Adventure Holidays

Extreme Sports.

Visit our website. HIGHLAND WARBIRDS Experience the thrill of a lifetime! Our qualified pilots offer scenic, aerobatic, formation and aircombat adventure flights in our fleet of Yak-52 and Nanchang warbirds. We also cater for club and group social days. Call us and we will structure a package to suit your needs. "Kittyhawk", Richards Lane, Joadja NSW 2577 Phone: (02) 4878 5389 or 0407 910 789 - email: warbirds@hinet.net.au

Click here to see our website. HIGHLANDS PAINTBALL Get pumped. Get shot. Get even. Play to WIN. Choose your regiment from $65 per play. Make a booking. Turn up at our secure location for an early morning briefing and start. And have fun! Includes camouflage overalls, anti-fog thermal mask, semi-auto paintball gun (full chest and neck protection for female players) and lunch of burgers, chips and salad. Organiser free (Paras package) for groups over 10. Phone: (02) 4884 4134 for enquiries and bookings.

Farmstays & Retreats

Visit our website FAIRWAY FARM Tucked away in the heart of the Southern Highlands, down a tranquil country lane: private, self-contained accommodation on a working dairy farm - ideal for a holiday for the family. A unique Farm Stay holiday - with comfortable amenities, spectacular views, and all the peaceful charm of true country life close to beautiful Burrawang. Children welcome! Give the kids a treat with a weekend holiday on a real country farm! Meet the farm animals, help out with bringing home the cows for milking. Lots of space for kids to play and explore - horseriding nearby, quiet country lanes for bike riding. Blencowes Lane, Wildes Meadow NSW 2577 Phone/Fax: (02) 4886 4220 - email: fairwayfarm@bigpond.com

Visit our website. KANGAROO VALLEY BUSH RETREAT Kangaroo Valley Bush Retreat is the ideal setting for invaluable teambuilding retreats that will inspire, rejuvenate and fire enthusiasm in your team members. You can enjoy invigorating on-site activities between sessions including beautiful cross-property bushwalking trails, river walks, swimming and canoeing - then, when the sun goes down, they can retreat to a communal open bushfire under the star-filled night sky. Then nearby you can ride mountain bikes or play golf. At Kangaroo Valley Bush Retreat, your adventure holiday starts. 55 Radiata Road, Kangaroo Valley, 2577 Phone: (02) 9969 0005 - Fax (02) 9968 3206 - email: kurt@kangaroovalleybushretreat.com.au

Visit our website. THE PINES PASTORAL As listed in "52 Weekends Away" by the Sydney Morning Herald & The Age, October 2002, "The (Sydney) Magazine" by the Sydney Morning Herald, October 2003, "The Great Outdoors", Channel 7 June 2004. For a special experience - absolute quiet and absolute privacy - we have 5 luxury self-contained cottages scattered on 700 acres of prime cattle farmland. Each historic cottage has every luxury provided for a short or long stay - wood fires, fully equipped kitchen, 1 or 2 bedrooms, ensuites, and four even have saunas! Bushwalking trails nearby allow you to explore the State Forest. Just 7 km from Moss Vale and in the centre of the Highlands - your own private getaway for one or two couples. Meryla Road, Moss Vale. Phone: (02) 4868 3523 - Fax: (02) 4869 2125 - Mobile: 0418 200 138 - email: cottages@thepinespastoral.com.au

also: Tugalong Station

Guided Tours, Coaches, and Hire Cars.

Visit our website BOWRAL SYDNEY AIRPORT SERVICES See the attractions of the Highlands in one of our modern air conditioned mini-buses - available for group charter and tours at reasonable rates. Our regular service to Sydney airport and city centre can pick you up and drop you off at your holiday destination in the Highlands. We can also organise tours for conference groups, visits to wineries, school excursions and social club outings. Phone: (02) 4872 1651 - Mobile: 0419 226 109 - Fax: (02) 4872 4444 - email:georgina.moore@bigpond.com

Visit our website MITTAGONG MOTEL & HIGHLAND TOURS We offer all inclusive holiday packages to both individuals and groups (for groups pick up and return can be arranged). These packages include accommodation, all meals, entry fees and some morning teas. Our guided tours normally commence on a Sunday for either 3 or 5 nights. We tour not only the Southern Highlands, but also the Wollondilly and Macarthur Regions, Southern Tablelands, and South Coast visiting villages, local and natural attractions. See our website for more information. 7 - 11 Old Hume Highway, Mittagong 2577. Phone: (02) 4871 1277 - Toll free: 1800 111 106 - Fax: (02) 4871 1717 - email:enquiries@mittagong-motel.com.au

Visit our website. SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS TAXIS AND TOURIST COACHES The company has available air conditioned luxury coaches including 9 seats & 21 to 53 seats for exlusive charter for tours of the Southern Highlands. Our drivers ahve a great knowledge of the Southern Highlands and management will assist you to prepare an itinerary to your satisfaction. Ideal for groups or for leisure breaks at conferences. Your tour itinerary could include historic towns, national parks, museums, gardens, wineries etc. For one to four people a taxi tour is a very pleasant and cost effective way to see the beautiful Highlands. 18 Priestly Street, Mittagong, (PO Box 2001 Bowral 2576) Phone: (02) 4872 4800 - Fax: (02) 4872 4802 - email: taxis@acenet.com.au

Heritage Train Rides

Click here for timetable and fares THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDER Heritage Express operates day excursions on heritage trains from March to November on the Southern Highlander starting at Sydney Central, Padstow or Campbelltown via Picton, then up the long climb into the Southern Highlands, through the rolling countryside of Bowral and Moss Vale, before arriving at Robertson - then down to the coast back to Sydney. The circular route offers constantly-changing views of the green fields and valleys of the highlands, rainforest and seaside. On the return path, the train pauses to disembark passengers at Sutherland and Hurstville, before arriving back at Sydney Central. Rail Heritage Central, Main concourse, Sydney Central Station (PO Box K37, Haymarket NSW 1240) Phone: (02) 9379 1110 - Fax: (02) 9379 1063 - email: info@heritageexpress.com.au

Visit the website THIRLMERE RAIL HERITAGE CENTRE Heritage Express operates day excursions on heritage trains from March to November on the Thirlmere Flyer from Sydney Central, Padstow or Campbelltown via Picton to Thirlmere. There are also regular steam train rides on the old loop line between Picton, Thirlmere and Couridjah (March to November) including entry to the museum. Barbour Road, Thirlmere NSW 2572 Phone: (02) 4681 8001 (10.00 am - 3.00 pm daily) - Fax: (02) 4681 8410 - email: thirlmere@nswrtm.com.au

Also: The Cockatoo Run - regular trains hauled by heritage diesel locomotives from the South Coast to Robertson.

Bushwalking

Visit Morton National Park - Bundanoon here. BUSHWALKING AREAS. There are many places to go bushwalking in the Highlands - from easy short strolls, longer and more challenging walks over tracks and nature trails, to serious trekking through wilderness forests. Morton National Park in Bundanoon has kilometres of trails, from 30 minutes to 3 hours long, including spectacular walks along the escarpment and between the many lookouts. Several good trails can also be found at Fitzroy Falls and there is also a scenic walk through the natural Rainforest Reserve in Robertson. Short bushwalking trails can be found between the lookouts on Mt. Gibraltar in Bowral, and there are some more challenging walks at Mt. Alexander in Mittagong not far from the town centre. For the more serious trekker, there are trails into Morton National Park from Bundanoon and Bungonia, and into the Nattai wilderness from Canyonleigh and Colo Vale. Further information about these can be obtained from NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service in Fitzroy Falls (phone 02 4887 7270). There are also scenic trails at Wombeyan Caves with picnic and camping areas. The nearby Wollondilly Region also has access to tens of thousands of acres of bushland and wilderness, with everything from walking trails in the scenic reserves around the dams, the nature reserve at Thirlmere Lakes, to overnight 4WD trips into the Burragorang Valley. Check the website for more information. Except for well-marked tourist trails near towns and in National Parks, bushwalkers should take sensible precautions when venturing into wilderness areas: in many cases permission must be sought from National Parks & Wildlife authorities before you do so. Campfires must only be lit in designated or proper fireplaces, and never during Bush Fire alerts. Normal bushwalking equipment and safety precautions should always be taken.

Camping

The picnic area at Gambell's Rest. MORTON NATIONAL PARK, BUNDANOON. There is a camping ground at Gambell's Rest at the entrance to Morton National Park at Bundanoon. It has nine camping areas (max. 5 persons per site), each with BBQ and water. Hot and cold showers are available in the amenities block. There is a car entry feee. Bookings are essential and camp fees apply. For more information call NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service at Fitzroy Falls Visitors Centre - Phone: (02) 4887 7270; Fax: 4887 7203

GOODMANS FORD - WOLLONDILLY CAMPING GROUND. Private camping ground at Goodmans Ford - just off the Wombeyan Caves Road via Mittagong on the way to the caves. Located on the Wollondilly River. Camping and caravan sites. Canoe hire, horse riding, trout fishing. A kiosk stocks drinks, milk, bread, ice. There are no showers; toilets only. Bookings essential. Phone/Fax: (02) 4888 9239

Image courtesy Wikipedia © Peregrine Fisher WOMBEYAN CAVES. Well equipped camping ground with all amenities and recreation area at Wombeyan Caves. (Wombeyan Caves Road via Mittagong.) Undercover cooking facilities (inc. communal kitchen) with stoves, barbecues, fridge, and dining area. Three amenities blocks with hot showers and flush toilets; wheelchair access. Fire places are provided, but you will need to bring your own firewood. Well stocked kiosk - bread, milk, ice - with takeaway food. Three self-contained cabins also available. Games areas, natural swimming pool and guided tours of caves. Advance bookings not required (except for powered sites and cabins). Phone: (02) 4843 5976; Fax: 4843 5988