6 Awesome Boxing Day Trips To Take These Holidays
Captain Morgan is Junkee's new Captain of Culture and he's about to make some captain's calls about everything you love.
One thing I love about you land-dwelling folk is that you’re not content to confine the fanfare and actual fare of Christmas Day to a single day. Nope, you just roll on through to Boxing Day, when the responsibilities of the festive season are done and dusted and the food has somehow multiplied.
But the best thing is that Boxing Day is actually a public holiday for you landlubbers, so I felt compelled to ensure you were doing it right. Grab your crew, shake off the post-Christmas lunch haze and have the most action-packed hullaboo possible, all within an hour or two of your home base. (That is, if your home base is that great seaport of Sydney).
Spend your 26 December saying, “Ahoy!” to these crackin’ spots.
Royal National Park
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There’s so much to Australia’s oldest national park, you’d be hard-pressed to enjoy it all in a lifetime, believe you me.
You can splash about at the wonderful Wattamolla cove before heading off to see Eagle Rock and the truly awesome Curracurrong Falls. Did you know Curracurrong is one of the only waterfalls in the world that flows right into the ocean? Well now you do, sailor.
Come prepared for a sun-filled day with swimmers, snacks, and sneakers.
Raging Waters Sydney
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Formerly Wet ‘n Wild, the Raging Waters waterpark is only 40 minutes from Sydney city and a ripping alternative to a standard beach day.
As a verified weather expert of the wide-open sea, I can tell you this place certainly lives up to its “raging” descriptor, with pools, slides, rides and heaps more wonderful things humans can do with water.
Perfect for an adventurous group of friends or an excited old pirate who wants to find a different way to conquer the water (that’d be me).
Sydney Zoo
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If you’re looking for a twofer, you could combine your Raging Waters experience with the nearby Sydney Zoo. Land mammals fascinate me more than most (did you know some have thumbs?!) and the Western Sydney-based zoo has tonnes of them: lions, cheetahs, chimps, orangutans, and red pandas, among many other impressive creatures.
Along with the large, sprawling enclosures for the big animals, Sydney Zoo is also home to an aquarium and reptile park. At six minutes from the water park, it’ll also only take you 40 minutes, give or take, from the city.
You could even round out your western Sydney day trip with an outdoor movie at Blacktown Drive-In. What a day!
Kiama (and surrounds)
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Blowholes are the sea’s way of showing us her unbridled, terrifying force. Naturally, I tend to respect this message and steer as clear as possible from them – and other natural phenomena – that shiver me timbers in such manner.
But I make an exception in Kiama. It’s just so thrilling to watch the water bubble and gush straight up and down. Plus, the town itself is bloody beautiful, and boasts ice-cream stores slinging some of the most delicious desserts I’ve come across.
If you’re looking for an adventure away from the coast, you could make your way from Kiama to nearby Kangaroo Valley, Berry, or Bowral for some cheese-eating, wine-tasting, cheese-eating, antique shopping, and cheese-eating. Some cute cottage-spotting will be done too, I’m sure.
Palm Beach
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On each ship I’ve steered, from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic, I can guarantee below deck looked the same: 20 to 30 seadogs crowded around an old television, watching Home and Away. An unlikely market, I admit, but us buccaneers simply love Alf Stewart.
Make like a true pirate and steer yourself to Summer Bay (Palm Beach) for a walk up to Barrenjoey lighthouse, which has one of the best coastal views New South Wales has to offer. Afterwards, get a feed at the Boathouse or takeaway fish and chips and eat them on the sand before rollicking in the sea for a nice, long swim.
Mermaid Pools
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While mermaids are actually terrifying (trust me), I must admit their pools are pretty darn impressive. Head north of Sydney to do the two-hour return hike to the Mermaid Pools, dunk in some water along the way, and marvel at the big, marvelous bush.
But once you get to the Mermaid Pools, I’d recommend looking, not swimming – the only way in is via a 15-metre jump you do at your own risk. It’s akin to walking the plank, which nobody – least of all me – wants for you. Instead, I like to do my swimming and splashing about at the See-Through Pools along the way. Just as refreshing and way less frightening.
There you have it! Six cracking Boxing Day activities that will have you feeling as adventurous as a pirate.
This article originally appeared on Junkee.
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Be sure to keep up with my van life adventure on Instagram @captainmorganau.
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(Lead image: Captain Morgan / supplied)