Planning your excursion

The easiest access to Rathborne Lodge is via the Woolloomooloo Gate on Mrs Macquaries Road. Once you enter the gate, follow the path straight ahead towards Plant Clinic. Rathborne Lodge is the sandstone building to the right.

Bus
There is a bus drop off/pick up bay at Woolloomooloo Gate on Mrs Macquaries Road.

Accessible needs parking is available. Please contact us for more information.

Train
The closest train stations are Martin Place, St James and Circular Quay.

Ferry
The closest ferry terminal is Circular Quay. 

The Australian Botanic Garden is located in the suburb of Mount Annan, which is 57 km south-west of the Sydney CBD and about a 45 minute drive. For programs starting at PlantBank please enter via Narellan Road. For programs starting at the Bowden Centre, buses are welcome to enter via Narellan Road or Mount Annan Drive.

Parking
Bus parking can be found behind the Bowden Centre on Yandel'ora Circuit. For PlantBank programs, free car parking can be found at P2. For Bowden Centre programs, free car parking can be found at P3.

The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden is 105km west of Sydney, about a two-hour drive from the CBD.

Driving from Sydney: From the CBD, cross the harbour heading north and follow the M2 motorway onto the M7 motorway. Take the Richmond Road exit towards Richmond. Follow the signs to Blue Mountains and follow Bells Line of Road from Richmond to the Garden.

Driving from Lithgow: Drive along Chifley Road from Lithgow to Bell. Continue on Bells Line of Road from Bell to the Garden. The Garden is about a 40-minute drive from Lithgow.

Please note due its location, the Garden is not accessible by public transport.

The Botanic Gardens love the rain, so we believe there’s no such thing as ‘bad weather’.

Our programs go ahead in all-weather, so we recommend that both students and teachers come prepared for the weather forecast. Please see our terms and conditions for more information about weather and cancellations or date rescheduling.

Botanic Gardens of Sydney will cancel a program if – storms, lightning, high winds and poor air quality would endanger participants or if any warnings or orders to stay indoors are issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, NSW Health or another public authority AND an excursion cannot be modified to run completely indoors.

Botanic Gardens of Sydney will modify a program if this can be done without the program itinerary being significantly affected, and the visiting group agrees. Decisions are based on Bureau of Meteorology advice or health warnings to at-risk people e.g. those with asthma.

Please see our Extreme weather guidelines(PDF, 414 KB) for more information. 

We have a Botanic Gardens educator-to-student ratio of 1: 30. If you’re booking in for a group larger than 30, your group will be split into smaller groups of 30 or fewer with a Botanic Gardens educator each. Your students will complete the same program in the same timeframe but in a rotation of activities.

We require a minimum of 1 teacher or parent helper per 30 students. Please keep in mind that behaviour management and duty of care remain the responsibility of the school at all times.

Additional teachers or parent helpers are welcome to attend free of charge.

To book an excursion with us, please complete our booking request form via our website.

In this form, you can provide up to three preferred dates and your preferred start time as well as all the other necessary information we need to put together a booking for you.

Our programs have flexible start times to suit your transport needs. Your preferred start times can be selected in the booking request form.

If you are booking two sessions in a day please keep in mind we require a minimum 30-minute break between sessions.

We can take a maximum of 90 students in a 2-hour session or 180 students in a day split into morning and afternoon sessions. If you have more than 180 students, you will need to book for multiple dates.

Please arrive at least 30 minutes before your program to allow time for recess/lunch and bathroom breaks. This will ensure your program can start on time.

The safest point for drop off and pick up is via the bus bay at Woolloomooloo Gate on Mrs Macquaries Road. A map will be provided for your booking showing the location of the bus bay.

Yes, the closest train stations are Martin Place, St James and Circular Quay.

The closest ferry terminal is Circular Quay.

Bathrooms, including an accessible bathroom, are available at the meeting point to the left of Rathborne Lodge.

If you are meeting at The Calyx, bathrooms are available inside The Calyx.

There are large lawn spaces available around the meeting point that booked groups are welcome to use for their recess or lunch. Please encourage students to bring lunches with limited packaging and make sure that all rubbish is disposed of thoughtfully.

We recommend that students bring a small tote bag with only their recess or lunch as the Botanic Garden does not take responsibility for the loss or damage of any valuables during your excursion.

Bags can be left at the meeting point at Rathborne Lodge. Please speak to your educator at the start of your program and they will direct you.

We recommend that both students and teachers come prepared with the following:

• Comfortable and enclosed walking shoes
• Hat
• Sunscreen
• Water bottle
• Packed lunch. Please think about limiting plastic packaging
• Umbrella/raincoat.

Yes, we will always do our best to ensure that our excursions are accessible to meet your student’s needs.

The closest gate to the meeting point is accessible via Access Road and an accessible bathroom is available at the meeting point at Rathborne Lodge. Please contact us via email to discuss accessibility options for excursions.

More information on accessibility in the Botanic Garden can also be found on our website here.