Penrith - conclusion

Nepean River

On Tuesday, as we drove down Lapstone Hill on the Great Western Highway heading towards Penrith, we passed a sign on the side of the Highway announcing "Welcome to Sydney."  I love this sign, as it reminds me that we do not live too far away from my home town.  Shortly afterwards we cross  the Nepean River on the M4 bridge.  The Nepean River forms the boundary between the Blue Mountains and Penrith, a Sydney suburb on the outskirts of the Sydney Basin.  The River is 178 kms in length and its headwaters rise near Robertson in the Southern Highlands.  It curls around greater Sydney becoming the Hawkesbury River near Yarramundi.  There are several dams on the River, and its' tributaries, that help supply water for Sydney.

There is a lovely walking track along the banks of the River, part of  the Great River Walk and last Tuesday Ken and I walked along part of this track before ascending a flight of steps up to the entrance to the new pedestrian bridge the Yandhai River Crossing.


The old Victoria Bridge has performed good and

faithful service and will still continue to

carry traffic across it.

Here is part of the Great River Walk along the banks of the Nepean, just before the steps up to the new Yandhai Bridge.  If you click on the picture y ou can see the steps quite clearly and also the landing where the new bridge begins.

Looking down the river to the M4 Bridge.  On the Western side is the commencement of the Blue Mountains National Park.

In this picture you can also see the flight of steps leading up to the start of the walk across the new bridge.  The river looks so calm and peaceful.

There is a lot of weed infestation along the banks of the river, including lantana and this rather striking bush called the Caster Oil Plant.