Dam Son: North Rocks (3rd Anniversary Special)

So far, we've seen your equal fifth and equal third most wanted suburbs. Now we're at the pointy end - this is second place. Actually, that's a lie, this one is equal first. That's right, literally every result of the poll was a tie. 

Anyway, congratulations to

North Rocks

Similar to Epping before it, when North Rocks was voted for my reaction was "why?" As someone who grew up in the area, there's nothing wrong with North Rocks but I can't imagine anyone going out of their way to visit this place. 

Regardless, the people have spoken, and so I took a convenient bus from Epping to here.

I figured I'd hop out of the bus in front of North Rocks shopping centre. This is your pretty standard small suburban shopping centre, with a supermarket, some specialty stores, 

and a few restaurants outside, but nothing to write home about.

The shops also spill over across the road, with a few unremarkable services (bathroom fixtures, clothing alterations, a chemist), 

as well as an Asian grocer and the local newsagent. 

I started walking to see what North Rocks may have to offer. 

Initially - some fairly standard "brick houses" suburbia, 

on some nicely wooded streets. 

I also passed this Catholic school,

which I may not have mentioned, were it not for the wonderfully domey church visible from through the fence. 

Neat. 

Other call outs are this vet's banner (I always find the cartoon dogs and cats used on vet signs to be adorable),

and a lot of large (but not obscene) houses. 

Perfectly adequate suburbia so far, but I haven't quite seen anything worth a vote of first place just yet. 

Continuing along (by foot, not bus), 

and I'm a little bit at a loss of what to say. 

I thought this house was pretty, 

and this one has a pretty swell duck (or is it a goose? I'm bad at these things). 

Near the duck are these new townhouses - where Ikea meets artificial watermelon. 

Plenty available to those who want one. 

From here, North Rocks starts to merge from residential to industrial. But it's not all factories and business parks. For instance, the first industrial plot I passed was actually taken up by a Korean church. 

Their neighbours are the megacorporation Unilever - one of those companies that owns half of the brands on a given supermarket shelf,

a Mexican food supplier, 

and some stores to feed and caffeinate the workers. 

I did have one point of interest to visit in this part of North Rocks though, so I turned deeper into the suburb, 

marked by this quaint yet still roofy house.  

This small residential patch, 

led deeper into the industrial bit of the suburb. 

With all kinds of Pty Ltds for your limited liability pleasure. 

I also saw this dome, 

and the side of the Unilever factory from before. 

It looks like the Officeworks warehouse is here too. I like to imagine that behind that fence are forklifts carrying back to school specials and those 1000 packs of Minties (owned by megacorporation Nestle) that they also sell. 

Anyway, those aren't the point of interest I was heading to. 

But the way there requires more business park traversal. 

This one's for lease. Should I start a Completing Sydney merchandise factory here?

You may call me crazy, but I quite like the aesthetic of some of these places. 

For instance, where else do you get an unneccesary footpath boulder, 

some of the finest sculpting since Michaelangelo,

and cafe wedge. 

After that montage, 

I soon reached the end of the street, 

where I could leave the world of manufacturing and distribution and head bush. 

This downhill suburban bushwalk leads to the reason that I suspect North Rocks was voted for. 

Follow a clearing through the woods, 

and you find this - Northmead Dam. 

This impressive structure is tucked in the bush, heavily graffitied,

and surprisingly high. 

This means you also get some decent views of the bushland around you. 

The obvious next step is to continue the downhill trail, 

into the thing itself. 

This place gives real exploration vibes, with stairs letting you access the different levels, 

art everywhere, and all part of a super cool structure. 

My pictures fail to convey how big this actual thing is once you're inside it. 

Tucked into otherwise serene bush. 

Amateur photographers would have a field day here. 

And with that checked off the list, I was now free to head back uphill to street level,

and call it for North Rocks. 

North Rocks: Some dam fine suburbsing.