Kayakers watch for whales as the sun sets

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New South Wales

Australia's most populous state is home to its largest city: glitzy, vibrant, intoxicating Sydney, an unforgettable metropolis in a privileged natural setting. Bondi Beach and the harbour are justly famous, but in reality the whole NSW coast is simply magnificent: a mesmerising sequence of beach after quality beach backed by a series of excellent national parks and interesting coastal towns.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Bondi Beach, New South Wales, Australia

    Bondi Beach

    Sydney

    Definitively Sydney, Bondi is one of the world’s great beaches. It’s the closest ocean beach to the city centre (8km away), has consistently good (though…

  • Boat mooring at Apple Tree Bay

    Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

    Sydney

    A spectacular mix of sandstone, Australian bushland and tranquil water vistas, this 14,928-hectare park forms Sydney’s northern boundary. It’s located 20…

  • 500px Photo ID: 45657584 - hornby lighthouse@watson bay

    Watsons Bay

    Sydney

    Lovely Watsons Bay, east of the city centre and north of Bondi, was once a small fishing village, as evidenced by the heritage cottages that pepper the…

  • Sumatran Tiger

    Taronga Zoo Sydney

    Sydney

    A 12-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay, this forested harbour hillside is full of kangaroos, koalas and similarly hirsute Australians, plus numerous…

  • North Head

    North Head

    Manly

    About 3km south of central Manly, spectacular North Head offers dramatic cliffs, lookouts, secluded beaches, pretty paths through the native scrub, and…

  • Montague Island (Barranguba)

    Montague Island (Barranguba)

    South Coast NSW

    Wildlife thrives on this small, pest-free island, 9km offshore from Narooma, where fur seals frolic and 90 bird species wheel overhead. Little penguins…

  • Taronga Western Plains Zoo

    Taronga Western Plains Zoo

    New South Wales

    This is Dubbo's star attraction, not to mention one of the best zoos in regional Australia. You can walk the 6km circuit, ride a hire bike ($17 to $24 for…

  • Woman looks at the water pool in River Cave at the Jenolan Caves at the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia.

    Jenolan Caves

    Blue Mountains

    Far from other Blue Mountains attractions, the limestone Jenolan Caves is one of the most extensive, accessible and complex systems in the world – a vast…

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Articles

Latest stories from New South Wales

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Koala sitting in tree at Cape Otway Centre of Conservation Ecology.

Wildlife & Nature

Koalas could face extinction in some regions of Australia by 2050

Jul 7, 2020 • 2 min read

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Go Beyond

New South Wales and beyond

Beyond New South Wales
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