Gumbylicious: Dean Park

Is your name Dean? Well do I have the park for you.

Dean Park

Dean Park is an entirely unknown Western Sydney suburb which sits satisfyingly on the northwestern corner of the M7. I didn't come in using the M7 because I don't have any children to sell in order to fund the cost of the toll, but I did manage to come in by car for my visit.

I pulled up on the side of the road and began waltzing through some prime Western Sydney suburbia.

When exploring a suburb like Dean Park, I never know if I'll find anything interesting to show. Luckily, Dean Park did have a few tricks up its sleeve.

First, I ran into this early '90s Commodore with a rather interesting paint job.

It looks like this vehicle took part in something called Camp Quality Escarpade, which Google tells me is an Outback roadtrip to raise money for charity. 

Now, however, the car seems to just be the best lawn ornament ever.

Anything else worth calling out in amongst this otherwise entirely average Western Sydney suburb?

Well, earlier I mentioned that the suburb skirts along the M7. On one hand, this makes for some relatively unattractive spots by the motorway's huge noise barriers,

on the other hand, it does provide easy cycle access to a lot of the rest of the city, allowing Dean Parkians to commute by bike in Sydney without fear of certain death.

Nearby to the cycleway, I also visited this small playground, before it became illegal to.

Still legal to access (with no more than one other person not from your household, and with a reasonable excuse), however, is this elevated pathway which Google Maps tells me is called Dean Park Walking Path. 

These are some real imaginative names we've got here.

Up the top is not too much, 

apart from Dean Park's finest panoramic views.

Hopping back in the car, I continued on check out the entirely underwhelming Dean Park Shopping Centre (basically a single takeaway shop). Of interest here is a sign that looks suspiciously like the claymation superstar of the yesteryear, Gumby. 

Spot the difference.

That's kind of it for Dean Park. I returned to the vehicle to head to my next suburb. 

Before leaving the suburb's bounds though, I did find this paddock,

with an electric fence,

and horses.

Any interaction with a non-human mammal always elevates the suburb slightly, so that's good.

Dean Park: Even bog standard suburbia can hold a few secrets.