Sydney: Coastal Walks

Before coming to Sydney we did some research and picked the Split-Manly walk over the Bondi-Coogee walk. Even though there were a lot of people because of the Easter holiday, we enjoyed it so much, we decided to check off the Bondi-Coogee walk as well. Since they were both jammed with people anyways, I may even prefer the Bondi-Coogee walk.

The ocean waves were kind of big; impressive. We didn't see as many surfers as I had expected. It wasn't until later we read that six people died in the waters around Sydney over the holiday. Nevertheless, there were many, many people enjoying the coast in so many different ways and different places.

We took the ferry from Sidney Circular Quay to Manly Wharf on a beautiful day. From the ferry there were good views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.






Manly is more than just the start of the coastal walk. It's a destination itself with busy beaches, vintage hotels, and tourist amenities like pubs, restos, and ice cream shops. The ocean was angry and some surfers were in the water.








The walk to Spit Bridge starts on the North Harbour side of Manly near the Manly Wharf and its iconic clock tower (1st below).




We passed several nice beach parks, with grassy lawns, ocean pools, and more, on the well-marked trail.










After 2 kms or so we entered Sydney Harbour National Park where the trail became more rugged and we ascended several headlands (picnic lunch time) with great views of the harbour and the occasional view to Sydney CBD (Central Business District). See the embedded video first below or click here.












Arriving at Spit Bridge (below), we took the bus back to our hotel.


Several days later we rode the bus to Bondi Beach and walked south along the coast to Coogee. The ocean waves were large and the Surf Rescue Teams were ready.








At the south end of Bondi Beach we were mesmerized by the big waves crashing into the ocean swimming pools of the Bondi Iceberg Club. Video first below or click here.








After Bondi, the walk continues with numerous awesome views: Tamarama Bay (1st below), Tamarama Beach (2nd), Bronte Beach (3rd).










And another ocean swimming spot and pool at the very narrow Clovelly Bay. Mesmerized again. We just don't have anything like this in North Carolina. Embedded first below is a video, or click here.












Gordons Bay


At Coogee we took a look at the beach and the Giles Baths, then caught a bus back to the CBD.

Australia: Byron Bay

On our way from Brisbane to Sydney by train, we skirted the Gold Coast and made a side trip to Byron Bay. We had a walk to the cape, the most easterly point of mainland Australia. Byron Bay has much in common with Noosa, but it seems Byron Bay is much more touted by guidebooks. This could be another case where places with enough domestic tourists do not bother to get in the guidebooks or recruit foreign tours. We didn't discern any special hippie bohemian vibe that Byron Bay is famous for.

Our Early Morning Train at Roma Street Station (1st below), and a view from the train as we headed south.




Byron Bay Beach was beautiful any time of the day.








And often, but not always, busy with swimmers, strollers, and surfers.










We walked along the coastal trail to the lighthouse, passing the "Most Easterly Point of the Australian Mainland". There were more surfers (1st below), and a lone fisherman (2nd below).










Byron Bay has an Aldi! We shopped there at least once every day as we had access to a shared kitchen = arugula/rocket noodle salad.