Many people mistakenly think Sydney is the capital of Australia. That distinction actually goes to Canberra, but Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and is the state capital of New South Wales.
The area around Sydney was inhabited by Aboriginal communities for over 30,000 years before the British built a penal colony there in 1788 and founded the city of Sydney. Captain Phillip, the man charged with establishing the penal colony, quickly realized that the soils were too poor around Sydney to support agriculture, so he moved the colony to Parammatta and left Sydney to become mainly a port town until economic expansion came through a gold rush in 1851. The city continued to grow and currently has a population of over 5 million people.
Famous sites include the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour, the Art Galley of New South Wales, Bondi Beach and the Royal Botanic Garden. On an Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tour, you can walk with a First Nations guide through the gardens while learning about Indigenous bush foods and how these foods were used traditionally and adapted to the modern plate and palate.
A 20-minute ferry ride takes you to Manly. Hidden on top of North Head in Manly is the heath vegetation known as the Eastern Suburb Banksia Scrub. This scrubland is home to extraordinary biodiversity and has numerous walking tracks and trails to ensure a safe passage through the North Head Sanctuary. This unique area is home to many creatures including the echidnas, bandicoots, pygmy possums, wattlebirds, wagtails, wrens, ravens and lizards.
Together, Natural Habitat Adventures and World Wildlife Fund have teamed up to arrange nearly a hundred nature travel experiences around the planet, while helping to protect the magnificent places we visit and their wild inhabitants.
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