Sydney Beaches

So Sydney is known for its beaches. While I have been here, my favorite thing to do is to end the week by going to one of the beautiful beaches. My classes end at noon on Friday so Shanley, Lizzie (The two friends that I have made here), and I have made the tradition of Friday afternoon to go and spend the afternoon at the beach. At the beginning, I got to see Manly. Manly is beautiful, beautiful water, great scenery, and soft sand.

This is Actually at Shelly Cove which is just off of Manly and is considered as part of the same stretch of beach 

It is known for its surfers and I got to watch a really cool surfing competition.

Surfer at Manly 

I then got to go to Bondi. Bondi was one of those beaches that you only hear about on television and in books. I never expected to actually be able to go. It’s this long stretch of beach with incredible waves. I even got to try a deep fried Mars bar which is basically a mix between a Snickers bar and a Three Musketeer. Best thing in the whole world.

Bondi Beach

The next week we went to Coogee. Coogee isn’t as big as Bondi but it still a very popular beach. The tides are stronger here with really big waves. Shanley and I went out in the water and were almost dragged away.

Aboriginal Whale painting at Bondi. The walls there are all covered in local art. It was paradise.

Yesterday I did the Bondi to Coogee walk. It is a coastal walk where you get to stand on top of cliffs and walk from beach to beach along Sydney’s East coast. The views were stunning. I started at Bondi with just a stroll through the sand then started my trip around the cliffs. The wind carries the sea mist all the way up to the cliffs so you can feel the waves even from 100 feet above them. It was the perfect day for the walk. The sun was up and the water was the perfect temperature.

Cliffs on Bronte to Coogee walk

I ended up at the Tamarama beach. It was a local surfing spot but had some really cool tide pools. I stayed there and hung out on the sand for a while.

Tide Pools near Tamarama. 

I then went to Bronte. I think Bronte is my favorite so far. There is a good portion of the beach dedicated to sunbathing but half of the beach is just tide pools. There are a lot of natural rocks that block off the waves and make natural swimming pools filled with fish, coral, and other marine life. I helped some Americans today who were nervous about sharks and who were unwilling to go in the water. By the time I moved onto a new beach they were playing and laughing alongside a group of local kids.

Bronte (Bonus picture of a Surfer)

I then headed to Clovelly. Clovelly is more for the snorkels, as it is more of a Bay, but it was still cool to see.

Clovelly Beach

I had been in the water there the day before (Shanley and I went on Friday to sunbathe) and almost had some nasty encounters with some Blue Bottles (Super painful Jellyfish) so I passed on getting in the water here and headed towards the snack bar.

This is a Blue Bottle or a Portuguese Man of War. Thier blue stinger wraps around its victim and gives a nasty sting. I have never run out of the water so fast.

I had had the Calamari and chips there the day before and fell in love to I grabbed a smoothie (which tasted more like a strawberry milkshake) and some hot chips (fries) and kept walking.

So the next part was a bit challenging. I decided to pick up a geocache (a modern day treasure hunt) which was along the rocky banks of the next cliff/beach area. There seemed to be a path so I decided to take the path and go for it. So long story short, I got the geocache but ended up sliding down a big rock chasing after my water bottle (the red one with a ton of cool stickers) which fell off my backpack. It landed in the water and I ended up knee deep in water running after a red water bottle. Not my best moment but it was still fun and I got my water bottle back.

Along the trail, I kept walking and came across a really old cemetery. My family and I think that seeing history through cemeteries is cool, so respectfully, I took a quick look around the cemetery. It was beautiful. There were really large, white gravestones and it was right on the cliff looking out on the ocean. And it was quiet. Along the whole trail, there are noises and people laughing but there is something extraordinary about silence and it was cool to hear the world hush for a while. The only sound that could be heard was the ocean crashing against the cliffs and the breeze blowing against the headstones. It was perfect. The cemetery was old. Some of the earliest I saw were in the late 1800’s.

The Cliffside Cemetary

Last was Coogee. And to be honest, after the water bottle fiasco I was tired so I waved goodbye to Coogee for now and will be back and I headed home on a bus.

Coogee Beach