Mt. Annan Botanical Gardens

If you have ever wandered about in Sydney, the Royal Botanical Gardens in the heart of the city must have been on your tick list. As it should be.

While quite popular among locals and tourists alike, what is less known and even lesser frequented are its affiliate cousins far from Sydney. There's one at the Blue Mountains (the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah) and then there's one at the threshold of Sydney at its south-western frontier - the Australian Botanic Garden at Mount Annan.

Claimed to be the largest botanic gardens in the country, Mt. Annan aims to preserve the local fauna of the lands. While it contains relatively lesser flowering shrubs and plants than the other two botanical garden of Sydney, it makes up for that difference through its long hikes and undulating landscapes. For it contains many a hilly trail along with numerous lakes and ponds that make for amazing Sunday picnics.