Gosford

Understand

A quiet semi-rural region between the cities of Sydney and Newcastle, it represents a great way to get away from the busy Sydney life without having to journey very far. It takes about 90 minutes to drive through when there is no traffic. It contains many suburban areas as well as numerous reserves and national parks.

The area's traditional owners, the Guringai and Darkinjung people, were among the first encountered by the British settlers. As travel between Sydney and Newcastle was mostly done by sea, the early colony only had smaller settlements. The Great Northern Road, built by convict labour, was completed in 1836 and opened the area up to more development thereafter. Visit NSW tourism website

See

thumbnail|Great North Road Governor Philip Memorial

Do

Watch an A-League match. The Central Coast Mariners are the sole professional sporting team in the Central Coast. Their men and women's teams play in the A-League Men and A-League Women respectively, the highest professional soccer leagues in Australia, with their home games being played at the Central Coast Stadium (also known by its sponsored name Industree Group Stadium). The A-League season runs from October to May, with matches occurring several times a month during this period. The Australian Reptile Park is one of the best wildlife parks in Australia, 3 km from Gosford in Somersby, amongst bushland, and attracts many tourists and locals, and is also known as one of several featured locations in the Australian TV series Bondi Vet and its spinoffs. It has many Australian animals including crocodiles, snakes, wombats, Tasmanian devils, kangaroos and emus, which are not fenced! There are also daily crocodile and bird shows. To get there by public transport get a taxi from Gosford station. There is no local bus service to the park. Some tour coaches operate. The Australian Rainforest Sanctuary at the Forest of Tranquility is a true rainforest on the Central Coast, with true humid climate, nice walks, wallabies running around and rare birds occasionally showing up. $12/adult. Annual oyster festival. Held mid November Spike Fest. An annual festival celebrating the life and works of comedian Spike Milligan

Buy

Whilst the centre of Gosford doesn't offer a lot of interesting shops, there are two large shopping centres nearby. Buses from Gosford and most areas of the Central Coast travel regularly (albeit not always so frequently) to Erina Fair, which contains many mid-range clothing shops, hairdressers, coffee shops, newsagents, department stores, shoe shops, fast food outlets, restaurants and bookshops. There is also a library, gym, cinema and ice rink on the grounds. A similar shopping centre is found at Tuggerah although it is smaller and has less facilities than at Erina Fair.