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From Wikitravel

New South Wales [1] (NSW) is one of Australia's south-eastern states, lying to the east of South Australia, to the south of Queensland and to the north of Victoria. With a population of 6.7 million, it is the country's most populous state. As the core territory of the first British colony on the Australian continent (settled in 1788) which was gradually made smaller as the other states and territories formed, New South Wales is home to the country's oldest and largest city, the state capital of Sydney. New South Wales also encloses the Australian Capital Territory, the location of the Australian national capital of Canberra, in its south-east. Lord Howe Island, a subtropical island 550km east of the mainland, is also part of the state.

Many tourists come to New South Wales to visit the city of Sydney and its attractions. While much tourism is focused on Sydney and the coastal areas, the whole of New South Wales offers a multitude of experiences, with plenty of things to see and do which suit all tastes and interests, whether that be natural wonders, white sandy beaches to relax on, historical sites, or friendly country communities. From the busyness of Sydney, to the unspoilt beaches and sleepy communities of the South Coast, to the rugged Snowy Mountains, to the wineries of Mudgee and the Hunter Valley, to the red outback, to the rainforests of the North Coast and New England, wherever you spend time in New South Wales you are bound to enjoy yourself immensely.

[edit] Regions

New South Wales is a diverse state with many different types of climate, scenery and communities. The first list of regions are all within 3 hours' drive or train trip from Sydney; the rest will take more time (unless you choose to fly).

[edit] Sydney and surrounds

Sydney The capital of the state and largest city in Australia, and its suburban surroundings, forms its own vibrant region

Blue Mountains Located immediately to the west of Sydney, a region of unique scenery and wilderness

Central Coast Immediately north of Sydney, a region of bush, waterways and beaches.

Hunter Valley Home to NSW's second city of Newcastle and some of the best vineyards in Australia

Illawarra Just south of Sydney: beaches, bushwalking, and the coastal cities of Wollongong and Shellharbour

Shoalhaven Beautiful coastal area, home to the city of Nowra, with sandy beaches, small communities, and rolling green meadows

Southern Highlands A day trip or a weekend away from Sydney. Bushwalking, forests, country pubs and cafes, antiques, crafts and country communities.

[edit] Further afield

Central West The rolling flat plains to the west of the Great Dividing Range. Home to the cities of Bathurst and Dubbo and the wine region of Mudgee

Far West Outback New South Wales, including the city of Broken Hill and the opal mining town of Lightning Ridge

Mid-North Coast Publicised as the "holiday coast"; includes Port Macquarie and the city of Coffs Harbour

New England Home to 4 World Heritage-listed parks, the country music capital of Tamworth, and the pretty seasonal city of Armidale

Northern Rivers Home to 5 World Heritage Listed National Parks, as well as the towns of Byron Bay and the cities of Lismore and Grafton

Riverina The state's "food bowl" with small friendly communities, great food and wine, and unique scenery. Home to the cities of Wagga Wagga, Griffith and Albury.

Snowy Mountains The roof of Australia, a region of mountains, unique scenery and winter sports, on the Victorian border

South Coast Hundreds of kilometres of unspoilt beaches, coves and bays; small coastal communities and specatacular scenery

[edit] Cities

• Sydney - the state capital and the largest city in Australia
• Newcastle - the second largest city in NSW is a coastal city and industrial capital of the Hunter Valley region, around 150km north of Sydney.
• Wollongong - located around 100km south of Sydney between the escarpment and the coast, natural beauty and heavy industry sit adjacent in the Illawarra region.

Other regional cities include:

• Albury - Victorian border town on the banks of the Murray RIver.
• Armidale - Centre of the New England region, a city with easy road access to several World Heritage-listed parks.
• Coffs Harbour - A popular beachfront city for visitors and seachangers, with many accommodation options from the budget to resort.
• Tamworth - Australia's home of country music.
• Wagga Wagga - The largest inland city in New South Wales, on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River.

[edit] Other destinations

• Lord Howe Island, a World Heritage-listed island some 550km from the mainland, is part of New South Wales and is a popular getaway destination.
• One of the many prime wilderness areas in the state. Some of these parks and reserves worth visiting include:
  • Blue Mountains National Park is a large World Heritage-listed park.
  • Jenolan Caves
  • Mt Warning National Park
  • Oxley Wild Rivers National Park is a large World Heritage-listed park that has several locations where 4WDs are permitted.
  • Warrumbungles (Warrumbungle National Park)
  • Wollemi National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed park

[edit] Understand

[edit] History

The home of a large number of Aboriginal tribes for thousands of years, New South Wales was only settled by Europeans in 1788 - spreading outwards from Sydney. The state is named after South Wales, the most heavily populated area in Wales, a principality in the United Kingdom.

Inland settlement was at first impeded by the rugged Blue Mountains for a time and settlers did not cross the mountains until 1813. The first inland town of Bathurst was founded in 1815. Further regional and rural expansion occurred in the late 19th century as a result of the Gold Rush, although it did not have as much of an impact as in neighbouring Victoria.

From its inception until the time of federation in 1901, New South Wales was dependent largely on its agricultural resources; however, over the early 20th century this largely changed to a point where New South Wales led Australia in heavy industry. This was, and continues to be dominated by industries such as coal mining in the Hunter Valley and Illawarra regions. Industry has typically supported the Labor Party which has been dominant in New South Wales politics for the last century.

From the 1970s, old industries such as steel and shipbuilding began to disappear, and although agriculture remains important its share of the state's income, it is smaller than at any other time in the State's history. New industries such as information technology, education, financial services and the arts, largely centred in Sydney, have risen to take their place. Tourism has also become hugely important, with Sydney as its centre but also stimulating growth on the North Coast, around Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay. As aviation has replaced shipping, most new migrants to Australia have arrived in Sydney by air rather than in Melbourne by ship, and Sydney now gets the lion's share of new arrivals, mostly from Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

[edit] Geography

New South Wales is the most populous state in Australia. Most of that population is concentrated in Sydney, which has 4.2 million of the state's 6.7 million inhabitants. The next largest cities are (in order) Newcastle and Wollongong. After that the larger cities and towns in the state are merely moderately-sized regional centres of 40,000-50,000 people. Many of the cultural sights are concentrated in Sydney and nearby. However, this isn't true of historical or natural sights. Many of the state's most beautiful natural sights, obviously enough, lie well outside the Sydney metropolitan area. Australian history and identity is to some extent tied up with rural settlement and lifestyle, and thus you will find many of the outlying regions of New South Wales base their tourism industry around pioneer and rural history.

New South Wales' climate varies considerably depending on the area in the state. The Snowy Mountains in the south of the state are often quite cold and can receive significant snowfall in winter; yet in the outback towns temperatures can commonly exceed 40ºC with little rain. Coastal areas are generally cooler because of the sea breezes. Sydney ranges from an average of 18-26ºC in January, the hottest month to a low of 9-17ºC in July, the coldest month.

The Federal Government's Bureau of Meterology [2] can provide all weather forecasts across the state for any particular area.

[edit] People

In common with most Australians, the people of New South Wales have a tradition of great sporting rivalry with neighbouring states. This is expressed each year, for example, in the State of Origin Series of Rugby League matches between NSW and Queensland (NB: Rugby League, somewhat distantly followed by Rugby Union, is the winter ball sport of choice in NSW, as opposed to most of the rest of Australia - apart from Queensland - which follows Australian Rules football).

Sydney, in particular is also a very ethnically diverse place. You are likely to encounter people from many different nationalities in the suburban areas in Sydney.

New South Wales people use some particular regional words which are not used in other states and may be confusing to tourists. The word "cossie" or "swimmers" refer to a bathing suit - don't call them "togs" (as used in Queensland) or "bathers" as used in Victoria. The word "footy" also usually refers to the local brand of rugby, Rugby League and not to soccer or Australian Rules Football as it might be used elsewhere in Australia or around the world.

[edit] Time Zone

New South Wales is 10 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and 18 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time (PST). Daylight Saving is observed from the first Sunday of October to the first Sunday of April the following year.

AEST - Australian Eastern Standard Time UTC+10

AEDT - Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time UTC+11

[edit] Get in

[edit] Quarantine

Part of New South Wales is covered by the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone [3]. This zone also covers parts of South Australia and Victoria, but the area covered in New South Wales encompasses most of the Riverina area in the southwest of the state, stretching north as far as Broken Hill and as far east as the town of Narrandera. Don't take fruit or vegetables into the Riverina area, including the cities of Broken Hill and Griffith and the town of Hay. Fines apply of up to $20,000. A tougher restriction zone, the Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area applies to some areas around the Victorian border near Mildura.

Motorists using highways to access New South Wales which pass through the area, including the Sturt Highway from Victoria and Barrier Highway from South Australia, and all plane travellers to the area should not take any fruit or vegetables with them. If you accidentally enter the zone with fruit or vegetables, there are amnesty bins at the entrances to the zone and at airports. Although there are not the permanent checkpoints in New South Wales like those used in other states, roadblocks and spot checks at airports can and do get set up from time to time, and if you are carrying prohibited produce, you will be fined.

[edit] By plane

Most air travellers to New South Wales arrive at Kingsford Smith International Airport [4], 8km from the Sydney central business district, which is Australia's largest international and domestic airport. It is the only international airport in New South Wales. It is likely to offer the cheapest flights into the state.

Five other airports in New South Wales have interstate flights:

• Flights from Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Canberra and Norfolk Island operate to Newcastle Airport [5].
• Flights from Melbourne and Canberra operate to Albury Airport [6].
• Flights from Melbourne and Brisbane operate to Coffs Harbour Airport [7].
• Flights from Melbourne operate to Ballina Byron Airport [8].
• Flights from Adelaide operate to Broken Hill Airport [9].

Note that flights from some of these destinations do not operate every day.

International and domestic visitors to the Northern Rivers including Byron Bay should consider the Gold Coast Airport [10], which is only minutes from the New South Wales northern border, and has many domestic and some international flights. Similarly, interstate travellers visiting the south of New South Wales may choose to fly through Canberra Airport [11], to access the Snowy Mountains, South Coast or Riverina areas.

[edit] By road

Travellers arriving overland will usually pass through the (near) border towns of Broken Hill from South Australia, Albury-Wodonga or Eden from Victoria and Tweed Heads from Queensland. New South Wales is linked by sealed highways to the three surrounding states. The main routes used by motorists into New South Wales are as follows:

• From Queensland:
  • via the Pacific Highway, entering at Tweed Heads/Coolangatta, at the south end of the Gold Coast
  • via the New England Highway, entering at Wallangarra/Jennings, approximately 250km south-west of Brisbane
• From South Australia:
  • via the Barrier Highway, entering at Cockburn, approximately 50km west of Broken Hill
• From Victoria:
  • via the Hume Highway, entering at Albury
  • via the Princes Highway, entering just south of the town of Eden.
  • via the Sturt Highway (often used by motorists coming directly from Adelaide), entering just north of Mildura.

[edit] By rail

Sydney is one of the major hubs of rail services in Australia, and trains run from every mainland capital city in Australia (except Darwin) directly to Sydney. (Connecting services from Darwin are available in Adelaide.) The interstate rail providers are as follows:

• Countrylink [12], run by the New South Wales Government, runs several interstate services. Trains run twice daily from Melbourne, twice daily from Canberra and once a day from Brisbane. These trains are much slower than flying, and slower than a coach, but are a relaxed way to see the Australian countryside.
• Great Southern Railways [13] run interstate services which are more of a tourist train than a passenger service, but still provide a chance to see the spectacular countryside. The world-famous Indian Pacific connects Perth, Adelaide and Sydney via Broken Hill. Passengers from Darwin and the Northern Territory can change services from The Ghan in Adelaide.

Both providers stop at intermediate stations on their way to and from Sydney, where it may be possible to change to bus services if you are not travelling direct to Sydney. Countrylink pricing is generally competitive with plane or bus travel. GSR offers a premium service, and will is only cost effective if the train trip is a destination in itself.

[edit] By sea

• Sydney Harbour is one of the major stops for cruise ships during the summer season. Vessels from all around the world including Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean all offer cruises to New South Wales. descend on Sydney every year and dock at various ports within Sydney, including the International Passenger Terminal.
• Newcastle Harbour also receives some cruise ships, mainly from P&O Cruises to the Pacific.
• If you wish to sail your own boat, for detailed information about sailing into NSW coastal ports contact the New SOuth Wales Maritime Authority [14]. Ports with customs officers are also available at Eden on the South Coast and Yamba on the North Coast.

[edit] Get around

60% of the state's population lives in Sydney and much of the inter-city transport infrastructure is dedicated to taking travellers to and from Sydney.

Transport connections between other New South Wales towns are often much less convenient. There is usually a reasonably direct road route between any two New South Wales towns, but public transport links are likely to be abysmal or non-existent, unless the two towns are on the same route to Sydney. As in the rest of Australia, there is very much a culture of making your own way by car.

It is common for travellers to make their way up or down the coast from Sydney by bus. Buses traverse these coastal routes several times a day, and it is quite possible to stop off at a few of the coastal towns of your choosing.

Expect public transport within cities or towns to be basic or non-existent outside Sydney. Much of the public transport there is largely designed for school children. There are some exceptions. The northeast corner of New South Wales including Tweed Heads and Kingscliff is reasonably well serviced by an extension of the Gold Coast transport network. Newcastle, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains have passable bus and train networks. In other New South Wales cities expect taxis, and an irregular bus services at best.

Travellers who wish to tour the regions of NSW would be well-advised to have a car or take a tour when travelling beyond the main transport routes in and out of Sydney.

[edit] Road signage and visitor radio

There is standardised road signage for attractions in NSW, that is a white text on a brown sign. All attractions signposed this way within the road reservation have to be approved have to meet a minimum standard of facilities for visitors. Similarly tourist information centres signposted within the road reservation must be official centres. They are indicated by the italic i on a blue background, in contrast to shops, etc, that display the sign in their window.

Visitor radio is available in many towns as you drive through. There will be a signpost with the frequency near the entry to the town. If the radio is signposted in the road reservation it is an approved service, and must carry at least 50% of content unpaid, so there must be some information between the advertisements.

Information bays are often located just outside of towns, where you can pull over a see the attractions of a region or a town before entering.

[edit] By plane

Most New South Wales cities are within a day's drive of each other, there are a number of airlines that connect cities in the state:

• Qantas [15] has flights between Sydney and many cities and towns throughout the regions.
• Regional Express [16] has flights between Sydney and cities in the North Coast, New England, Riverina, Central West, Far West and South Coast regions.
• Airlink to Dubbo and Broken Hill

Flying within New South Wales is more typically far more expensive than flying between capital cities, particularly those cities only services by a single airline. The routes serviced by Virgin Blue to Albury, Ballina and Port Macquarie are more competitive and offer comparible airfares to interstate fares.

[edit] By car

Close to Sydney, there are dual carriageways and motorways linking Sydney with the cities to the North, South and West. The Hume Highway heading towards Albury and Melbourne is mostly dual carriageway for its entire length. The Pacific Highway towards Coffs Harbour changes rapidly between new sections of high quality freeway, and older sections of winding, two lane road. Most roads to major centres are reasonable quality, with a single lane in each direction. It isn't uncommon when accessing smaller towns, or national parks to end up gravel and dirt roads. You usually don't need a 4 wheel drive to use them, just be sure to drive to conditions. See Driving in Australia for more information.

The State speed limit is 100 km/h outside of built-up areas unless otherwise signposted.

Some popular NSW roadtrips:

• Drive down the south coast from Sydney to Batemans Bay and Eden. The road stays by the coastline for much of length, with numerous towns and villages to stop in. Divert at Batemans Bay for the pretty drive to Braidwood and Canberra.

• Drive around the Snowy Mountains in summer.

• Take a trip along Waterfall Way which passes through some of New South Wales' most scenic countryside and has been voted the number one tourist drive in NSW.

[edit] By train

[edit] Long distance

Countrylink [17] runs a network of trains to major destinations, and a network of connecting buses to offer a service to most New South Wales towns. It isn't exactly quick, or frequent, however some sort of service is generally offered to most towns once a day.

• Sydney to Coffs Harbour and Grafton via the Central Coast, Hunter Valley and North Coast, with some services continuing to Brisbane
• Sydney to Tamworth and Armidale via the Central Coast, Hunter Valley and New England.
• Sydney to Dubbo via the Blue Mountains and Central West.
• Sydney to Canberra via the Southern Highlands.
• Sydney to Albury on the Victorian Border, via the Southern Highlands and the Riverina, and continuing to Melbourne
• Sydney to Broken Hill.

Countrylink trains are air-conditioned and equipped with comfortable seats. The overnight interstate trains have limited sleeping room available. Food, including hot lunches and dinners, is available from a buffet car onboard.

It is usual to book Countrylink tickets in advance. Tickets can be bought online, from agents or stations. Some stations have very limited hours or no facilities for selling Countrylink tickets. Discounts are often available for advance purchase. You can buy tickets up until the time of departure, and services rarely run completely full outside of peak periods. It is essential to book Countrylink tickets in advance in some country towns as the stations do not open until the train is due. Some country towns are remote from the rail stations and a bus does a shuttle run. Examples is of this are at Port Macquarie and Walcha.

Cityrail trains run a surprisingly long distance from the Sydney city centre, even overlapping with the routes of some Countrylink services. Where they do overlap, it is usual for the Cityrail service to be slightly cheaper, to be more flexible, in that no bookings are required, and they allow luggage a bikes in the carriage, but also a little slower. See destination articles for details and alternatives.

• Sydney to Newcastle via the Central Coast
• Newcastle to Scone and Dungog via Maitland and the Hunter Valley. Taking this service from Sydney is very indirect service, and taking Cityrail over Countrylink will add considerable travel time.
• Sydney to Lithgow via the Blue Mountains
• Sydney to Goulburn via the Southern Highlands
• Sydney to Nowra via the Wollongong and South Coast.

[edit] Local

Sydney's Cityrail [18] (tel 13 15 00) commuter train system also runs inter-city trains to areas within three hours of Sydney. Tickets on Cityrail trains are much cheaper than Countrylink tickets, but you will not get an assigned seat. Countrylink does not serve many of the stations within the inter-city Cityrail network. The network covers the following areas:

See the Sydney article for more information on Cityrail and Cityrail ticketing.

[edit] By bus

The bus routes in New South Wales are more extensive than the train routes but share the same fundamental design: they take travellers to and from Sydney, or to the region's major hub. Many towns have a bus service especially to meet the trains to and from Sydney in a nearby town.

There are some exceptions to the rule, and some long distance cross country bus services do run, often to provide connections to other state capitals, or between state major centres. These services can be run only a few times a week, and you will have to be lucky to make connections.

There is no official trip planner for bus and train journeys throughout the state. The tripfinder service [19] will find journeys about around Sydney, and for around an hour or so beyond, up through Newcastle the Hunter Valley, Illawarra and Southern Highlands. Travel further afield, particularly between complex destinations is left as an exercise for the traveller. See the local guides.

• Countrylink [20] - operates bus services throughout the state.
• Greyhound - also services from Sydney to other state capitals, servicing the towns along the way.
• Murrays specialises in the Sydney to Canberra route, but also offers services to the Snowy Mountains and connecting Wollongong to the Southern Highlands.
• Premier operates along national route 1, servicing the South Coast, Mid-North Coast, and Northern Rivers

[edit][add listing] See

[edit] Landmarks

• Sydney Harbour is one of the state's favourite postcard scenes. See it from the side of a ferry or from one of the islands in the centre.

[edit] Wildlife

• See animals at
  • Western Plains Zoo, an open-range zoo in Dubbo. See Australian and exotic animals roaming in large paddocks rather than pacing in small cages.
  • Taronga Zoo, across the Harbour from Sydney.
  • Featherdale Wildlife Park, in Western Sydney. Smaller than Taronga, but flat and emphasising Australian fauna. Visit www.featherdale.com.au/
  • Australian Reptile Park [21], about an hour north of Sydney, with much more than reptiles. (Hint: Go early, move slowly, stay quiet and you can pet the roos.)
• Go on a dolphin cruise in Jervis Bay

[edit][add listing] Do

• Surf your way up the coast from Sydney to the north coast pf New South Wales.
• Go on one of the bushwalks from Katoomba into the Jamison Valley.
• Hire a houseboat in any one of many bays, lakes and rivers.
• Ski in the Snowy Mountains in winter.
• Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge and see the sun set over Sydney.
• Go to the Royal Easter Show in Sydney.
• Byron Bay's annual Blues and Roots festival is the state's largest roots music festival.
• Tamworth is Australia's country music capital and holds a country music festival in January each year.
• Camp in one of the many National Parks. (See www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au)
• Go wine tasting in the Hunter Valley

[edit][add listing] Eat

The city of Sydney, unsurprisingly, represents the main food lovers' haven in New South Wales. It's the best place in the state to seek out both gourmet food and international cuisine. Particular highlights are Sydney's growing wave of Thai and fusion restaurants, and those top end restaurants whose chefs were often trained in some of the best international kitchens. Sydney's cosmopolitan population guarantees that just about every major cuisine on the planet is authentically and easily available - and generally at a great price.

Most coastal regions, including the Mid-North Coast, Northern Rivers, Central Coast, Sydney and the South Coast are a good place for seafood lovers to eat. Inland the catch may be a little less fresh.

Parts of the Central West specialise in meals made from local produce. Several of these restaurants feature regularly in the Sydney restaurant reviews, and they are beginning to have prices to match.

Vegetarians should be able to find a meal or two to suit them in almost every restaurant in the state, but are best catered for in Sydney and after that, on the somewhat "alternative" Northern Rivers.

[edit][add listing] Drink

[edit] Pubs, Clubs and Bars

• Sydney has much busier nightlife than the rest of the state and is the best place to find everything from international touring acts to backpacker bars and big beats. Other cities like Wollongong and Newcastle also have a diverse scene, with lots of choice of venues.

• Towns that cater to travellers and backpackers, like Byron Bay, Tweed Heads, Batemans Bay, also have a selection of venues to choose from.

• Just about every country town in New South Wales will have at least one pub to choose from, from historical to the modern and upmarket. There is usually at least one also a club, be in a bowling club, services club, etc. Visitors are welcome at pubs and clubs, and clubs usually have a sign out the front saying so. Meals and drinks are usually cheaper in the club, and depending on the town it can be slightly less rough and ready. Even country pubs will often have a band one or two nights a week, a pool table, juke box etc.

[edit] Wine

Wines are grown in many parts of New South Wales.

• The Hunter Valley is the state's major wine-growing region, and has a wine tourism industry to match. There are many winery tours from genteel wine-and-cheese tasting trips to minibuses full of partying backpackers and girls out on hens nights. It's a couple of hours drive north of Sydney, and is just a little too far for a comfortable day trip, although it can be done.

• Mudgee is another area of wine production, over the Blue Mountains.

Although tasting at the cellar door has a certain appeal, the wines themselves will certainly be cheaper at the bottle shop down the road.

[edit] Beer

Tooheys New (lion Nathan) and Victoria Bitter (Carlton United) are the two big brands that will be on tap in most pubs around the state. Tooheys being the traditional New South Wales brand. Beer is served in schooners (smaller than a pint), or middies (about half a pint), so it is entirely reasonable to walk into most pubs and ask for 'schooner of new', and one will appear on bar. Beer glass sizes have different names and sizes in other states. On a hot day in a hot pub in the country, you will find more people drinking middles, as they stay colder.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

[edit] Hotels

These are many hotels in New South Wales. Consult the sleep entries for the particular city you wish to visit.

[edit] Motels

Outside of weekends and school holidays it is usually possible to just drive and find accommodation along the road. Most towns of any size will have a motel or two on the road into town. Sometimes in low season they will display discounted standby rates at the gate as your drive past. If not, sometimes if they are not busy, a little discount can be negotiated at the counter. Generally expect motels to be cheaper the smaller the town, and the further away from the coast, the mountanis, and Sydney that you are.

Some of the chains covering many centres across New South Wales are:

• Country Comfort Hotels and motels [22]

• Golden Chain Motels [23] has 100 locations in NSW.

• Best Western Motels [24]

• Choice Hotels [25]

[edit] Pubs

Just about every town has a pub offering accommodation. The standard varies from newly renovated to run-down, with many quaint places in-between. In winter it can even be an idea to take a small heater, as the heating in some can often be a little inadequate.

[edit] Serviced Apartments

Serviced apartments are alternative to traditional hotel accommodation with more space, and cooking facilities.

• Quest Apartments [26] - A chain with apartments available in most urban and regional cities in New South Wales.

[edit] Stay safe

[edit] Dangerous fauna

There are no box jellyfish or crocodiles in New South Wales.

There can be sharks along the beaches, but shark attacks are rare, especially on patrolled beaches.

[edit] Natural disasters

There are no tropical cyclones or hurricanes, and tornados are very rare in New South Wales.

Some areas are prone to flooding, but it is highly unusual for the major transport routes to be closed.

[edit] Violent crime

Please see destination articles for any areas epecific advice.

[edit] Cope

Smoking is banned indoors in all public buildings, bars, restaurants and transport.

This is a usable article. It gives a good overview of the region, its sights, and how to get in, as well as links to the main destinations, whose articles are similarly well developed. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!