Sunday, February 9, 2014

February 6th – Sydney Day 2

Having experienced high culture at the art gallery yesterday, today it was time to experience Sydney's famous beach culture, so we caught the bus from Circular Key to the iconic Bondi Beach. On sunny weekend days, the beach can have up to 30,000 sun-worshippers and surfers fighting for space on its golden sands; but on an overcast (but warm) weekday, there was plenty of space out there. Of course, there were lots of surfers waiting out to sea for the next big wave, so it was entertaining just watching them riding the big rollers sweeping in.

There was a relaxed kind of vibe down at Bondi, but instead of succumbing to the temptation to just set ourselves up at a beachside cafe and have a lazy day at the beach, we went for the more energetic option of doing the famous coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee. It's a lovely walk passing along some stunning coastal scenery, and passing over a series of beaches that have a more relaxed, more neighbourhood feel to them than Bondi. Quite a few of them had open air seawater pools right next to the crashing waves – it must be wonderful to head down there after a hard day at the office. This beachside dimension is what makes Sydney such an amazing place – just half an hour or so from the CBD with all its skyscrapers and busy office workers, you have these chilled out beaches. It feels like another world.

The walk took around about a couple of hours, so we were ready for lunch by the time we'd struggled to Coogee, finding ourselves a great spot overlooking its wide stretch of golden sands. A perfect end to a really enjoyable walk.

Having caught the bus back to Circular Quay, we got off a little early to explore the CBD a little more, stopping for a few more photos in its collection of impressive colonial buildings. It's the contrasts that makes Sydney so great to explore – big business and big waves, brand spanking new and historically old, fast-paced commerce and chilled-out leisure. What a great city!