The TOP 10 BEST Things To Do in Darkes Forest NSW

Edward Charles Fahey (Ted Senior) and his wife Ellen began farming at Darkes Glenbernie Orchard in 1939. Beginning with cutting and selling firewood, the family moved through various farming pursuits such as growing vegetables and keeping cattle until Edward (Ted Jr, pictured) convinced his father to grow fruit trees in the 1950's. Six generations later, our family are still growing apples and stone fruits, selling them from our farm shop. Most recently we have developed our award-winning apple cider, apple cider vinegar and honey mead, which can be enjoyed at our farm shop. Farm experience tours get you a back door look at the world of orcharding - bookings are essential. We are really proud of our ‘pick your own’ and other special event days on the farm that celebrate horticulture and apple wine (cider) making. We are more than an orchard, we are a destination.

Symbio Wildlife Park is a family owned and operated zoo which is located on the Southern outskirts of Sydney in the the suburb of Helensburgh. Conveniently positioned on the top of the Illawarra escarpment, we are just minutes away from Stanwell Park Beach, the world renowned Royal National Park, Sea Cliff Bridge and also Bald Hill Lookout where you can take in majestic 180 degree views of the pacific ocean. Nestled on 16 picturesque acres of manicured gardens, Symbio is home to all your Australian animal favourites as well as a large range of amazing exotic animals, which include cheetahs, ring-tailed lemurs, red pandas, meerkats, small monkeys and many more. Symbio started in 1975 as a small wildlife park and has now grown to become a multi-award winning and internationally publicised zoo, famous for getting our visitors closer than ever before to amazing animals.

With more than 50 years bike riding experience, biker Steve Melchior started his tour company business taking passengers for Harley rides along the Illawarra coastline 30 years ago. Steve operates seven days a weeks and is passionate about providing a sensory experience where the customer gets to enjoy the scenery without being trapped in a car, they get to feel the wind on the face and experience the thrill of riding on two or three wheels. All his riders have many years experience and share the passion with Steve. Steve can also arrange a fleet of up to 20 bikes for large corporate events or special occasions. Just Cruisin' Motorcycle Tours has been featured on a variety of holiday programs including Getaway and Sydney Weekender.

Adventure Plus Paragliding is a family business run by Ant and Aden with a combined 35 years of extensive paragliding and aviation experience, including, 8 years working in Sydney Air Traffic Control Center, Commercial Pilots Licence, built and test flown their own Vans RV 7 aeroplane, built and test flown Hanggliders. Having 35 years of aviation experience has allowed Ant and Aden to fly and teach paragliding to the highest standards in Australia. They strive for excellence with their paragliding training programs keeping courses limited to small student groups. Their vision is to provide an ongoing support and service for paragliding and to continually offer advice and guidance to students and developing pilots whilst always keeping safety a priority.

During the mid 80's the need for a permanent park to house the wild sourced Grevillea plant collection became necessary. These plants had been collected and grown in pots by the Grevillea Study Group of the Australian Plant Society. The Sydney and Canberra Botanic Gardens became interested in the valuable scientific collection and an approach was made to Wollongong City Council to secure a lease over land owned by the Council. Park Manager Ray Brown then designed the layout of the park and undertook the daunting construction task of building the infrastructure for the 2.4ha park that you see today - a most impressive achievement! IN 2022 the Park become a Botanic Garden.

Caravan & tourist park

Corrimal Beach Tourist Park gives you affordable beachside accommodation close to Wollongong’s city centre. Our flexible caravan and camping sites, and self-contained cabins let you holiday your way, just steps from the sand.

We are the only dedicated science experience in NSW and are a place where anyone, young and old, can come and see how science and technology discoveries have become reality UOW Science Space first opened in 1989 as the 'Science Centre and Planetarium.' Located in the old migrant building just north of the current location, Science Space has grown to become the #1 indoor attraction in the Illawarra. Science Space is founded upon the principles of education, hands-on learning and accessibility. Existing to advocate the value of science and technology and increase general science literacy, we house over 90 interactive exhibits, Science Shows, Workshops and NSW's most digitially advanced Planetarium.

Welcome to Wollongong Botanic Garden! We officially opened to the public in January 1971. Visit us to explore amazing open spaces, learn about conservation and sustainable living, or just relax and take in some of nature’s finest work.

The Australian Motorlife Museum is a not for profit volunteer organisation with Authority to Fund Raise as a Tax Exempt Charity that began in the early 1990’s with a group of veteran and Vintage motoring enthusiasts building the Illawarra Motor Museum with the sole purpose of showcasing the Veteran and Vintage cars to all Australian and international visitors. With the inclusion of more exhibits there was a need expand so we moved into the new building with a new name to include “Motorlife” which was chosen from an early magazine publication so as to cover not only the main exhibits, the cars, motorcycles and bicycles but also the technology that helped change the face of Australia during the late 1800’s and so you will see a very wide range of exhibits from tools, gramophones, typewriters, scales, telephones and more, with a lot of the exhibits resorted by our volunteers or on loan from members and friends.

Ever wanted to pick your own berries? Well, at Kareelah Berry Farm in Wollongong, we do all the hard yakka farm work so you can stroll around and enjoy the fun part�picking (and eating) our berries! Come and see our fresh range of strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries, as well as homemade jams and even honey when available. Our berry-picking season runs from mid September through to April. Come on down and pick your own berries! We also have a bunch of free range chickens who produce pasture eggs. Kareelah Berry Farm is a family owned business, operated by 2 brothers, Josh and William. Mum helps out sometimes too! So if you're looking for a local Wollongong farm that produces a range of fresh berries, jams, honey, eggs and more, give Josh and William a call or simply drive down to Kareelah Berry Farm!

Winery and retreat

Treetop Walk & Sunrise Tours

Bus Service

Fully self contained cottage.