If you are driving along West Lakes Boulevard you could be forgiven for not noticing an expanse of green grass and mounds with a splaying fountain in the centre. Probably the main thing catching a motorist's eye would be the overly large '
Island Dental' sign in front of a never full car park and its adjoining dental building.
But should you make the effort to pull over in one of the indented parking bays, exit your car and start to explore this idyllic 'little' duck pond, you would surely be surprised.
The Duck Pond is snuggled between the only two roads that enter Delfin Island, Island Drive and Corcoran Drive. First impressions are of a very large, freshwater pond sporting a central fountain that sprays water high and wide over the water surface. The local inhabitants, a varied assortment of water birds including ducks, swans, pelicans, swamphens etc, immediately cut a fast 'beeline' pace toward what they continually hope is another supplier of bread or pellets. But it is not until you start to wander along the meandering path and head to the large island at one end of the pond, that you realise it doesn't stop there. Behind the mini island the path extends and you'll meet a clean, very well kept BBQ beside a good sized table and benches.
A few steps further and you reach a large gazebo with internal seating all around. In the distance is a rotunda which entices you to continue further along the mysterious path. You suddenly realise you are not just making your way along a walkway but you are actually on a journey of discovery. Waterways follow at your side, their choice of reeds, lilies or other plants adding to the beauty. Garden beds appear everywhere. Some shaded by large palm trees or shouldered by rocks. There are bridges over the narrower areas and more paths that lead to more ponds that are all interconnected to the main one. Some lucky West Lakes residents have built their tidy abodes, overseeing all this wonderful wildlife and scenery, forsaking that little bit of extra privacy for their view, while we path wanderers saunter past and look.
The Locals
Gazebo
Rotunda and Paths
More islands in the middle of more curved ponds, more ducks, grebes, coots, moorhens, egrets, herons and cormorants. A sign says "No Yabbying", so you would have to assume yabbies as well. More benches, more tables, more bins, more bridges, more gardens, more paths and as you are on your return journey, a well maintained male and female toilet block – but only one of those. You finally walk past the 'The Smile Centre' - Island Dental surgery, which you realise has the most amazing outlook for its seated patients while their teeth are cleaned, fixed or pulled. (Just quietly, they are very good dentists too).
After your 20 minute meander (30 to 60 minutes if you are with a toddler), it is almost a little sad to make your way back to your vehicle to leave the West Lakes Duck Pond. This large expanse of very valuable land could well have been used up in housing development, but thanks to the
Charles Sturt Council this surprising piece of paradise remains just for the sheer enjoyment it provides.
