Travel Insider Twitter follower Laura Wandke ditches the big city for a day and takes a ride on the Riverboat Postman along the Hawkesbury River.
While we love the energy and constant buzz of Sydney, my partner and I wanted to experience a slower pace of life in New South Wales. After considering a few different options, we decided to board a train heading north of Sydney to the Hawkesbury River.
After an hour’s ride we arrived in the small town of Brooklyn. Coffee in hand, we stood by the wharf where boats bobbed gently in water that sparkled from the early morning sun. We breathed in deeply and smiled at each other – this is just the kind of escape we were after.
Eager to get on the water and see more of the river we boarded the Riverboat Postman, which is a ferry licensed by the Australia Post to deliver mail to small communities in the area, most of which are accessible only by water. It claims to be the last service of its kind in Australia. We joined two other couples on the boat for an utterly relaxing, beautiful four hour cruise up the Hawkesbury River.
The boat delivered mail to approximately eight tiny communities including Little Wobby Beach, Dangar Island and Marlow Creek. We learned the daily routine after the first few stops. First, the captain pulls up to a dock and we're greeted by dogs with tails wagging, followed by a local who hands over outgoing mail and picks up the delivery. Second, the boat hand exchanges pleasantries and throws biscuits to the salivating dogs. Third, we wave goodbye and motor away. We didn't get bored with this one bit.
In addition to experiencing a rather old fashioned method of mail delivery, the Riverboat Postman is also a great way to see the Hawkesbury, which is an extremely scenic waterway that’s navigable for more than 100km; dotted with fisherman and oyster boats, which harvest the famous Sydney rock oysters.
After arriving back in Brooklyn, we dined at JJs, a shack painted bright blue serving fresh fish and oysters. After a salty dose of fish n’ chips, we savoured the scenery and solitude once more before boarding the train and returning to the rush of the city. It was a divine day.
Thanks to @
lwandke for her submission.We want to hear from you: we often put out travel-related questions to the Twitter community and then share some of the responses on our blog. If you would like to see your recommendation here, simply find us on Twitter @
qftravelinsider and look out for our questions or @ us with your ideas.