Sydney & surrounds Easter school holidays fun

Sydney & surrounds Easter school holidays fun

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Royal Easter Show. Picture: Destination NSW

Easter and the school holidays are just around the corner and Sydney and surrounds is a hive of activity.

Hire a car from Sydney Airport and experience these great events and tourist attractions over the Easter period.

Sydney Royal Easter Show, 12-23 April

Dating back to 1823, the Royal Easter Show in Sydney(picture courtesy Destination NSW) is Australia’s largest ticketed event and is attended by 850,000 people every year. It’s a unique celebration of the Australian way of life with agricultural experiences, fresh produce, animal displays, arts and crafts, baking, carnival rides, live entertainment and much more.

Snorkelling and diving off Montague Island

Montague Island, about 10km off the coast of Narooma on the Sapphire Coast, is one of Australia’s best snorkeling and diving sites. In April, the waters are still warm (before the temperature drops sharply in Winter) and there are plenty of seals and their pups frolicking in the water, and it’s prime time to spot the rare and endangered grey nurse shark.

Byron Bay Bluesfest, 18-22 April

Byron Bay Bluesfest is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2019 with more than 200 performances over five huge days. Headline acts this year include music legends Iggy Pop, Paul Kelly, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, George Clinton, Tex Perkins, Arlo Guthrie and Archie Roach. They will be joined by up and coming local acts including Tash Sultana and Ocean Alley. Tickets are still available for single days, three and five days, and for camping spots.

Autumn Colours, 23 March-18 May, Bathurst

In the historic Central West town of Bathurst, the Autumn Colours program focuses on the town’s rich heritage and local characters. It runs for eight weeks and has an extensive program of guided walks, behind the scenes tours of heritage buildings like Abercrombie House and expert talks, all set against a backdrop of beautiful Autumn foliage.

Southern Highlands Autumn Garden Weekend, 27-28 April

This part of the world is famous for its gardens and five of the best are open to the public on the weekend after Easter. Bangala, Gowan Brae, Timbarra and Wirreanda in Bowral and the extensive and historic rural garden Rotherwood at Sutton Forest will open their gates, showcasing spectacular autumn colours. At the same time, the annual Plant Fair will be held at the Southern Highlands Botanic Garden in Bowral with stalls from specialist nurseries around the region, garden tours, sculptures and food.

Easter School Holidays Adventure Festival, 13-27 April, Thredbo

Find the golden bunny in Thredbo’s annual Easter egg hunt and you’ll be hopping home with a cool $5,000. The Golden Easter Egg Hunt by Lindt is open to kids and adults alike, with one grand prize and five golden eggs worth $1,000 each to be found on Friday Flat on 21 April. There’s also a kids’ egg hunt on Easter Sunday and activities like the Amazing Race, mountain biking, hikes, disc golf, face painting, crafts, tree planting and more over the whole school holidays.

Giant Easter Egg Hunt, Hunter Valley Gardens, 20-21 April

The sprawling grounds of the Hunter Valley Gardens become an Easter playground with thousands of brightly coloured eggs hidden among the plants. The Easter Bunny will be on hand to help with the search and there will be activities and entertainment throughout the weekend.

Lightning Ridge Easter Festival, 19-21 April

Experience Easter in the Outback at the Lightning Ridge Easter Festival. The weekend kicks off with a rodeo on Good Friday and other activities include opal digs, horse races, market stalls, carnival rides, a float parade, live music and the Miner of the Year challenge. The festival also showcases the region’s Aboriginal heritage with a Welcome to Country ceremony, cultural performances and art on display.

 

Scott Podmore

Scott Podmore

Award-winning writer, editor, photographer, videographer and owner of October Grey Media. Specialising in travel and lifestyle content and a full member of the Australian Society of Travel Writers. Has contributed regular content for the NewsCorp stable of newspapers and magazines, TravelTalk mag, The Departure Lounge and many more publications in Australia and internationally. Follow on Twitter & instragram #scottpodmore

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