Places to visit in and around Sydney Olympic Park NSW

Experience the ‘Dreaming Track’ poem as you walk along the Badu Mangrove boardwalk in Bicentennial Park. Muru nanga mai, the ‘Dreaming Track’ is a poem by Lorna Munro, a freshwater Wiradjuri poet. The Dharawal interpretation is by Shannon Foster, a saltwater D’harawal Elder.

See how the poem honours the Sydney languages and pays respect to the 29 clans that descend from the area. Come and listen in on this piece of work, a conversation between saltwater and freshwater that speaks to a Sydney not many people alive today would recognise.

You can experience the poem walking along the mangrove boardwalk in Bicentennial Park, where the poem is inscribed in panels. You might also want to scan the QR code signposted on the boardwalk to view or listen to the poem in language as you take the Dreaming Track journey.

These recordings have been written, recorded and produced by Lorna Munro and proudly supported by Sydney Olympic Park Authority and The Red Room Company.

An oasis for our feathered and finned inhabitants, Sydney Olympic Park’s 10-ha wetland is a place transformed from human needs to ecological protection. It demonstrates the unique characteristics of a neighbourhood that balances nature and community development, where an abundance of birds and humans live together.

See how the tidal flows into the Waterbird Refuge at Bicentennial Park are carefully optimised for its feathered and finned inhabitants, while minimising wetland odours.

This is a significant waterbird habitat that hosts hundreds of waterbirds and is great for birdwatching. During summer you might spot international travellers the Bar-tailed Godwit or the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper – migratory shorebirds that travel up to 20,000km each year from their breeding habitat in the northern hemisphere to Australia.

Resident birds such as the Black-winged Stilt, Grey Teals and Black Swan can be seen all year. Many native fish including Silver Bream and Luderick attract larger birds such as the Australian Pelican and cormorants. The endangered coastal saltmarsh plant is on the fringes of the wetland and provides shelter for crabs and roosting birds.

Together with the surrounding mangrove forest, the wetland is listed as a ‘Wetland of National Importance’ by the Australian Government because of its high ecological values.

At the Bird Hide you’ll find resources to learn more about the inhabitants – see if you can spot them all!

Many lizards and frogs are call Sydney Olympic Park home – and while most are a lot smaller than the . Green and Golden Bell Frog and Sun Baking Lizard sculptures in Wentworth Common, these large sandstone sculptures remind us of our shared place and to look out for the park’s flora and fauna.

On a sunny day, as you walk up the spiralling pathway to the top of the Bay Marker lookout, you will very likely see lizards roaming between the reeds and pathway to soak up some sunrays. Mind your step and take care.

Wentworth Common is a large grassy park sheltered by trees and nestled where Haslams Creek enters Homebush Bay. There’s many things for kids to do and adults can take a moment of calm. Kids will love the adventure playground, complete with an enormous sandpit, slide, climbing frame, swings and shade sails.

Ride the flying fox, fire up the BBQ, enjoy a picnic and check out the 360 views of the wetlands and the city skyline atop the Bay Marker lookout.

Enter from Marjorie Jackson Drive – you’ll find a park at the common’s own car park.

Sydney Olympic Park is home to one of the largest populations of Green and Golden Bell Frogs in NSW, even though this endangered species has vanished from 90% of its original range.

You’ll be likely to see this patriotic critter at the park’s historic Brickpit, where this tiny inhabitant rules these lands and its hero status continues to be protected.

Take the award-winning Ring Walk around the Brickpit reservoir 'pond' to discover its history and the evolution of the frog’s habitat. From the soaring circular walkway (18.5 metre high), you’ll get a bird's-eye view without disturbing the tiny residents.

Walk the 550-metre ring, listen to soundscapes of frog and bird calls, and hear the voices of past pit workers recounting their experiences as they helped make the millions of clay bricks used to build Sydney. The panels along the ring provide further details of the history of the area.

Woo-la-ra is the perfect place for you to view the vast landscape within the Sydney Basin.

This human-made feature in Millennium Parklands was constructed from a million cubic metres of waste material that was dug up across Homebush West during the construction of the site for the Olympic Games – the green credentials that underpinned the games meant all waste had to be kept on site.

This was a very flat area, so the building of Woo-la-ra was part of the creation of a series of hills and 'markers' that leave us with this wonderful recreational space and amazing lookout.

The Abattoir Heritage Precinct is what remains of the former Abattoir and sales yards. This was the largest and most modern operating abattoirs in the world. What you see today is beautifully landscaped gardens - the perfect spot to find a cooler area on warmer days, there’s outdoor furniture to take a seat, read a book in the quiet surrounds and wander to smell the roses.

You’ll be enjoying an area with a rich layered history that once included slaughterhouses, administration buildings, stables and drafting yards. It was in this rose garden that the women who worked in the administration building would sit for lunch and drink tea. Look out for the cactus, which was planted more than 100 years ago and remains a towering garden feature today.

The surviving heritage buildings now provide for office space, community markets and a café / restaurant.

Many of us will never forget seeing the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron at the start of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Cathy Freeman walked to a pool of water, and as she swept the flaming Olympic torch across it, a ring of fire sprung from the submerged Olympic Cauldron.

The flaming Olympic Cauldron, with water cascading from its lower flutings, then rose to be joined with the mast, which emerged from behind the northern stand of the Stadium. This combined structure then ascended to its maximum height, where it stood for the duration of the Games.

If you want to see this structure for yourself, visit Cathy Freeman Park (formerly The Overflow), where the Olympic Cauldron sits today, and features the names of the 1,972 Olympic medallists and 2,627 Paralympic medallists on gold, silver and bronze nameplates at the base.

A shallow dome of white marble commemorates the first Olympic Games of the modern era, held in Athens in 1896. Reignited to commemorate special occasions, including future Olympic Games held at other sites, the Olympic Cauldron stands on 24 stainless steel columns and weighs approximately 7 tonnes.

The Murama Dance Ground is an installation of the Wangal Walk in Newington Armory. A place dedicated to healing and belonging, this is an inclusive and peaceful space where Aboriginal people can learn, lead and share culture with one another and with others.

The dance ground is becoming a gathering place for the entire community and a place to celebrate the rich Aboriginal culture of the place now known as Sydney Olympic Park. It can also be used to host intertribal meetings and community events, school and community education activities and artistic development programs. The Murama Healing Council curates this space in accordance with established protocols around respect and inclusion.

The Yarning Circle at Newington Armory is a place of reflection, a safe space to listen, talk, heal and belong. Connect to Country and to each other, alongside the beautiful Parramatta River, which played such an integral role in connecting Aboriginal peoples to each other.

The Yarning Circle is an installation of The Wangal Walk - a developing cultural discovery experience with truth-telling at its core and healing as its focus.

When you wander along the walk, you’ll see interpretive art installations that create a pathway for unique experiences, connecting to Country, cultural tourism, corporate cultural safety programs,  team-healing programs and curriculum-based school activities.