Sydney isn't all sunny beaches, cool cafes and high-end shopping. Just 45-minutes' drive to the southwest is Camden, where Jessica Sanford submits herself to an unforgettable ghost tour.

It's long been thought that Friday 13th is a particularly unlucky day, and a wiser person might not have chosen to embark on a trip to Camden to go on a ghost tour and an overnight stay. But feeling adventurous, and with a keen interest in seeing the beautiful old home that is the focus of the tour, my partner Luke and I do just that.

The tour is at Gledswood Homestead and Winery, a historic farming property still with its original buildings and steeped in convict antiquity. It's dark when we join a group of 20; and soft lights illuminate the beautifully maintained grounds. Our guide, Jo, takes us through the buildings, sharing her knowledge of the property and its previous occupants - some of whom are said to still be in residence. We're all offered a crystal each, 'to keep us safe' throughout the night and, believers or not, no one passes it up.

The home, built in 1827, is in fact a sprawling manor. I notice the expanse of the hallway immediately - it appears to go on forever when seen by the dim light of our torches and with each turn we discover a new, shadowy, room. Jo pipes up now and then with snippets about the families who've lived here, managing to evoke their daily lives in such detail that they start to come alive for me. She isn't about creating an Easter-show style spooky ghost tour; instead she nurtures a genuine sense of - and perhaps a connection to - the people who have lived here previously. She mentions Catherine, who lived in the house, who she says is standing next to us holding a bunch of roses. At another time and place, Luke and I might have rolled our eyes at each other, but here, in Catherine's old house, we both accept that this might be the case.

While feeling our way through the home, Jo comments that sometimes people are compelled to revisit spots in the house and I do find myself drawn back to a green velvet sofa, which feels like a very calming space. There were other areas in the house that I don't want to spend a second longer in. Luke wants to stay in one of the kitchens that I desperately want to move away from.

As well as the homestead we explore an outbuilding that housed convicts, which to me is the eeriest part of the night. Thankfully we round off the tour with the pet cemetery - that someone had taken the time to build the headstones feels reassuring.

And what's the best way to end a ghost tour? With a glass of wine, of course. We bid the homestead farewell and walk the short distance to the Gledswood Cellar Door for nibbles and a nightcap. We realise the ghost tour wasn't a dramatic experience like we had expected, but it is truly touching just thinking about people who have lived and died before our time.

Back at the elegant Camden Valley Inn, our lodging for the evening, we take advantage of the still roaring fire in the restaurant before turning in, me still thinking of the homestead's grand rooms and imagining the lives of a bygone era.

The following morning we stop at the Australian Botanical Gardens - the largest botanical garden in the country, in nearby Mount Annan.

Turning into the gardens, we drive along a winding road with woodlands on either side and, examining the visitor's guide, it's then I fully grasp the expansiveness of the area and what it holds. The garden spans 416ha and showcases the broad spectrum of native plantings. We finally emerge into the middle of the garden (where the visitor's centre is located) where there's an incline of tall, lush plantings, bordering a pond, and for a while we stand there drinking in the beauty of the scene. It's then that we're greeted by Ron, a ranger at the site who shares his knowledge about the gardens as he takes us on a driving tour. Stopping high on a hill, we look at a semicircle of stone structures - the Sundial of Human Involvement. The idea is to stand at the designated spot and whichever stone, or hour marker, your shadow falls on will determine what time it is. A very clever, and entertaining, creation and because it's on a hill it provides one of the best views of the garden - a sweeping 360° look at the natural landscape.

Admission to the garden is free and there are a myriad of walking tours, bike tracks and garden areas to explore. To find out more about Camden and the Macarthur region go to www.macarthur.com.au.