Sydney Hidden Spots

Since the kids have grown up, it became more and more difficult to extract them from their electronic devices and take them out to enjoy nature. Unless we have a very good and specific plan for the weekend (like we had last week going for ski in the Snowy Mountains), in Sydney it's really hard to decide AND to accomplish what you want to do all in the same day. The escapes in nature are usually well planned and the kids and friends need to be informed a couple of days in advance. Or a week in advance. Or a month in advance. Get the picture?

But for this one we had not even decided on the day, only after we entered the car and started to drive. We asked the kids to get dressed and come out, told them that we'll go out to breath some fresh air with no idea where to go to. But it was a beautiful day and we had to take them out. After Bogdan started to drive, I opened the maps app and searched for water in an area of 20-30 km from our home. I had no idea what I was doing, but it turned out we have chosen the right spot for a Sunday afternoon.

This peaceful place is the Prospect Reservoir, situated in the Prospect Nature Reserve. As it's a preserved area, the access is free but it's completely surrounded by fences and the gates are closing at 4 pm during the winter. It is located approximately 10 km West of Parramatta and 5 km South of Blacktown. There is plenty of water drinking facilities, as well as picnic tables and barbecue. No crowds, only a few visitors taking a walk or a bicycle ride.

The winter light was gorgeous and the old pipes were such a novel and beautiful setting for pictures. There is a bridge on the lake making also a beautiful location for pictures, but there is no public access, so Bogdan had to shoot this from above and through the fence. Actually, the whole lake is surrounded by a fence, I don't really know why, as it was full of ducks and a lot of other birds.

Later edit, a message from a friend: This is because it is the resevoir that holds Sydney's water, so they don't want  all sorts of "crap" getting into the water, after all we will be drinking that water !!! 

It was quite a short trip, but the kids were happy to walk and play for a while. Have I mentioned that while is very difficult to take them out, it's equally difficult to bring them back? But that is a good thing, because hopefully they will know the value of the outdoors and the real fun that can be had?