Woolloomooloo to Balmain
🌀 Warrane Wanderings: Day 2
Woolloomooloo to Balmain
A very different day from my #Dreamtime2Eden coastal walk. Today’s route—from the ‘Loo to Balmain—took me through the industrial heart and soul of Sydney, now rebranded as a boomer playground. Finger Wharf (once the longest timber wharf in the world), the Botanical Gardens, Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Barangaroo, Darling Harbour, Pyrmont, Glebe—each a chapter in Sydney’s evolving shoreline story.
I started at Finger Wharf, hoping for some gritty city dawn shots. But Woolloomooloo has been almost entirely transformed from its sketchy past. It has been claimed that Woolloomooloo derives from Wallamulla, which could mean either a ‘place of plenty’ or a ‘burial ground’ – interesting ambiguity indeed. It might also mean a buck wallaby or even ‘Blood Bay’. Check out the Aboriginal Languages site for many more details and the Dictionary of Sydney for a great historical overview.
On, on. The path from Finger Wharf to Mrs Macquarie’s Point is shoreline perfection. You round the bend beneath ‘the chair’ and—bam—the iconic Sydney photo op hits you: Opera House and Harbour Bridge in full theatrical pose. Never gets old.
Through the Botanical Gardens next (officially open from 7am, but usually a bit earlier if you’re sneaky). It’s easy to lose hours among the towering figs and curated wildness. Then it’s around to the Opera House, Circular Quay, and under the Harbour Bridge—don’t forget to admire its Moruya granite pylons and those giant nuts. Engineering meets eccentricity.
Barangaroo’s finger wharves are magnificently renovated, and the foreshore walk continues to impress. Across Darling Harbour, past the Maritime Mu-SEA-um (yes, I went there), and on to quirky Pirrama Park on Johnstons Bay. The path hugs the water until the Fish Markets, then loops around Blackwattle Bay on yet another glorious foreshore track. Glebe Rowing Club, Bicentennial Park, Johnstons Creek, Rozelle Bay—it’s a rhythm of water and memory.
Robert Street leads to intriguing little Birrung Park and past the White Bay Cruise Terminal—off limits when the cruise ships are birthed. Ewenton Park marks one possible start of the Tom Uren Trail. Stop and read the comprehensive bio of this remarkable man. Uren’s legacy is stitched into every sandstone block and preserved shoreline you walk today.
From there, it’s past the NSW Police Marine Area Command, with a few cute (but steep) lanes to help you weave up and down through patches of restricted access. Then the reward: Peacock Point Reserve and the Balmain East ferry wharf. I wrapped up the day with a sublime ferry ride back to Circular Quay. How good!