Georges River at Bald Face Point.

Sydney has many waterways - it's not just the beaches and the harbour.

Royal National Park

The Hacking River - upstream from Audley Weir. The Royal was the second declared National Park in the world. Anyone know the first???

Rosedale - Saltwater Creek

Alexandra Canal

Alexandra Canal along Sydney Airport. More about the canal here.

Bass and Flinders Point, South Cronulla

Memorial stone reads: "Memorial to Matthew Flinders George Bass and the 'Boy Martin' who sailed past this headland in 'Tom Thumb' II on March 30th 1796 and discovered and named Port Hacking."

Boat in Gymea Bay

A picture of calm and tranquility.

Windy day, Mortlake

Majors and Yaralla Bays from Wangal Reserve, Mortlake. Majors Bay is named after Major Nichols, the father of Isaac Nichols, the first postmaster of NSW. Yaralla is an Aboriginal word meaning camp or home. The building across the bay is Concord Hospital.

Wangal Centenary Bushland Reserve, Mortlake

A peaceful picnic spot overlooking Majors Bay, part of the Parramatta River at Mortlake."Wangal" is the name of one of the Aboriginal clans of the Eora nation, original inhabitants of the Sydney area.

Aerial Sydney again - this time the south

My previous aerial shots of Sydney have tended to be from the north or west. Yesterday we flew in from the south, then (for those of you who know these things) landed from the western end of the east-west runway - not used as often these days. The approach afforded great views of the Sutherland Shire and St George areas, and the bridges across the Georges River, Como railway bridge (closest), Tom Ugly's and Captain Cook, and all the way across to Cronulla.

I've previously posted quite a few pictures around both Tom Ugly's and Captain Cook bridges, and around the shores of the Georges River. I think it's always fun flying into a city you are very familiar with and recognising large parts of it!

There were two things that were immediately obvious to me as we got lower: southern Sydney still has a prevalence of red rooftops (originally terracotta Marseilles style tiles, now not so much terracotta), and that the jacaranda tree is almost 'naturalised' - look closely or click on the photos to make them larger - and there are vast swathes of beautiful purple blooms.

Gladesville Bridge from the air

I'm really not sure what the couple from yesterday were pointing at, but it may have been this fisherman, who stayed poised on this narrow concrete groyne for the hour or so I was there, or even the 16 foot skiffs out on the water from the nearby sailing club.

Berowra Waters Car ferry

The ferry runs 24 hours a day except between noon and 2.30pm on the second Tuesday of the month.

Crossing the river shown in yesterday's photo.

Berowra Waters

View from the road down to Berowra Waters and the free car ferry across Berowra Creek, an anabranch of the Hawkesbury River.

Swimming enclosure, Brooklyn

Brooklyn is possibly the northerly most suburb of Sydney, on the southern shore of the Hawkesbury River. A great place for a picnic, a dig in the sand, or a swim, or to hire a houseboat for a time. You can get there by suburban train from central Sydney in 55 minutes.

No Diving or Jumping

Tomorrow, I'll show you where not to dive or jump.

Yeramba Lagoon, Picnic Point

A paper about Yeramba Lagoon wetlands.

This is an estuarine system, isolated from the Georges River by construction of a causeway. It has been heavily affected by suburban runoff, sewerage overflow and illegal dumping. Weed infestation is due to high nutrients from pollution. A volunteer group called Friends of Yeramba Lagoon tries to assist with regeneration.

Mangroves

Looking from Glebe Point towards Anzac Bridge.

Iron Cove Bridge, Drummoyne

The Drummoyne Swimming Pool nestles under the Iron Cove bridge. See more of the pool here.

Rodd Island

Rodd Island taken from Rodd Point, in Iron Cove. The Iron Cove Bridge can be seen in the background, to the left.

Below: Rodd Island, and Rodd Point where I stood (the peninsula sticking out) ,from the air, taken on my return to Sydney last week.

Three men (Except One is a Woman) In A Boat - No Dog

Blackwattle Bay ...continuing with the maritime transport theme.