Racing Through: Emerton and Whalan

Have you enjoyed our bulk-trip through some of Western Sydney's far reaches? Well, I hope so, because here are two more.

Emerton

Geographically, Emerton is sandwiched directly between literally all of the suburbs in my past couple of posts. This meant a short trip from Tregear was required to land on this wide and nondescript suburban street. 

This street is home to this remarkably large pile of garbage. I can't tell you if it's a council cleanup or dumping, 

but this rocking chair looks alright. 

Anyway.

Next steps had me pass through the wonderfully named Gumnut Reserve. 

This isn't much of a park, with a couple of benches and some shaggy grass, 

but it does allow for a shortcut through the Emerton backstreets,

through to the also well-named Doris Place. 

Doris may be an old-timey name, but her place isn't so old timey, with modern-er houses than what we've seen around the preceding suburbs, 

and unfriendly touches like big fences. 

I don't blame the Doris-fence-people too much, as they probably get a lot of foot traffic past their house, down this path,

and to the local shopping centre. Unlike the less-shiny shops stopped at earlier today in the neighbouring suburbs, Emerton Village is indoor, airconditioned and has a Woolworths in it. 

As such, I stopped for a quick use of their men's room and to pick up some eucalytus drops which had for some reason been sold out everywhere else I'd looked. 

With that riveting adventure behind us, I backtracked, 

back through Gumnut Reserve,

and the big pile of crap, 

to continue to my next suburb.

Emerton: Say hello to your Aunt Doris for me.

Whalan

Everybody knows that after going to Emerton, one must head south to the sights and sounds of Whalan.

I kicked things off at this street with an underground crossing,

that some kid was zipping a dirt bike through. Presumably for the acoustics of it all.

They also have this church. 

And this park,

where they've put a playground on a perfect circle. 

Hmm.

I carried on,

past the housing blocks, 

and this piece in a lovely peppermint green, 

to reach the local shops. With the exception of Emerton, Whalan's shops continue the local area's trend of having, well, less than aesthetic local shops. 

That being said, you can see the different demographics of nearby Mount Druitt spilling into here, with a Pakistani restaurant, South Asian Grocer and Halal butcher being present, rather than the usual grocer-bottleshop-takeaway combo we've seen so far. 

From here, I dropped by a couple of other points on the map which seemed interesting (bonus Blue Mountains horizon). 

First, there's Kimberwalli, 

which, other than having a pretty swish building, appears to be an Indigenous organisation who, according to their Facebook page, "support young Aboriginal people in Western Sydney to transition from school to further education, training or employment."

Also in this suburb is Whalan Reserve. Yes, this is a large park with sports fields, 

but most uniquely, it also hosts the Whalan Model Car Club. 

Here, they have a race track painted on the cement where folks bring their RC cars to race. Who knew. 

And with that, I carried on to even more suburbs.

Whalan: The more wholesome way to go to the races.