Bonnie: Doonside

Apart from perhaps Prospect, Doonside was probably the heaviest hitter on my recent Ode to Blacktown. Let's check it out from the ground.

Doonside

As is often the case, I entered Doonside on foot, crossing in from a residential Blacktown city suburb that I'll cover at a later date.

On first impressions, Doonide isn't a very glamorous place, with fibro houses,

and the occasional developed set of townhouses being the norm.

But this might just be because I was strolling along the train line, rather than anywhere more suburban.

Soon though, I did find myself entering the "town centre".

Again, this isn't Vaucluse.

Doonside CBD boasts the rarely seen triple-payphone collection,

and a surprisingly bustling strip of Western Sydney shopping. From kebabs, to lads popping wheelies on BMX bikes,

to ethnic groceries,

it seems they've got it all here.

Special mention goes to this dentist which has chosen to... diversify,

and for Doonside being one of the few places I've run into Filipino eateries.

Having ticked that box, I was now ready to head to what I consider Doonside's real gem.

To get there, another short stint in Doonside's underwhelming suburbia was required,

before I hit the main road with this point of interest.

One final (really long) traffic light led me to Nurragingy Reserve.

Head in and you'll find some grassy hills and trees, with some interesting structures in the distance.

This park attempts to have separate sections for various parts of the world. Unlike Fagan Park in Galston however, it's not very good at this.

With one exception - The Chang Lai Yuan Chinese Gardens. Here, you can enjoy a lake and some rather fetching built features.

Very nice.

Apart from that, the park boasts a large footprint with facilities for picnics,

paths for faux-bushwalking,

And even a minuature train. (Closed for maintenance today).

From here, I followed a path which led me away from the gardens and towards my next suburb.

On the way, I temporarily rejoined the Great West Walk which we met back in Blacktown.

On this Great Walk, I was led under a spooky bridge,

past a more local park,

with some ducks practising soccer,

before being led onto the main road.

Crossing the road was my entry into my next suburb.

Oh, and I didn't visit it today, but I can't finish this post without mentioning that Doonside is the home of Featherdale Wildlife Park, my favourite zoo in Sydney for Australian animals. This place lets you pet and feed Aussie animals which freely walk around with the guests. Take your overseas visitors here, they'll love it.