A long flight with a brief stopover in Bangkok, brought us to Sydney early on Friday morning and we took a taxi to Joanna’s apartment in Kensington, a suburb just south of the city. Joanna was at work so we let ourselves in and after mugs of tea and a shower, we decided some exercise would do us some good, so took the bus to Coogee, the nearest beach.
The day was a bit overcast, but pleasantly warm after the 6 degree highs we’d left in London! We walked north along the coastal path as far as Clovelly …
… then back to Coogee.
We took a quick turn round the local Coles to get groceries for dinner and before long, Joanna was home from work! So lovely to see her and have a hug! A quiet dinner at home and lots of chatting before an early night for us all.
Joanna works on a construction site, operating a hoist which carries people and materials up and down the side of the apartment block and what with her getting up early for work and our jet lag, we were up and ready to go out by 8.30 so went walking in Centennial Park before the day got too hot.
The park was dedicated as a public open space in 1888 and hundreds of unemployed men were enlisted to turn swamps, scrub and rock into a grand park in the Victorian tradition with formal gardens, ponds, statues. We entered by the Randwick Gate and got a great view of the city.
The park is huge and we saw lots of cockatoos, black swans and a pelican.
There are groves of paperbark trees and even a bat colony.
Australia became a nation right here on 1 January 1901 when the Australian Federation was inaugurated and the first prime minister was sworn in and this pavilion marks the spot.
Next up a little Christmas shopping at the local Westfields shopping centre, where Joanna met us after work, and we returned very successfully with handfuls of bags. We went for dinner in the local Thai restaurant where we all had delicious stir fries.
Sunday might be Joanna’s day off, but with an early schedule all week, we were all still awake early and even had some early visitors!
We got all the necessary chores done in the morning then went into the city in the afternoon to meet my cousin Tim with Heidi and the three boys, Isaac, Cain and Eden, all so much bigger than last time we met! We sat outside in The Hart in the Rocks and exchanged news and downed a few pints between us!
Monday dawned very spectacularly and the balcony gives a ringside seat!
Having been to Sydney several times, we have done most of the main tourist sights, but we love taking a ferry across the harbour and seeing the Bridge and opera house in the sunshine. Chris also wanted to photograph the city from the north shore, so we began getting a train to Waverton and walking through the Peninsular Reserve and Balls Head Reserve in search of the best view … all subjective … but here’s my favourite.
Also saw this cheeky looking rainbow loraqueet on the way!
Returning on the train, over Sydney Harbour Bridge, we then walked from Central through the Devonshire Street tunnel to Ultimo and the beginning of the new Goods Line urban walkway which runs through to Darling Harbour, following the route of an old rail corridor.
It passes the innovative Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, designed by Frank Gehry and constructed with some 320,000 custom designed bricks.
Apparently on a sunny day, you can feel the heat reflected from the windows, and there are more reflective surfaces inside!
The Goods Line ends at the Powerhouse Museum, then we continued to Darling Harbour.
The day had become somewhat overcast, and our ferry trip was rather a disappointment as the vessel was a rivercat rather than a traditional ferry, my camera battery ran out at just the wrong moment, and all was a little dull. Hopefully we can have another go before we leave.
Other outings included a wander round Newtown, an older, slightly down at heel suburb just west of Kensington, with lots of small independent shops, original shopfronts, and a rather hippy/backpacker vibe.
Newtown is also the epicentre of Sydney’s mural art scene and every since the “I Have a Dream” mural appeared on King Street in the mid-1980s the area has been attracting artists.
A few years ago the local council got on board and began working with local street artists to build on these grassroots efforts by launching the Perfect Match program, bringing together property owners with blank walls and artists who would like to paint them … and here is a selection.
We also walked the coastal path from Coogee to Maroubra, leaving quite early one morning to beat the expected high of 35 later in the day.
Coogee looked far better with a little sun, reflecting on the water and there were lots of people about, even though it was early.
The coastline is made up of craggy rocks and rock pools and is made even more dramatic with the crashing waves.
There are several ocean pools, generally natural pools adapted with steps to make swimming easier, with the Ross Jones Memorial Pool at the end of the beach …
… and McIvers Baths which is the last womens-only ocean pool left in Australia.
We managed this snap of the Ivor Rowe Rockpool between waves, but the tide was too high to safely take a dip here.
We had never swum in an ocean pool, so at Mahon Pool, we stopped for a dip. Free, with loos, changing rooms and showers, this natural rock pool was most definitely bracing!
The stunning Maroubra Beach ended our walk.
We returned to Coogee in the evening to visit Chris’s niece Katie and her boyfriend Jamie who have been in Sydney for just over a year, taking some time to experience living and working on the other side of the world. We dropped off Christmas presents from family in England and went for pizza at the Coogee Pavilion and caught up with their news.
We took another trip into the city to visit the Museum of Australia and look round their exhibition of 100 treasures which was really interesting and filled with diverse items such as a huge 10kg gold nugget, the skeleton of a green turtle and masks and headdresses from various Aborigine tribes.
We were also lured by a photography exhibition where these photos caught my eye.
We stopped in one of Bill Grainger’s restaurants in Surry Hills for lunch where we enjoyed delicious salads.
It was then time to pack ready for our road trip to Brisbane in the morning. In fact having walked 50 miles in our week long walkabout, we will be pleased for a rest!
Map
Here we are back for a last weekend.
We’ve had a great month visiting family and managed to pack a whole lot in!
Off Travelling Together 