Wangi Wangi Power Station - the biggest and most iconic explore in Australia
History
Wangi Power Station is a heritage-listed former coal-fired power station at Wangi Wangi, City of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales (Australia). The power station operated between 1956 and 1986 and supplied electricity to New South Wales. It was once the largest in the state. The 12,000 square-metre building was decommissioned in 1986 and was listed on the Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. For more info, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wangi_Power_Station History
The Explore
My husband and I (Chris) knew we had to visit this site as soon as we saw others posting about it in the 'Explore Abandoned Sydney' page, even though it's 4 hours away from us. So we packed our things and set out early (like 5am) to get to this place. When we got here, it was the most amazing and beautiful thing we've ever seen. A gorgeous, towering industrial site stood still in the middle of a quaint beach town. And the power station (PS) was HUGE. We weren't sure how to get in, but we weren't worried. We're both great climbers, so we scaled a barbed wire fence. Our friends later told us there were multiple holes along the fence that we could have ducked under (oooopps )...There was no security here. At least, not in the two times we've been here. We explored the massive site for 4 hours...The main building must have been at least 8 stories high. The staircase will test your cardio, that's for sure. The PS had 3 large towers, but we bitched it and didn't climb them - I'm a bit scared of highs. Other urbexers do. If, by some chance you find yourself in Australia, at the PS, bring a torch because even during the day the stairs have no lighting and you can end up falling down some hole or plucking your eye out on any number of wires hanging from the roofs. Make sure you give this place plenty of time for the explore, because there is so much to see here. And while there was no security in October 2020 and January 2021, I would advise being sensible and checking your 6 anyway. Also don't do what we did - don't climb the barbed wire fence, there were definitely gaps in the fence you could duck through, you just had to walk around the site until you found them (approach from the tennis court side).We haven't had any issues. Although this place is a bit of an urbex tourism hotspot, so you'll come across other people. If you're lucky they'll be other urbexers, not trashy teenagers that are smashing shit and making noise (like in our experience the second time). Sometimes you'll see suss dudes stealing metal, but they're usually not a problem. If you find yourself in Australia, this place is definitely worth a trip to! And the nearby town and beaches are a good side tourism thing to do on the way
Because the PS is heritage listed, it will still be there in the years to come Difficulty level: Easy (drive up, park, walk in, no security, not really any other danger other than the usual WHS hazards).
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or message directly.
