Natural weight-loss, stress relief, holistic fitness…. it’s all much easier if it’s fun, right? We spoke to a few WellBeing readers around Sydney town and compiled this short list of what we think are the best outdoor experiences that can help with these goals.
If you’ve just arrived at this page via some random search-engine experience then you need to know that readers of WellBeing magazine are into holism, ie, if you have a goal like weight-loss, increasing your fitness, or stress relief, then the WellBeing approach is natural, sustainable and offers something more than spending hours pounding on the treadmill in the gym. It makes sense then, that there is a combination of good decent leg-stretchers and easy picnic days on this list.
This list came out of a Blog published on WellBeing.com.au in 2010, so if we get a lot of response for other cities, we will post them too. Feel free to log in and add your suggestions at the bottom of this article. With all walks and rides, we have supplied start-points, and you can mostly work out the rest from there, but we also recommend getting a map, a guide book or at least an iPhone where marked… we hope these inspire you to achieve your own holistic fitness, natural weight-loss and stress relief goals.
Natural Weight-loss Experience #1 – Hermitage Foreshore Holistic Fitness Walk/Run
Length: 10km return
Why? Easy fitness walk to get you started with bonus harbour beaches for swimming, and stunning views provide all the stress relief you’ll need…
Start & Finish: Wherever you can park in Rose Bay near Bayview Avenue
Once you find your way to Tivoli Avenue and go down Bayview Avenue to the foreshore, you are on a sign-posted fitness walk that takes you over successive little headlands (weight-loss bonus) and harbour beaches. Nielsen Park just before the end is a great rec spot complete with the fully shark-proofed Shark Beach. You can walk back the same way but if you’re into weight-loss and want an extra hill go through the streets of Vaucluse. Easy navigation, but you might need an iPhone or map for the Vaucluse extension.
Natural Weight-loss Experience #2 – Bondi to Coogee Fitness Walk/Run
Length: 12km return
Why? Join the weight-loss crowd with 12km of views, sun, sand and swim
Start & Finish: Bondi Beach
The harbour shines in this coastal mostly cliff-top walk. If you haven’t discovered it yet this fitness walk is a natural weight-loss adventure. From Bondi Beach head south along the sand until you see a concrete path heading up the headland – usually with a constant trail of other fitness freaks and weight-loss walkers flooding in and out. If ever there was an inspiring way to achieve a weight-loss goal this is it. The trail is very easy to follow with spectacular view spots along the way, and quite a few parks to the side of the trail if you fancy doing some outdoor yoga. Go in early November for the added bonus of “Sculpture by the Seaâ€, which, despite precarious funding, manages to put on some terrific outdoor artwork each year. Easy navigation.
Natural Weight-loss Experience #3 – Two Creeks Fitness Walking Track/Fitness Run
Length: 12km return
Why? Decent easy walk through suburban bush opening to water views – enough distance for weight-loss and you’re in calming bushland most of the way.
Start & Finish: Lindfield Oval or Station
From Lindfield Oval head to the tennis courts and you’ll see the start of the track which follows Gordon Creek to Middle Harbour. There are lots of lookouts and bushy rocks for picnics, and walking under Roseville Bridge is kind of exciting. There are some nice gentle hills to help with those weight-loss goals. End your fitness walk at the café, walk back the same way, or get another big weight-loss hill by wandering through Lindfield to get back to the oval. A map/guidebook is a good idea for this one.
Natural Weight-loss Experience #4 – Taronga Zoo to Balmoral and Back Fitness Walk/Run
Length: 13km
Why? Easy fitness walk through the leafy North Shore with stunning views that make the city look small
Start & Finish: Taronga Zoo Ferry Wharf
This is an easy walk following a footpath most of the way from Taronga Zoo around Bradleys Head, Taylors Bay and Clifton Gardens. There is some navigation getting up to the ridge line at Georges Heights but this nicely circumnavigates the Navy base. When you reach Middle Head Road, cross the road and head down to Balmoral Oval… lunch on the beach is a great way to finish. Map required.
Natural Weight-loss Experience #5 – Sydney Harbour Fitness Walk/Run Circuit
Length: 26km
Why? The super fit can do this as a run but it is a good solid 2-day weight-loss walk
Start & Finish: Any number of spots – North Sydney Station, Waverton, Wollstonecraft, Birkenhead Point Shopping Centre
This fitness walk is a great way to discover some of the highlights of the harbour, offers brilliant picnic spots, and will introduce you to some other weight-loss walks that weave in and out of the main trail. The bush parts are easy and the suburban parts sometimes provide a navigation challenge, but you can’t go wrong if you get the basic idea of a circuit. You will see some stunning bridge views along the way – Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Gladesville Bridge and more, in fact the now Annual community fitness “7 Bridges Walk†covers much the same route. For maps go to www.planning.nsw.gov.au/harbour and click on walks.
Natural Weight-loss Experience #6 – The Great North Walk
Length: 240km
Duration: About 14 days medium walk
They say for natural weight-loss to occur you need an activity that you can keep coming back to, so if you do a segment each month you’ll cover it in just over a year. As the name implies, this one has a sense of occasion about itself. The Great North Walk links other walks in a string of about 240km from Sydney’s Opera House to Newcastle. You’ll see surprisingly few people on the track, and very few through-walkers – most people do it in a collection of day walks. It starts in tree-lined suburban suburbs, and gradually moves into deeper bush with plenty of “reward spots†along the way, including fresh prawns on the wharf at Brooklyn, some great swimming spots, and the Pokolbin Vineyards. There are some great hill climbs for weight-loss and strength. Navigation is easy but you’ll need to get maps from the Department of Lands http://www.lands.nsw.gov.au/crown_land/walking_tracks/great_north_walk
