1. Gum trees
In this arboretum you will find the Camden white gum, Eucalyptus benthamii, which is a local tree of very limited distribution and is classified as a threatened species. Also growing here is Maiden’s gum Eucalyptus maidenii  which was named after Joseph Henry Maiden,  who was the Government Botanist and Director of the Botanic Gardens in Sydney, 1896-1924.

2. Boxes and ironbarks
On the other side is another group of eucalypts which includes the boxes and ironbarks. Many of these are from northern Australia although you will also see the local narrow-leaved ironbark Eucalyptus crebra both here and throughout much of the Australian Botanic Garden. Mugga ironbark Eucalyptus sideroxylon is widely grown for its contrasting black trunk and light grey leaves, and also for its hard timber. Yellow box Eucalyptus melliodora is one of the most important trees for the production of honey. 

3.  Sundial Hill and Mt Annan summit
About 100 m further along park your car on the left at the top of the hill after the pedestrian crossing. Along the ‘gap’ you will see brigalow trees Acacia harpophylla with silvery foliage. This species has been cleared extensively in agricultural districts of southern Queensland. A walk up the path on the higher side of the road will take you to the top of Sundial Hill. The path goes past native pines, including the Bunya pine Araucaria bidwillii and hoop pine Araucaria cunninghamii. At the ‘Sundial of Human Involvement’ you can tell the time using your own body as the marker. Take a rest and enjoy the magnificent views across Campbelltown to the Royal National Park and the other way across to the Blue Mountains. If you are feeling fit, continue along the Central Valley Walk and up the zig-zag path to the summit of Mt Annan. Here the original dry rainforest species are being gradually regenerated and the African olive and pepper tree weed species are being removed.

4. Stringybarks and scribbly gums  
Down the hill on the northern side of the road opposite the Big Idea Garden you will come to a group of eucalypts. These stringybarks, ashes, scribbly gums, peppermints and snow gums come mainly from south-eastern Australia. As well as tall trees you will see mallees - small, multi-stemmed eucalypts - such as the whipstick mallee ash Eucalyptus multicaulis, from near Sydney, and the Faulconbridge mallee ash Eucalyptus burgessiana, which has a restricted range in the Blue Mountains. 

5. Big Idea Garden
The Garden has picnic, barbecue and toilet  facilities. It offers creative ideas on sustainable gardening for your own garden including composting, worm farming, water wise gardening and the use of recycled landscaping materials. You can find many of the plants used in this Garden in good plant nurseries. The eucalypts here are grey box (Eucalyptus moluccana). 

6. Wattle Arboretum
After the Wattle Garden you’ll come to the Arboretum where you will see tree species of wattle on the left hand side. These trees are usually longer lived than most wattles. It includes mulga (Acacia aneura), coastal myall (Acacia binervia) which is a local grey foliaged tree and golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha) - Australia’s national flower.

7. Banksia Garden
Continue along and on your left just before you arrive at the Banksia Garden, you will notice a mixed planting of trees and shrubs. These were planted by some of our local schools on Arbor Day. Mawarra Primary School planted in 1995, Kearns Primary School in 1996 and Camden South Primary School in 1997.

The Banksia Garden is on your left. Here you will see trees from the Banksia family (family Proteaceae) including banksias, hakeas and grevilleas. The large flower heads of many banksias are popular in the cut-flower industry, and grevilleas and waratahs are popular plants for attracting native birds into the home garden. The Banksia Garden is a good spot to have a picnic or barbecue - or to take a walk under the trees and do some bird-watching.

8. Blue Ruin
Just because a tree is dead, it doesn’t mean that its useful life in the ecosystem is over. This tree has been dead for many years and yet is still a beautiful home to a host of interesting creepy crawlies, including termites and slaters that are natures great re-users. It’s also a favourite perching site for our birds of prey. They have a clear view of anything that may be moving in the grassland below and can swoop down, out of the blue, and snatch up insects, small mammals and reptiles.

9. Cypress pines  
About a half a kilometer further along on both sides of the road, is a grove of cypress pines (Callitris). All Callitris are native to Australia, except for two species which occur in New Caledonia. The black cypress pine Callitris endlicheri is used extensively for timber, though it is not as durable and insect-resistant as the white cypress pine Callitris glaucophylla. The northern cypress pine Callitris intratropica was used by Aboriginal people for the treatment of diarrhoea and as a mosquito repellent. 

10. Kurrajongs
After the cypress pines you will find a group of various trees which are grafted onto Illawarra flame tree rootstocks for reliability in our clay soils. One of these is the little kurrajong (Brachychidton bidwillii) which, as with most kurrajongs, flowers on bare branches before the new leaves emerge. Within the Arboretum on the right hand side of the road, is the spectacular Illawarra flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius). Further along are the fat trunks of Queensland bottle trees (Brachychiton rupestris). The trunk of these trees may reach 2 m in diameter and they have edible roots and seeds.

11. River red gums  
Just after the kurrajongs you will see some river red gums (Eucalyptus obtusa) on the right hand side. This is the most widespread eucalypt, found throughout arid Australia along watercourses. About 30 m further on, looking to the west, you can see the developing suburb of Mt Annan. 

Continue to the end of Caley Drive where you can either go to the Visitor Centre for lunch or a snack or you might like to complete the self-guided tour of the Arboretum by following the brochure for the North Loop.