Bondi Beach - Sydney

For various reasons, I had never been to Bondi Beach, perhaps the most famous beach in Australia. So I got on the bus and went down there.

The beach is about a kilometer long and quite wide and flat. There is also a large grass area overlooking the beach. In summer, it can be very crowded.

At the southern end is a fresh water swimming pool and the headquarters of 'The Icebergs' who swim year, including winter.

The waves are biggest at the southern end and that is where the surf boarders congregate. If you plan to swim in Australia, it is really important to swim 'between the flags' to avoid rip currents. Read the Wikipedia article at the top of the blog about 'the back packer express' which is the dark area in the center of this photo.

Just around the corner from the Icebergs is a very rocky beach area known as Tamarama. There is a walk that goes along the coast here. next time I am in Sydney, I will try to do this walk.

View of the beach with the waves rolling in. For a web cam view, click here.

Garden Island - Sydney

When you take the ferry to Manly, you go past some docks with Australian Navy ships. The area is called Garden Island and in the past, that was as close as you could get to it. However, parts of it were opened to the public in 2002 and a ferry stops there roughly every hour during the day. The official web site is here.

Only a portion of the island is open to the public, but this old building is used as a welcome center.

Inside is a small collection of  naval stuff such as torpedoes and guns.

However they do have part of one of the Japanese midget submarines that attacked Sydney Harbour during WWII. The other subs that took part in the attack can be seen at the War Memorial in Canberra.

Snow lanterns are supposed to look good in the snow.

I can just imagine some bloke proudly saying 'I am the captain of the Wombat'.

There is also an outdoor area with sundry guns, barrels, radar installations and missiles like these.

In the centre of the island is a hill with gardens. On the week day I was there, they were quite deserted.

In the gardens is the earliest recorded graffiti in Australia.

Right on top of the island is a building where you can on to the roof for what has to be one of the best harbour views in Sydney in all directions. If you have a couple of spare hours in Sydney and it is a fine day, this is worth going to.

The Rocks in Sydney

Robin and I decided to tour The Rocks so we met at Circular Quay. To see the location in Sydney, click on this link.

The water at Circular Quay. It really is green and clear.

Cadman's Cottage. It's the oldest residential building in Australia and in certain ways, it's amazing it survived.

Campbell's Storehouses.

This is George Street, the oldest in Sydney. Initially, the street was just dirt and to improve it, they paved it with blocks of wood like these.

Many of the buildings are interesting to look at.

Different examples of residences.

The tile work on a pub wall.

A free standing urinal like this is really very rare in Australia.

Tooth's was one of the popular Sydney beers. Taken over by Carlton United, the KB brand has virtually disappeared. Years ago, brands were very local and it would be unheard of to have a Melbourne beer like Fosters sold in Sydney.

An old letter box.

So you would like to live here? All you have to do is be old, see below.

An extension to the house.

Robin admiring the vine on the side of a house.

It really is interesting to walk around here on a week day when things are quiet. The weekend could be a different story when the crowds appear.

Robin enjoying a playground. Interestingly, the floor is made of recycled plastic or rubber and is quite soft. No doubt it helps when you fall and I noticed quite a few playgrounds in Australia with this feature.

More interesting old buildings. I presume these were warehouses.

 A warehouse on a wharf that has been converted to flats / apartments.

Some of the old artifacts have been retained as decoration.

More of these apartments. No doubt they are extremely expensive.

Sand stone facing on one of the hotels in the area. Click on them to see the detail.

I enjoyed the Rocks much more than I expected. The last time I was there was years ago on a very hot day with huge crowds and I really didn't enjoy it back then. This time, it was great.