LANDMARKS AND BUILDINGS OAKDALE

Established since 1948 this is a family owned and operated business which sells direct to the public via their roadside stall seven days a week. Top 40 Orchard also sell their produce at local markets in Picton and Camden. Group bookings for Orchard or Farm Tours are AUD5.00 per person and you can also purchase produce. Bookings are essential. They are growers of quality stone fruit, apples, gourmet pumpkins and other selected fruit, vegetables, flower bulbs and flowers subject to seasonal variation. Select your own Christmas Trees, open from the last weekend in November from 9am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. Phone Lynette on the mobile number provided for all enquiries.

The Oaks Hotel is a lovely country pub offering great value bistro dining, outdoor dining and free entertainment on weekends. It is situated on the main street of The Oaks Village and on the way to Burragorang Lookout and Warragamba. Hotel Oaks also features Foxtel, a bottleshop, pool table and TAB as well as a child friendly play area with a chocolate machine.

Wollondilly Heritage Centre is a research centre and local history museum which tells the stories of Burragorang Valley, Yerranderie and Wollondilly Shire in changing displays and permanent exhibitions. There are four exhibition buildings on one acre of landscaped grounds with disability access, a large car park and free barbecue. They are open every weekend and on public holidays and provide special programs for schools and coach groups mid week by pre-booking online. The displays include Aboriginal and migrant history and local stories using interactive and digital technology. In addition to traditional techniques, they also offer a community access room for workshops, seminars and family reunions. Wollondilly Heritage Centre has won awards in both the tourism and museum sectors.

Oakdale Workers Club is open seven days, providing warm friendly service. Regular events include Bingo Tuesdays, Members' Badge Draw on Saturdays, Meat Raffle on Saturday evenings and Football Club Meat Raffle on Friday nights. There is regular free entertainment on Saturday nights. Facilities at Oakdale Workers Club include Sky Television, TAB and Keno. Mr Lee Palace Chinese Restaurant is open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. Takeaway and function catering is also available. A free courtesy bus runs on Thursday and Saturday nights....

Burragorang Lookout may be impacted by bushfires in the region. People planning to visit NSW national parks are urged to check for closures and fire bans before heading out. Visitors are advised to use extreme caution and avoid remote areas in current bushfire conditions. Stay up to date via the NSW Rural Fire Service website. High above Warragamba Dam, on a Blue Mountains escarpment, Burragorang lookout and picnic area is a viewing point for nature’s great beauty. From up here, you can look across one of New South Wales’ most precious resources – that huge body of water far below provides about 80 per cent of Sydney’s water supply. What you’ll see much closer is equally as impressive. Noisy glossy black cockatoos hanging from the casuarinas; perhaps one of the shy and beautiful lyrebirds will be scratching in the leaves below the trees. For the kids, there’s some excellent bike riding along the quiet sealed roads, as well as a playground. Pack the esky well, because there are barbecues and plenty of picnic tables, all ready for the perfect bush lunch....

For the most part, Burragorang State Conservation Area is water – clean, precious water that supplies about 80 per cent of Sydney’s supply. Virtually its only publicly-accessible point is Burragorang lookout and picnic area, but it is certainly a sight for weary, city-smogged eyes. Vast expanses of water formed by Warragamba Dam catchment area are surrounded by areas of thick bushland. Ancient lands of the D’harawal and Gundangarra people, the land became important for European settlers as a coal-mining region and to a lesser extent, a source of lead and silver, from the 1820s to the 1960s. When Sydney’s population began rapidly expanding, Warragamba River was dammed to create a lake, and most of these mining townships were lost beneath its surface. These days, the park covers more than 17,500 hectares and is home to a number of threatened species of wildlife, including koalas, tiger quolls and the powerful owl. The best way to enjoy Burragorang is to pack a picnic and take your binoculars to the lookout, where you can see for miles around. You might also want to take your bike in the car because the sealed roads are excellent for cycling....

Part of the Greater Blue Mountains drive, Wollondilly trail is a great way to see idyllic parts of greater Sydney from the comfort of your car. Pack a picnic lunch before you head off on this scenic mountain drive because you’ll find plenty of picturesque settings to stop and eat at. This rural bushland circuit off the Hume Highway from Mittagong takes about an hour and a half all-up and tours past Thirlmere Lakes, Nattai National Park, and the Bargo State Recreation Area. Stop and stretch your legs at Wombeyan Caves, where you can picnic on the spacious grounds or take a self-guided cave tour. Along the way, you can also visit the Train Heritage Works Museum in Thirlmere, with its amazing collection of locomotives. Be sure to stop in Camden, not far from Campbelltown, where rural life gets a glamorous twist. You can then stop off in charming, historic Picton for a coffee and a browse of the local galleries....

With blissful surrounds, Belimbla Park, The Oaks, Oakdale, Nattai, Burragorang and Yerranderie are gorgeous areas to take in the scenery and set some time aside to relax. The Oaks offers a great little cluster of shops and is the perfect place to stretch out amongst the peaceful backdrop over a cup of your favourite coffee. The Oaks features many churches and historical stops such as The Convent, St Matthew’s, St Luke’s Anglican and St Aloysius. The Wollondilly Heritage Centre and Museum is perfect for visitors whether you’re a history buff or simply captivated by the charm of the local area. Nattai is home to the Nattai National Park, a beautiful retreat and protected area famous for its flora and fauna, and home to a number of Australian native animals. There are a number of hiking tracks to explore and take in the spectacular sights. Close by is the Burragorang Valley which makes up a large portion of the World Heritage Listed Blue Mountains National Park. The Burragorang lookout offers stunning views over Nattai National Park, the Blue Mountains and Kanangra-Boyd National Park. Best enjoyed over a picnic! Yerranderie, lost and forgotten, in the Lower Blue Mountains is surrounded by wilderness. It is a nature lover’s and bushwalker’s mecca. The Yerranderie Silver Mine Village, also known as Yerranderie Private Town, is one of the most authentically preserved ghost towns in NSW. The village can be accessed via the four wheel-drive Oberon Colong historic route through unsealed trails and wilderness of the Blue Mountains National Park. Visitors can camp among the kangaroos and explore the heritage of days gone by in the unique village. The whole family will love it....

The Nattai area is the traditional territory of the Dharawal and Gundangarra Aboriginal peoples. The Wollondilly and Burragorang valleys historically form a transition zone between the two. The land and waterways, and the plants and animals that live in them, feature in all facets of Aboriginal culture, including recreational, ceremonial, spiritual, and as a main source of food and medicine. They are closely associated with the dreaming stories and cultural learning that are still passed on to this day. Featured in the Scenic Drives of Wollondilly, Nattai is a romantic landscape of massive sandstone escarpments, such as Grant Head and Golden Moon Bluff. However in spite of its towering cliffs, the Nattai is one of the most accessible wilderness areas in New South Wales. Its recreation value is greatly enhanced by its accessibility and proximity to Sydney....