Day 98 – Clear sky’s over Bondi

Bit of a rough nights sleep last night after Matt returned in the early hours with some friends. Hearing Kings of Leon at 4am has now made me not want to hear their latest album for a while.

By morning the sky’s had cleared enough to allow some sun light through so Tom and I set off for Bondi; after all what’s a beach without the sun? To get there we took the ferry into the city then the bus from right outside Circular Quays. Circular Quays is well set up for transport connections with other ferries, buses and the train with a minutes walk.

The bus to Bondi took about 30 minutes and on the journey I began to see Sydney as a interlinking areas rather than a sprawling city. You don’t really experience a change of scenery from the heart of the city, bar the lack of sky scrapers, to Bondi and you kind of pop out from the buildings onto the seafront. I found the beach a little under whelming although I’m sure its amazing when its not full of British tourists and the seas a soup of surfers.

Escaping the crowds we took the coastal path round the headland to the next couple of beaches. The path winds round the cliffs and through rock carved out by the elements. Sitting on the cliffs we watched some skilled surfers riding some large waves near the rocks.

Returning to the city we walked round the Botanical Gardens for a good view off the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. What I saw was what I’d imagined it to be, the striking lines of the Opera House set against the bridge and blue sky. Walking to get a closer view of the Opera House I could feel the sun burning on my neck but it was worth it. I have to admit that from the gardens side the structure looks much larger and impressive. We took wandered around the outside before retreating inside for some shade. Its worth noting that the water in the restroom taps is warm and not good for drinking!

Leaving the city via the ferry we sat at the back to take in the view. Back at Manly the surf was rolling in so I decided to take out a board for the last rays of sun. All I can say is that the water looked far more appealing from the beach than it was on the board. I spent nearly an hour getting battered in a white water washing machine and only half caught a wave; Pacific 1 – Rob 0.

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