The Ultimate Weekend Away in Penrith

Located at the foot of the Blue Mountains and just an hour’s drive from the Sydney CBD, Penrith is filled with action-packed adventures, combines with a huge array of dining venues. If you love culture and history, there are some treasures to be found but if you love extreme sports, you can go skydiving, whitewater rafting and wakeboarding.

Saturday

Morning

• Tackle the rapids of the Penrith Whitewater Stadium ($160 per person), which was built for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The challenging course is one of just a handful of manmade rivers of its kind in the world open to the public.
• Fly up to 10 metres in the air James Bond-style with Jetpack Adventures (from $135 per person). Choose between a classic backpack with waterjets or the innovative flyboard.

Afternoon

• Take to the air again at iFly Indoor Skydiving (from $119 per person). This hyper realistic skydiving simulator will make you feel as though you are freefalling through the air from more than 14,000 feet.
• Or continue the watery theme at Cables Wake Park (entry from $49 per person), where you can try cable skiing, wakeboarding and kneeboarding in the manmade lakes.

Night

• Watch the sunset from Theo’s Rooftop Bar, with views stretching out to the Blue Mountains.
• Enjoy dinner at one of just two hatted restaurants in Western Sydney. Sinclair’s sits above the historic Log Cabin and has a modern Australian menu using ingredients from the surrounding Nepean district.

Sunday

Morning

• The foothills of the Blue Mountains are just 20 minutes from Penrith. Continue west this morning to explore picturesque hiking trails around Glenbrook, like the Glenbrook Gorge walking track, Red Hands Cave track and Jellybean Pool track.

Where to stay

Pullman Penrith – the only five-star hotel in Penrith, the Pullman is part of the sprawling Penrith Panthers complex. Stylish rooms, a world class fitness centre and spa, and some excellent restaurants make the hotel a destination in itself. From $235 per night.