Burj Al Sutherland: Sylvania Waters

This next suburb is rather interesting, at least in theory.

Sylvania Waters

Sylvania Waters, when viewed on the map, is quite intriguing - kind of like a home brand version of Dubai's man-made Palm Islands.

With this suburb sitting immediately west of my previous suburb Taren Point, entering Sylvania Waters was a logical step.

Having never been to the real Palm Islands, I was expecting Sylvania Waters to be just as swish. While this didn't turn out to be true, the suburb does give it a go.

Immediately, I was hit with the kind of houses that you tend to see while strolling through waterside suburbs - big and with expensive metal parked outside.

The crunchy lawns of water restricted Sydney help add to the Dubai theme they've got going here.

The way the suburb is set up means that the coastline is mostly taken up with people's backyards and boat ramps, leaving the occasional small bridge as the only publicly visible view of the water.

Apart from those bridges, you'd never know that this is a waterfront suburb,

although the number of outrageously flashy houses may have you suspicious.

Still though, you can't say this is an unpleasant slice of suburbia, with these (also crunchy) sports fields offering the land faring Sylvanian families something to do too.

Special mention goes to this very legitimate looking athletics track - the first I've come across in over 170 suburbs so far.

Slightly deeper into the suburb still, I came across what appears to be the suburb's commercial centre, featuring a handful of restaurants,

and a function hall.

There's not too much else to Sylvania Waters. Apart from the occasional bit of water they forgot to cover up with a house,

the rest of the place is almost entirely people's houses, so here are a few of my highlights:

The unusual color scheme of this house, combined with the statues outside, reminds me of a Buddhist temple.

Here's another funny-roofed house to add to the collection.

And yes, here are some more folks unafraid to spend it up on their bricks and mortar.

After hugging the Sylvania Waters' main street for the entirely of the suburb, I took this small branch off for the first spot offering up actual waterside access.