The best hobbies to pursue in Sydney
Feel the irony, will you?
First of all, you need a pickup truck, or at least a large SUV, preferably a high clearance model. Because the canoe, kayak, paddleboard or surfboard should fit at the top, and it should be able to tow your trailer and support your rooftop tent. And if you’re keen to hunt for lesser-known natural beauties, you’ll surely end up on unsealed roads, occasionally with lots of mud, roots and rocks. Hence the high clearance requirement. 4WD is optional if you don’t get too extreme.
If you don’t know what a wetsuit is, it’s time to do some research, because you won’t be able to continue your beloved water activities in the winter without one. Otherwise, don’t worry much about clothes. You’re perfectly fine in a pair of stretchy leggings in most situations when you’re out of the water. There’s only one item more essential for any outdoorsy hobby than your leggings: a wide brim hat! The Australian sun is as brutal as the legend says.
So launch your canoe from one of the dozens of waterside parks on a calm morning. If you’re a newbie and wish to stay dry, choose sheltered bays, creeks and lazy rivers. If it’s not a calm morning, you will get wet, anyway. If you choose a very shallow tidal river, make sure you won’t get stuck in the mud as the tide is falling.
Hurry to the beach with your surfboard under your arm after work. A group of surfers in the water will indicate the best surfing area in any bay in the Northern Beaches or the Eastern Suburbs. Choose which of these neighborhoods you think the coolest is for surfing, but beware, this is probably the most serious choice you’d ever make as a Sydneysider. I’m on the North Shore. Love me, hate me. I’m not exactly on the shore though, if that helps, and I’m not a surfer either. I’m the one who prefers staying dry in the canoe.
But I’m a passionate hiker and camper. I’ve been a hiker for as long as I remember, but it was Australia that transformed me into a regular camper. The postcard perfect alpine lakes of the Canadian Rockies tempted me to try it after a horribly failed attempt more than a decade before. And they were beautiful enough to justify all the chilly mornings when we chose our car to eat breakfast instead of the frost-kissed benches, and when I literally ran out to the toilet during the night to warm up.
But it was the days spent at the Okanagan Lake in British Columbia where I truly fell in love with camping. It was the smell of the pine forest where we set up our tent, the small cove where we walked down after dinner, the starry sky and - last, but certainly not least! - the balmy summer nights. However pleasant British Columbia’s summers can be, they’re incredibly short. Sydney - and New South Wales - on the other hand is the dream place to camp.
I hear you don’t agree with me and bring up the snakes as an argument. Not again, please. Not everything is about snakes and spiders in Australia. This climate is just perfect for tent camping: lots of sunshine and pleasant night temperatures for most of the year. There are countless campgrounds everywhere you go, varying from fancy caravan parks to free campgrounds with a few dedicated tent spaces by the creek in the middle of the eucalypt forest (you’d need the high clearance car for access to the latter). It’s hard to find any family in Sydney who wouldn’t go camping for at least a few weekends each year.
If you prefer your own bathroom and your RV plugged in, pay for a caravan park. If you’re fine without electricity, drinking water, or maybe any kind of tap water, you can make the experience much more affordable. Just find a natural swimming hole in the forest to rinse the sweat off every few days. (Just kidding. Or not, you decide. There are very pretty natural swimming holes in New South Wales.)
National park campgrounds are quite affordable, relatively well-equipped (it depends on the campground and your standards) and usually at idyllic locations, like behind the beach, on the lakeshore or by the creek. This also means you better throw your canoe, paddleboard or surfboard to the top rack of your car, because you’ll likely have access to water. Kids are in a much easier situation since accessing water means endless fun for them without any equipment - and at any time of the year. Have a few sets of spare clothes, you’ll likely need them.
If you don’t feel ready for camping yet, there’s good old hiking to connect you with nature as a first step. It’s called bushwalking here, and you find plenty of walking tracks even inside Sydney. (Hint: check Lane Cove, Sydney Harbour, Garigal or Ku-ring-gai Chase national parks). If you’d rather float through a river canyon, go to the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains offer so much more than just Echo Point Lookout and the Three Sisters, and the more time you spend hunting for hidden canyons, the more you’ll fall in love with it.
If you’re not the adventurous type, just grab your yoga mat, go to the nearest beach and aim to contort your body into impossible positions, preferably at sunrise. You can opt for sunset on a lazy day, but I warn you that the sun sets on the other side of Australia, so it wouldn’t do for Instagram. If you can’t find your zen, you can still make sure that everyone sees how zen you are. Fake it until you make it.
Even foodies pursue their passion in the great outdoors, and you often find several electric barbecues in the parks of Sydney (or anywhere in Australia, really). But don’t be surprised if they’re all occupied on the weekend. You have a better chance on a weekday, because - unbelievable as it is, I know - people work in Sydney. Granted, they mention three of their favorite hobbies (camping is likely one) before mentioning their profession when introducing themselves, but they still work. They work their butt off to pay those crazy housing costs, you bet. But they like focusing on what comes after work.
Finally, if you feel lazy for anything else, just chill on the beach. It’s the default freetime activity, combined with enjoying a brunch or a coffee (before 3 pm, because cafés close early), or maybe a beach barbecue.
You ask about spiders and snakes. What about them? Just give them space if you meet them. There’s plenty of space in this country. And crocodiles won’t eat you either, not in New South Wales.