Safe harbour for sightseers

I am standing in a national park, surrounded by tall angophora gums, tea trees and bright red bottlebrush shrubs. The air is still, save for the cackle of kookaburras and the gentle hiss of waves breaking on a nearby beach. Below me stretches Sydney Harbour, a shimmering expanse of blues and golds.

I am standing in a national park, surrounded by tall angophora gums, tea trees and bright red bottlebrush shrubs. The air is still, save for the cackle of kookaburras and the gentle hiss of waves breaking on a nearby beach. Below me stretches Sydney Harbour, a shimmering expanse of blues and golds.

A few miles away is downtown Sydney; in fact, from my vantage point at Bradley's Head, I can see the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. But I could just as easily be in the back of beyond. Uniquely, perhaps, of the world's major cities, Sydney has a national park right in its midst. It is like having a slice of Dartmoor a half-hour bus ride away from Leicester Square.

Sydney's harbour is its heart and soul, shaping the city's identity and defining its rhythms. It is ravishing at any time of year, but particularly in spring, and it is best appreciated by taking one of the numerous walks along the foreshore. The trails are all clearly signposted and access is easy; just hop on one of the antique cream and green ferries steaming out of Circular Quay, the city's water transport hub.

The choice is wide; there are 240km of shoreline broken by countless little bays, coves, beaches and inlets. Some of the finest walks are found within Sydney Harbour National Park, which protects the choicest parcels of waterside bushland as well as native birds and animals. The park is scattered between the bridge and North and South Heads, the two towering sandstone outcrops at the entrance to the harbour. And it embraces a landscape little changed since the arrival of the First Fleet.

Bradley's Head is the highlight of a walk that begins at Taronga Zoo, where the view from the hillside giraffes' enclosure is the envy of many a Sydney estate agent. From the Taronga ferry wharf, follow the paved track up the hill and then take the right fork into the national park. Half an hour later, you reach the tip of the rocky headland, to be greeted by a spectacular vista extending from the city to the Heads.

Once a strategic defence and observation post, Bradley's Head still has historic clifftop fortifications including cannons and trenches. Near the lighthouse stands the mast of HMAS Sydney, a First-World-War battleship that sank a German sea-raider. You might see ring-tailed possums here, and water dragons. Noisy flocks of rainbow lorikeets are also common.

Athol Hall (Ashton Park; 00 61 2 9968 4441), which used to service soldiers manning the fortifications, is now a café. Stop for a drink, and then continue through tranquil Taylors Bay reserve and on to Clifton Gardens, at Chowder Head, where there is a picnic area and ocean pool. The 4km walk from the zoo to Chowder Head takes about 90 minutes.

A longer walk, also through swathes of national park, runs from the Spit Bridge at Middle Harbour to the seaside suburb of Manly. The 10km Manly Scenic Walkway, as it is known, must be one of the world's most beautiful urban walking tracks - although, despite its popularity, it never gets crowded. It passes through a varied landscape that includes dense native bush, sub-tropical rainforest and rugged cliffs, with heart-stopping water views around almost every corner.

Be sure to pack swimming togs, as there are several spots en route where you can cool off, including secluded Washaway Beach, which requires a bit of a scramble to reach, and the equally poetically-named Forty Baskets Beach.

The walk takes a good half-day, and aficionados reckon the views are better if you start at the Spit. That way, you can also reward yourself at the end with a reviving beer and lunch at one of Manly's many eateries. Try the Alhambra (54 West Esplanade, 00 61 2 9976 2975), a southern Spanish- Moroccan restaurant set a little way back from the water, or walk around the headland to Le Kiosk (1 Marine Parade; 00 61 2 9977 4122), a tiny gem next to the golden sands of Shelly Beach.

The scenery on this walk is fantastic. The track meanders along clifftop escarpments, traverses peaceful bays and descends to sheltered white beaches. You can eyeball elegant harbourside mansions and see ancient Aboriginal rock carvings on a sandstone outcrop at Dobroyd Head. Grotto Point is a mass of wildflowers in spring. Lizards, wattle birds and honey-eaters are among the fauna likely to be spotted.

At Clontarf, which lies along the route, Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria's second son, was shot in 1868 while attending a fund-raising picnic. He was only slightly injured; his would-be assassin, an Irish-Australian named James O'Farrell, was hanged six weeks later.

Above Manly is North Head, where the clifftops - protected within the national park - are a profusion of colourful native plants. On the way up is the old Quarantine Station (00 61 2 9977 6522 to book a tour), where migrants suspected of suffering from contagious diseases were taken off ships and placed in isolation until the 1960s. Savour the isolation and grandeur of North Head, where an easy 1km walk skirts the headland, offering superb views of the harbour, Pacific Ocean and city skyline.

There are striking views from across the water at South Head, which you reach via a 1.4km trail that starts at Camp Cove, a gorgeous beach near Watson's Bay. From there, the walk leads past the nude beach of Lady Bay to the Hornby Lighthouse. After returning to Watson's Bay, stop for a seafood lunch at Doyle's Restaurant (11 Marine Parade, 00 61 2 9337 2007) on the beach.

The southern rim of the harbour has numerous great walks, most of which connect with each other. You can wander, for instance, from Rushcutter's Bay to Rose Bay, a distance of 5.5km, and then continue on for another 8km to Watson's Bay. En route you traverse lovely Nielsen Park, which has a brilliant white beach backed by native bushland.

It is a similar story on the north side, where you can walk from Cremorne Point to Mosman Bay and then on to Taronga. Equally, all of the foreshore walks can be broken into smaller sections. Even a short amble should convince you that Mark Twain was right when he described the harbour as "the darling of Sydney and the wonder of the world".

The Sydney Buses and Ferries information line, 131 500, can be dialled within Australia. Useful leaflets include Go Walkabout, published by Sydney Ferries, and a map of Sydney Harbour National Park, available at the park's offices, 110 George Street in the city.

From Circular Quay, ferries depart regularly throughout the day to most points on the walks. For Bradley's Head, take a ferry to Taronga Zoo or a 247 bus from Wynyard train station in Carrington Street, central Sydney. For the Scenic Walkway, catch a ferry to Manly or a bus to Spit Bridge (178 or 180 from Wynyard). The 135 bus runs from Manly Wharf to the Quarantine Station and North Head. Watson's Bay, Rose Bay and Nielsen Park are all served by ferries. Buses 324 and 325 from Circular Quay go to Rose Bay and Watson's Bay; the 325 stops at Nielsen Park

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