k8bug79 Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Hello, I have done all functional research now (that I can think of for now) and I want to look at what thing we are likely to do as a family out there when we arrive! My kids are still quite young but last year we took them in a cycling trip and we all had a great day. It is something that I would like us to do more of. I am aware that it may be too hot to enjoy it for some pats of the year but I'd rather it was that way round than too cold for most of the year!!! Also I have always wanted to learn to sail and have my own boat. My husband can sail basically but even so I would like us to get some proper lessons before embarking on a trip!! He and my son like the idea of fishing and maybe the girls will like it too. My questions are re the cycling, are there good trails and spots for cycling as families, any good websites, groups etc for any of you that do this? Re the sailing. Where do we start? What is the cost and requirements of owning a boat out there, presuming we kept it out of the water where do you launch it, what do you think the costs is monthly? Any tips re owning, sailing etc gratefully received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Don't know much about sailing - but bike paths are generally excellant (it does depend on where you go), but I know in Perth you can ride for 100km's and never need go on a road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k8bug79 Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 That's good to know. I did have a look at the map where we intend to be living and there is lots of national parks so figured there may be plenty of opportunity. Fancy buying a Ute (just to get in the true cliché of Oz) and being able to take bikes wherever. Shall I take of the rose tinted glasses yet lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintpot Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Depends where you're going I guess. This is in the "New South Wales" forum but not sure where you're headed. Sydney isn't the greatest city for cycling - it's mostly hilly, in some cases the gradients are very steep. The provision of cycle paths depends very much on the local council. Some are pretty good (City of Sydney - high profile cyclist mayor(ess), Randwick - loads of students, youngish well-off demographic, Leichhardt - easy terrain for cycling, loads of greens). Others are rubbish. In my council area (Ku-Ring-Gai) it's hopeless. There are virtually no dedicated cycle paths, segregated or semi-segregated paths. The few "routes" there are, amount to a handful of signposts on quiet roads, but most of these are very steep. Almost too much for me, and I cycle 150-200km a week, so useless for the casual or family cyclist. I commute by bike most of the time and essentially have to use the Pacific Highway, which is no picnic. Experienced cyclists only need apply :wink: Cars IME are generally less careful/respectful of space around cyclists here I think than at home. But it's hard to be definitive about that, I can only go by the amount of times I get passed by someone uncomfortably close, or hooted or shouted at Off road is better - there are quite a few trails in the national parks, but again there's a lot of very steep stuff to contend with, and some pretty rough surfaces. Again a lot of it is more suited to the more experienced cyclist - eg, tons of trails in my local national park (Ku-Ring-Gai chase), but they're almost all hard going in both respects (gradient, surface) I don't want to put you off too much - cycling is great. It's probably a much more viable thing to do in some of the flatter, newer or more "greeny" areas than the one I live in. And there are things like Centennial Park, which is brilliant for family cycling and massive. Sailing, OTOH, is brilliant here, there's tons of places to go. There is so much usable water around Sydney - the harbour itself is huge, then you've also got Broken Bay/Hawkesbury River/Pittwater system up north which is vast again, Botany Bay & Port Hacking in the south - there are boats everywhere, boat hire and sale places everywhere, boat ramps all over the place (which I think are free to use???). Not sure, it's not really my thing. Loads of bloke at work have boats, most of them keep them on the drive and just drive out to one of the boat ramps when they want to go out sailing. I think licensing is pretty simple for that sort of boat, the system only really seems to kick in with motor boats over a certain horsepower - check the pages of the NSW government Maritime Services for details here: http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelP Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 There is some great cycling around Sydney, but commuting by bike is a different matter! I'm not a lycra tragic, I ride a boring old road bike and love to tour round the Eastern Beaches and Northern Beaches on a weekend. I pack my swimmers and towel in the pannier and stop off at places like Redleaf for a swim, which is very welcome after a bit of a pedal up and down the hills. There are also some great rides out in the bush such as the road through Royal National Park via Audley. For my infomration about cycling in Sydney try http://www.sydneycyclist.com As for sailing, Sydney would be the perfect place, I imagine. We've hired kayaks at places like Balmoral and Rose Bay and I'm sure they also do lessons for would be sailors on Lasers at the clubs at these places. You might even graduate to those impressive looking 18 footers that I often see at Manly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest skeatesy Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 i recon a triple sail on a racing bike would go places ..skeatesy.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.