Bundanoon

Postcode: 2578

Bundanoon is a small town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. It is an Aboriginal name meaning "place of deep gullies" and was formerly known as Jordan's Crossing.

Like its fellow Southern Villages, Bundanoon has had a boom-and-bust economic cycle. The town became a well-known tourist destination early in the 20th Century; its picturesque nature and the exquisite scenery of what is now Morton National Park, combined with being a stop on the CityRail line, made it a pleasant and convenient holiday area for city dwellers who could not afford the upscale accommodation at the popular Blue Mountains resort area. By the 1950s, however, changes in lifestyle, particularly the affordability of the motor car, gave city folk many more options for weekend getaways, and Bundanoon declined.

The Sydney real estate boom of the early 21st Century boosted the visibility of Bundanoon as an affordable haven within commuting distance of the City. As a result, property values have increased several fold and the better homes in Bundanoon sell for upwards of one million dollars. A moratorium has been placed on the construction of new subdivisions until the area's sewerage system can be upgraded.

Bundanoon is known for its annual Garden Ramble, and for its Brigadoon Festival, which attracts tourists from around the world.

A railway village of pop 1950 (census 2001), with the next station, Exeter, it is the highest point on the Sydney- Melbourne train route[citation needed]. As well as the CityRail commuter trains, the Sydney to Canberra express trains ("Explorer") stop at Bundanoon station on request.

The name of Bundanoon is said to mean deep gullies, and when the autumn mists roll out of the chasms the town takes on an almost Brigadoon surrealism in time for the annual Scottish celebration of the Highland Games Festival in April.

A holiday in Bundanoon can be as laid back or as energetic as you want it. Those hankering for the quiet life can lie back with a pile of good books and enjoy being pampered by their guest house hosts.

But if you fancy giving the old cardio-vascular system a solid workout you can bike or walk through the Morton National Park where a wide choice of trails that will introduce you to dramatic views and native flora and fauna, including nocturnal glow worms.

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