pool, and about 1.5km from the station
Contact
Internet Terminals
All Sutherland Shire Libraries [http://www.suthlib.nsw.gov.au] provide full Internet access for $3.30 per hour to travelers. There are libraries at Cronulla, Miranda, Sutherland and elsewhere, that are open Monday to Friday and Saturday Mornings. Only Sutherland is open Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Wifi
Gloria Jeans Coffee by the station in Sutherland provides free WiFi for customers, as does the cafe two doors down in the Eton Arcade. There is free WiFi in both the food courts in Miranda Fair shopping mall, courtesy of the McDonald's restaurants there, as well as the McDonalds in Kirrawee and Sylvania.