A Good Walk, Unspoilt

Carol was feeling the double hit of the heat and her bad foot acting up for the first time on the trip, so it was just Maddy and I for the famous Bondi to Coogee coastal walk.

Rather than spend an hour taking the bus from Circular Quay to Bondi Beach, we took a cab.  Maddy felt some college student guilt at doing the transport the easy, more expensive way, but I was footing the bill and did not want to spend an hour on a bus!

Bondi Beach.  There were many surfers in the water.

The coastal walk alternated between

stunning cliffs and beautiful beaches.

Sandstone and Bondi in the background.

Another of Bondi

(Btw, it's a GOOD thing Maddy is college student cheap!)

We hopped out of the cab in world-famous Bondi Beach.  It was packed (which, on a Tuesday afternoon, makes you wonder how these people make a living!)

As the website says:

Combining beaches, rockpools, parks and spectacular coastal views, the Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk winds its way along 6 km of picturesque coastal paths at the edge of Sydney's eastern suburbs. Starting by the iconic Bondi Icebergs, just above the Bondi Baths, the walk takes between 1-2 hours at a leisurely pace, offering plenty to see and do along the way.

The website describes it well.  We brought our swimsuits along, so I changed in the smelliest bathroom I've been in on this trip (I'm not kidding -- all of the men's rooms have been clean in both New Zealand and Australia, whether in restaurants, gas stations, tourist attractions).  Given my luck so far, I suppose one terrible bathroom isn't worth complaining about (even though I am).

Bronte Beach.  Or Tamarama Beach.

I AM certain it is a beach.

We started out on the coastal walk and I was immediately wowed.  Maddy had done it once before, during the winter, so she was shocked how many people were out and about.  Being on the coast, it was not quite as hot as Sydney (probably 92 degrees!), with a nice breeze and no humidity.

The views along the walk were amazing, as we went from cliff to beach to cliff to beachtown.  It reminded me a bit of Southern California, with the spectacular views and the homes piled up on top of each other for the views.

As I admired this formation, Maddy

told stories of people out on sandstone

dying because it broke off.  Cheerful!

Our first swim came in Bronte -- there were multiple beaches before then, but they had narrow swimming areas because of the riptides.  The water was cold, although warmer than it had been in Manly two days earlier.  We didn't swim long, as we were only about half done with the walk.

We also swam in Gordon's Bay and Coogee (at the end of the trail).  We walked past the most spectacular setting for lawn bowling fields (if that's the right terminology), through Tamarama, Gordon's Bay, and Clovelly Beach (Clovelly is quite lovely),

I think this is Clovelly Beach -- it's a quiet

cove full of families with young kids. 

It is about a six kilometer walk.  With our three stops to swim, and numerous photo ops, it took longer than a six K walk normally would, but the beauty of the day and the views were priceless.  We rewarded ourselves with ice cream bars before Ubering back to the hotel.

Secluded Gordon's Bay

Our Uber driver was quite conversant with the NFL, so we talked football and rugby on the way back.  He was understandably quite proud of Jarryd Hayne, a superstar rugby player currently doing well for the San Francisco 49ers.