As much as people drone about Australia’s weather being on the unpredictable side, no one can deny that spring is one of the best seasons to look forward to over there.
It’s a beautiful time of the year when the sun’s rays are warm, gorgeous flowers will be blooming in gardens across the country and the weather’s ideal to be walking around taking photos.
Sydney or the New South Wales area in general is one of the best stops if you’re looking for that perfect springtime experience, as there are many hotspots to waltz under a canopy of violet jacarandas as well as unique and exciting festivals to attend.
We’ve compiled a list of 10 fun activities for you to add to your bucket list if you’re making that trip down under during this fresh season.
1) Sculpture By The Sea
Location: Bondi Beach to Tamarama Beach, Sydney
Date: 18 October – 4 November 2018
Price: Free Entry
One of the largest annual outdoor sculpture exhibitions in Australia, the Sculpture by the Sea first started in 1997 at Bondi Beach and is the place to find sculptures done by both Australian and overseas artists.
Today, it’s marked as the largest sculpture exhibition in the world that’s free to the public. It attracts more than half a million visitors every year, all gathering to see the works of over 100 artists showcasing their creative talent.
It’s a unique festival that exhibits a variety of styles, with interesting sculptures such as stone arches, expansive steel constructions and monumental bronzes.
Plus it makes for awesome photos for your social media feed too!
2) TreeTop Crazy Rider
Location: TreeTops Central Coast
Date: Available all days
Price: Starting at AUD39
If you’re looking for that adrenaline rush, how about trying something that’s a hybrid of a rollercoaster and a zip line?
The TreeTop Crazy Rider is a wild adventure that takes you through a series of twists and zigzags to get a birds eye view of the great forested setting of TreeTops Central Coast in the lovely spring weather.
They have a few tracks offered, like the 330-metre Pioneer ride that has you spending a good 90 seconds in the air as you discover the sensation of flying. Or the Xtreme route that runs more than 3 times longer, about 1km in total, and offers up to 4 complete 360-degree loops, another 540-degree loop, and a pair of drops that keep you moving for 5 whole minutes.
It’s dubbed the longest rollercoaster zip line in the world, so it’ll definitely be a ride that’s not easy to forget.
To find out more about this activity or make bookings, you can click here.
3) Tulip Time
Location: Corbett Gardens, Bendooley Street, Bowral
Date: 18 September – 1 October 2018
Price: AUD12 for adults while children get free admission
Dubbed as one of the oldest and largest floral festivals in Australia, Tulip Time is the place to be during the spring season. Corbett Gardens, the centrepiece of the Festival is mass-planted with over 75,000 tulips, 15,000 annuals and an additional 40,000 tulips planted across the Shire.
You can expect to see a wide array of stunning tulip displays, entertainment, special events
and premier private gardens, so if you’re already doing a road trip in the Southern Highlands, this could be a great pit stop to get some beautiful photos for your social media!
For more information on Tulip Time, you can click here.
4) Grafton Jacaranda Festival
Location: Prince Street, Grafton, NSW
Date: 27 October – 4 November 2018
Price: Free entry
Jacaranda trees in bloom are a sight to behold if you’re travelling to the land down under, and one of the best festivals to witness them in their full beauty is the Grafton Jacaranda Festival.
It’s an event that focuses on the hundreds of lilac-blossomed trees lining the town’s streets, and it brings together art exhibitions, live music, markets and parades for a week-long celebration.
While the flowers are the main attraction, it’s not the only thing to look forward to during the festival as you can anticipate a 30-team dragon boat race and a Venetian-style circus and carnival, along with a pageant run to crown the Jacaranda Queen.
For more information on this festival, you can click here.
5) Balloon Aloft Hunter Valley Fiesta
Location: Hunter Valley
Date: 28 September – 1 October 2018
Price: Starting from AUD249 for hot air balloon flights.
One huge festival that’s widely celebrated in the area is an annual event called the Balloon Aloft Hunter Valley Fiesta where every day, you’ll get to see twenty-five hot air balloons from all around the country launching together at sunrise and floating majestically over the Hunter Valley wine country.
Having a long history of 35 years, Balloon Aloft is a definite must-go-to if you’re looking to have a great view of the local environment in a comfortable sitting. With all the other balloons floating along with you, it’s quite a colourful sight to see.
You can choose to join in as a passenger or follow along from the ground.
To find out more about this event, you can click here.
6) Festival Of The Winds
Location: Bondi Beach, Sydney
Date: 9 September 2018
Price: Free Entry
For a burst of colour this spring in Sydney, spend it on the beach with Festival of the Winds at Bondi Park, Bondi Beach and Bondi Pavilion. You get to enjoy a whole day of EVERYTHING kite—kite flying, kite stalls and kite making workshops.
Besides people flaunting their kite flying skills and their painstaking creations, there’ll be food stalls around the beach, puppet shows, roaming entertainment, jumping castles and day-long family entertainment on the main stage.
To find out more about this event, you can click here.
7) Blackmores Sydney Running Festival
Location: Sydney
Date: 16 September 2018
Price: Starting from AUD55 for the 3.5km Fun Run
There’re many ways that you can go around Sydney and check out their landmarks, but if you’re looking to experience it in a different way, why not do it in a marathon?
The Blackmores Sydney Running Festival is run on one of the most spectacular courses in the world, taking in all of the Sydney iconic landmarks and providing all runners with a unique opportunity of crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge traffic free.
The event usually boasts over 33,000 participants from over 66 countries each year and there’re 4 different categories to choose from, starting with a 3.5km Family Fun Run that’s achievable for any fitness level (so you can have fun too even if you’re not much of a runner!).
For more information, you can check out their official website here.
8) Norton Street Italian Festa
Location: Norton Street, Leichhardt, NSW 2040 (Inner Sydney)
Date: 28 October 2018
Price: Free Entry
It’s not a must to just enjoy Australian cuisine in Australia when there are also chances for you to indulge in other delicacies like Italian food.
The Norton Street Italian Festa offers all things Italian and attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year into the heart of Sydney’s Little Italy. You’ll be surrounded by market stalls with great food and wine options, and a long communal table for family and friends to get together.
Kids can enjoy rides and fun activities and car enthusiasts can keep a look out for the Auto Festa —Sydney’s largest collection of Italian cars like Alfa Romeo, Ferrari or Lamborghini. There’s also cooking demonstrations by ‘Italian chefs with taste’ with samples for visitors to try.
9) The Sydney Fringe Festival
Location: Various venues around Sydney
Date: 1-30 September 2018
Price: TBA
The Sydney Fringe Festival is the largest independent arts festival in NSW and it spreads across five cultural villages. There are 300 productions in over 50 venues every September, and it celebrates local artists while encouraging new audiences to experience the independent arts of Sydney.
The interesting part here is that the venues are a secret. Across town, you’ll find Sydney’s artists conjuring up cultural gems, working tirelessly on their craft and cultivating the cultural heart of our city.
Oxford Street will also have parties, art installations, and more throughout September with a focus on livening up unused spaces like vacant storefronts and venues which faced the brunt of Sydney’s lockout laws.
For more information on the programme schedule or the festival itself, you can click here.
10) Whale Watching
Location: Port Stephens
Date: May 28 to November 3 2018
Price: From as low as AUD68 for adults and AUD33 for children.
One of the best things about spring in Australia is that it coincides with the whale migration season, which is from May to November. This is the prime time to spot humpbacks breaching from vantage points along the spectacular coast and on whale-watching cruises.
Tens of thousands of whales migrate along the NSW coast every year, and one of the best spots to catch a glimpse of them is at Port Stephens because the whales migrate very closely here. It makes the whales easier to spot while shortening the travelling time to get to the whales.
Whale watching in Port Stephens is also conducted in what is the largest Marine Park in New South Wales too.
You can combine this activity with other water sports like kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding to make it an entire day of just full on fun!
For more information on what kind of cruises are available and the best spots to whale watch, you can click here.
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There are many more activities that we couldn’t include here which highlight the beauty of the spring season, but we think this list is a good place to start.
Now it just comes down to getting there, and AirAsia X is currently running a promotion that’ll help you get there in time for this fresh season.
From now to 5th August, if you’re planning to travel from now till 31st January 2019, flights start from RM474 and if you’re a BIG member, you can enjoy lower fares from RM469!
- To find out more information about this AirAsia X promotion or to make your bookings, you can click here.
Feature Image Credit: Sydney.com
