Mulwala Water Ski Club, MulwalaCredit: Destination NSW
Mulwala Water Ski Club located in the Riverina Murray region in Mulwala, offers an outdoor bar and casual relaxed dining overlooking Lake Mulwala. Learn to water ski on a world-class, private, twin lake the Max Kirwan Ski Park.
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Cool off with an adventure: NSW is a watersports playground
Mulwala Water Ski Club, Mulwala Credit: Destination NSW
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Hot sands, wild rivers, bays with towers of coral and waves that curl like a rockabilly quiff – NSW is a paradise for adventure on and under the water. For adrenaline-chasers, there are world-class waves and whitewater runs, foils and jet boats built for speed, and reefs home to sharks and turtles. For the quiet adventurers, try paddleboard expeditions, fishing for rainbow trout and bass in pristine rivers, and colourful snorkelling spots.
Your next adrenaline hit
Surfing may be the famous action-hero of the NSW watersports scene, but the state’s rivers, lakes, bays and beaches also host a huge diversity of aquatic adventures to get the heart racing. Take in Sydney Harbour’s icons, while spinning, splashing and thundering past in a jet boat with Oz Jet Boating or Thunder Jet Boat. In Western Sydney, Penrith is a hub for adventure. Penrith Whitewater Stadium, purpose-built for the 2000 Olympics, is uniquely set up for both beginner paddling and intense raft adventures, as well as kayak courses where you can test yourself against Olympic times; Cables Wake Park teaches you to wakeboard via zipline (jumps and obstacles included); and Jet Pack Adventures lets you feel like a water-powered Iron Man.
In Brooklyn, on the Hawkesbury River, Jet Ski Safaris will take you around the bends of the river at 30 knots, while Fliteschool Manly and OzFoiling (with multiple locations on the Mid North Coast) will teach you how to cruise the coastline via eFoil, a motorised surfboard that glides above the water like an elegant seabird. Outside of Sydney, on the Murray River, encounter one of the greatest and oldest waterski clubs in the world at Mulwala Water Ski Club.
Find a wave
With reliable breaks on some of the world’s most picturesque beaches, NSW is a premium spot on the international surf circuit. Surfers with their own board and years of experience behind them can find world-class waves all up the coast while newbies can join in on a surfing lesson, all you have to do is choose which one and which beach. You can also practice on a perfectly shaped, perfectly reliable wave (with multiple options suitable for beginners or experts) at URBNSURF, Olympic Park’s surf park, and finish off with a meal at RAFI, the onsite Applejack-run restaurant and bar that overlooks the waves.
URBNSURF Sydney Credit: Applejack_Sandy’s_URBNSURF Sydney
URBNSURF Sydney
#feelnewsydney
URBNSURF Sydney Credit: Applejack_Sandy’s_URBNSURF Sydney
URBNSURF Sydney
Oz Jet Boating, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Experience the incredible speed of the red shark boats as they blast across Sydney harbour at high speed with Oz Jet Boating.
#feelnewsydney
Oz Jet Boating, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Experience the incredible speed of the red shark boats as they blast across Sydney harbour at high speed with Oz Jet Boating.
Explore NSW’s coral reefs
The pristine, ecologically rich seas of NSW have seen the development of 10 protected marine parks covering more than 100,000 square kilometres, offering a haven to wildly diverse range of sea life. Beyond those areas, in the harbour and the bays of the coastal cities, there are also vibrant ecosystems ripe for snorkel or scuba dive trips. Self-guided snorkelling can be done in most places along the coast and, provided you have the equipment and training, so can diving. Or learn the ropes with a tour. Woebegone Expeditions and Courses will teach you how to explore the reefs of the South Coast with safe, freediving techniques; Region X Snorkel Tours has you jumping off a kayak with a snorkel around Batemans Bay; and Ecotreasures fits in a headland walk between time in the aquatic reserve around Manly. For new divers, you can explore the lower North Coast with Jetty Dive Centre or the tropical far North Coast with Cooly Eco Adventures. While Sydney Underwater Scooters will set you up with a handheld swim-assister and show you the clear waters and underwater fauna of Sydney’s Gordon’s Bay.
Paddling sunrise to sunset
Every river, bay and lake has a different scene and a different story, and cruising on a kayak, canoe or stand-up paddleboard (SUP) lets you discover at your own pace. NSW is also full of explorers and local experts ready to guide you along the way. In Sydney, Sydney Harbour Kayaks and Sydney by Kayak will introduce you to the harbour at its multicolour best with dawn and dusk paddles. Manly Kayak Centre has both hire and guided options for kayaks and SUP, as well as giving you the opportunity to try your hand at SUPBALL, which is like polo but replaces the horse with a SUP. Cronulla SUP and Balmoral Paddlesurf let you explore less famous, but no less beautiful, beaches of Sydney’s south and north respectively.
On the Sapphire Coast combine your next river adventure with a story, like on Navigate Expeditions’ Aboriginal Culture Tour, where you journey into the land’s Indigenous heritage, or a Kayak and Shuck Tour where you visit the oyster farms. On the North Coast, social enterprise and SUP tour guides Wajaana Yaam Adventure Tours offers cultural eco-tourism on a paddleboard around the pristine waters of Solitary Island Marine Park. Not far away in The Tweed, Watersports Guru offers SUP lessons and hire, allowing you to cruise the waters Cudgen Creek while taking in the local birdlife – if you’re lucky you may even see a pod of dolphins.
Reel in a new experience
With pristine rivers and wild oceans, NSW is a dream for fishing for both newbies and those looking for the next big catch. Out on the oceans of the South Coast Kiama Charter Service will help you pull in your first deep-sea fish (go for blue-eye trevalla, gemfish or hapuka). While Port Macquarie Fishing Charters, Reel Ocean Adventures (in Tuncurry) and Evans Head Deep Sea Fishing Charters, provide the boats, deep-sea equipment and vibes on the North Coast. Inland, learn traditional yabbying in the bush at Narrabri Fish Farm, or set up your own line on NSW’s most epic jetties at Coffs Harbour, Lake Macquarie and Lake St Clair in the Hunter Valley. If you know the ways of a fly fisher, the Snowy Mountains and Blue Mountains are the hot spots.
Kayaking, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a day of kayaking on Sydney Harbour.
#feelnewsydney
Kayaking, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a day of kayaking on Sydney Harbour.
Navigate Expeditions, Kalaru Credit: Destination NSW
Guests on a walking tour with Navigate Expeditions in Kalaru
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Navigate Expeditions, Kalaru Credit: Destination NSW
Guests on a walking tour with Navigate Expeditions in Kalaru
More Inspirational Stories
Street Art, NewtownCredit: Destination NSW
Street art on Phillip Street, off Enmore Road, Newtown.
#feelnewsydney
When the madness of Christmas is behind you and the fireworks of Sydney’s iconic New Years Eve have faded, what better way to take a load off and relax into a Sydney Summer than taking a trip to the Inner West Ale Trail.
As the undisputed craft beer capital of Sydney, the Inner West Ale Trail boasts 18 independent breweries spanning six suburbs within a 5km radius – Marrickville, Newtown, St Peters, Camperdown, Enmore and Rozelle – with many of them just a short stroll in between.
The epicentre of Sydney’s indie beer boom, the Ale Trail bubbled up in the mid-2010s as craft-loving pilgrims followed paper maps and paths to new breweries in search of good times and great beer.
But it is more than just the amazing beer... The Trail also offers up some of Sydney’s best eats – from juicy burgers to fresh oysters, tasty vegan dishes to deep-fried Viennetta – along with non-beer options including cocktails, wine, ciders, seltzers and more.
Plus, there’s always something on with an exciting array of free events and deals happening across the Trail.
The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre, Marrickville Credit: The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre
Ansett Bar, The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre in Marrickville
#feelnew #feelnewsydney
The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre, Marrickville Credit: The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre
Ansett Bar, The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre in Marrickville
Marrickville is home to 50 per cent of the breweries on the trail from the well-known The Grifter Brewing Co known for its retro aesthetic and fruity beers like the Serpent’s Kiss watermelon pilsner and Philter Brewing which resides in a converted abandoned yoghurt factory. There is also the award-winning Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre which takes punters a step back into the 1980s, just with better beer thanks to Hawke’s Brewing. The throwback venue is complete with retro RSL carpet, cricket commentary in the bathrooms and the Lucky Prawn Restaurant which specialises in 80s Aussie-Chinese.
One of the Trail’s biggest breweries is hiding down a tiny lane with a not so tiny beer garden, Sauce Brewing Co. is perfect for families and dogs. Meanwhile, Batch Brewing Co does it for the locals by slinging iconic beers such as Marrickville Pale Ale and is often used as the first stop for Trailers!
Forget modern beer trends and fads Wildflower Brewing & Blending brews barrel-aged Old-World styles with wild yeasts collected from native flowers. While Mixtape Brewing & Bar which has something for everyone and is part brewhouse, part community club house fixed with retro game machines and then there’s Pickled Monkey Brewing Co. which boasts 24 taps in its Groundfloor brewpub. To round out the Marrickville leg there is Kicks Brewing with its friendly neighbourhood taproom bar, full of good vibes and stylish touches.
Just up the road in St Peters is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s favourite watering hole, Willie the Boatman brewery. Albo is such a super fan, that he even lends his face to their famous Albo pale ale.
Brickworks Brewing is right by St Peters station which serves up 12 beers in a myriad of styles and just up the road are the two new kids on the block Future Brewing which opened in 2023 and Chuck & Son’s Brewing Co which has been opened by none other than Chuck Hahn (‘the godfather of Aussie craft beer’) and the brewer behind James Squire, Malt Shovel and Hahn Brewery.
In Newtown lives an Inner West institution Young Henrys. A rock ‘n’ roll den and local clubhouse famous for their flagship Newtowner Pale Ale – not only an Inner West favourite, but a favourite all around Sydney.
Around the corner in Rozelle in the heart of the Balmain peninsula is White Bay Brewery, located in a rustic 150-year-old steel mill fitted with an industrial beet hall, perfect for a summer afternoon with friends.
Wayward Brewing Co. is Camperdown’s craft brewery which includes 24 taps of award-winning brews, limited editions and their own W Seltzer range. And finally in Enmore lives Australia’s first brewing co-op – Hopsters Co-operative Brewery. Democratically funded and run by its members but open to everyone, this relaxed beer bar haven serves Hopsters’ own brews alongside an ever-changing array of guest taps.
Bracket Brewing is the Trail’s 18th brewery – which will open later this year.
Young Henrys, Newtown Credit: Destination NSW
Patrons enjoying the beer at Young Henrys bar and brewery in Newtown.
#feelnewsydney
Young Henrys, Newtown Credit: Destination NSW
Patrons enjoying the beer at Young Henrys bar and brewery in Newtown.