Waterside Estate, Cranebrook

 Kingfisher Park

It was a typically hot Summer's day in Penrith with the thermometer already climbing above thirty degrees Celsius.  The temptation to stay home in our cool air-conditioned Unit was high, but the desire to get out and do a bit more exploration of our new neighbourhood was greater.  After all, Waterside Estate was just a ten minute drive from our place and the delights of discovering new places to visit in this Lakeside Estate were irresistible.  We had already discovered the Lakes Walk and had walked around the first of the five Lakes, so this time we decided to look for Kingfisher Park along the shores of another Lake in the Estate.

It was a little bit tricky finding our way to this Park as I have not yet mastered how to use the GPS in my new car.  I  prefer to rely on the old-fashioned method of actually studying a map beforehand and working out how to get to my destination!  However, I did not have a map of this fairly new area, so I had to rely on Google maps on my mobile phone.  I find using my fingers to expand the map challenging, as I tend to lose sight of the street I am studying when my fingers enlarge it and it pivots out of control getting bigger and bigger until it disappears off the screen!  I managed to write down some rough directions on a piece of paper and handed it to Ken, who was acting as my navigator.  

Unfortunately, Ken found my directions a bit too rough so I had to pull over in the car every now and then in order to decipher my writing and work out what street was next.  Eventually we arrived in Avocet Court and saw a sign announcing it was indeed Kingfisher Park.

The heat hit us as we stepped out of our cool car, but we were excited to see what lay ahead.  There is a grassy area and children's playground facing the street, as well as a barbecue area and then a track leads down to a bridge crossing a lake.   

This is the sign Kingfisher Park on the corner of Avocet Court and Spinebill Place.   We could see the water of the Lake shimmering through the trees, as we walked down the leaf-strewn path towards the bridge.  We stopped to admire the views and then walked over to the other side of the Lake.

A number of water spouts are in the Lake which helps keep the water moving and controls the native red azolla from growing.  Azolla is a floating native fern growing on the water in the Lake.  It is  non toxic, but seems to grow quickly and changes green to red when exposed to the sun.

We saw this grand Australian Eastern Water Dragon moving along the shore of the Lake.  He had a very long tail which was far too long to fit in this photo!  We saw other lizards and many birds amongst the wildlife of the Lake and were happy to see the wildlife thriving.

Walking along the track, we had a good view of the Lake.  There are also plenty of seats along the track where people can rest and enjoy the scenery of this beautiful Park.  Down one end there is a pretty waterful where we saw more lizards.

Here are the houses along Waterside Boulevarde, across the bridge and on the other side of the Lake.  They are all modern two-storey homes with glorious views of the Lake.

We enjoyed our walk in Kingfisher Park and hope, in the coming weeks, to discover more Parks and nature reserves in the beautiful Waterside Estate, such a sparkling jewel in the crown of Sydney's western suburbs.

Acknowledgments

Donna Carroll -  Manager, Robinson Strata & Community Association 22.1.2015 (information on Red Azolla).