A drive to Jervis Bay

The last weekend that David was in Sydney, we decided to rent a car and drive down the coast of New South Wales. Our first destination was the Royal National Park. Just south of the city, this is the second oldest national park in the world, after Yellowstone: it dates back to 1879! The park has a wide variety of terrain, and in spite of the growth of the city, it is still home to a wide variety of plants, animals, and birds. We stopped briefly at the Visitor Center, where Meghan enjoyed a conversation with the cockatoos, and then we continued on our drive.



The Grand Pacific drive leads south from the park, through coastal towns, lush vegetation, and sweeping views of the ocean. The most famous part of the drive is the Sea Cliff bridge, which hugs sheer cliffs and sweeps out over the open ocean for 665m (about half a mile). It makes for breathtaking vistas...





After a longish drive (on the left side of the road!), we arrived at Jervis Bay. The Jervis Bay territory has an odd history: it was bought by the Federal government in 1915 so that the landlocked capital at Canberra would have access to the sea. Once the Capital Territory became a state [Correction: Became self-governing. Thanks, Anonymous] in 1989, Jervis Bay entered a weird limbo. Most of the bay is either a navy base, or protected as part of the Booderee national park. With its clear water and white sand, Jervis bay is a beautiful, unspoilt bit of Australia.



The national park is also home to a lot of wildlife. As we pulled into the parking lot, we surprised a wallaby, which quickly bounded away, and friendly (but non-native) lorikeets swarmed over us looking for food as we set out on a short walking trail. The path led us out to tidal rock flats, with their bizarre sculpted shapes and hollows.



But we still hadn't seen any kangaroos or wallabies since the first one in the parking lot. As we continued on our walk, dusk set in rapidly, and we started hearing suspicious rustles in the bush, and even the crash-boing-boing-boing of a startled 'roo fleeing through the shrubbery as we approached. And then, finally, we heard a rustle less than 10 feet away from us, and froze. As we slowly inched our way forward, we saw a couple of kangaroos (or wallabies?). They took a while to decide that we were harmless, but after that, even flash photography didn't seem to faze them...

Summertime on the beach

Well, it's finally feeling like summer in Sydney. Even last weekend, when we headed out to Bondi beach, it was a cloudy and overcast day, and once the sea breeze picked up, it was quite chilly on the beach...




But this weekend, temperatures have finally climbed into the nineties (in F - that's only thirties C) and it actually feels hot. That means it's time to go to the beach again! This time we went to Manly, taking the Manly ferry once again. After a stroll around the beach, Sean and Jeanine plunged into the surf to ride some waves. Meghan followed suit, but it took a lot of courage, because the ocean water was ICY cold - it must have been coming from Antarctica! Shami dipped in a toe (okay, more than a toe) but decided that masochism wasn't his thing. Next time, if the water is warmer, maybe he'll ride some waves too. (Notice Sean and Jeanine in the water, highlighted.)




Meanwhile, the sun was pretty hot, and we deployed our latest purchase: a sunshade tent. The warm breeze and crashing waves made for a perfect afternoon of lounging with beach towels and books. Hmmm, we could make a habit of this...

Seven miles from Sydney

When Arthur Phillip, captain of the First Fleet, first saw the beaches of Northern Sydney, he named them after the confidence and manly behaviour of the indigenous people who lived there.


Now Manly, with its classic Norfolk Island pines and its sun-drenched beaches, is one of the most popular beaches in Australia. Not as famous as Bondi, maybe, but a nicer experience all around. Sydney Ferries once advertised Manly as "Seven miles from Sydney, a thousand miles from care", and it certainly lives up to that reputation.

We took the ferry to Manly last weekend, a leisurely ride of about half an hour, with gorgeous views of the Sydney skyline and the yachts in the harbour. When we arrived at the beach we had a bit of a cold breeze, and several stretches of beach were marked as having dangerous currents. But the beach volleyball games were in full swing, kids were playing on the beach, and there were plenty of people splashing around, and surfers looking for the perfect wave...

At the north end of the main stretch of Manly beach, there is a large rocky outcrop. Our map showed us a smaller beach on the other side, and we decided to try and scramble over the rocks to get there, rather than going the long way around.





It was a bit of an adventure, and at one of the spots where we thought we would get well and truly stuck, we came upon a tunnel bored through solid rock, just for scramblers like us, with a graffiti label: "The Wormhole".

And on the far side there was our reward, Freshwater beach, another lovely stretch of sun and sand...

A day at the beach

Our friends Karen and Wynn, who are both astronomers, are visiting Sydney. It is a working trip for them, but there is always time for some fun too! On Saturday we went to the coast and walked a couple of kilometers north from Bronte Beach, through Tamarama Beach, ending up at Bondi Beach. These crescent beaches have wonderful clean and powdery sand, and they are separated by beautiful rocky cliffs and shores.


This month there is an ongoing exhibition called Sculpture by the Sea, with whimsical pieces of art dotting the walk along the beach. Between the exhibit and the gorgeous warm spring day, the walking path was bustling with people.




We started out at Bronte Beach.




Shami posing in front of Tamarama Beach, the smallest of the beaches we saw today.




It was such a warm day the ice cream truck melted!




Australia uses just a pair of disembodied legs on signs used to mark pedestrian crosswalks. Here are the crosswalk legs, made into an oversized sculpture.



Bondi Beach is one of Sydney's largest and best known beaches. It is very popular with swimmers, sunbathers, and surfers.



We all had fun getting our feet wet. Next time we'll bring our swim suits and try some body surfing!

Visiting South Sydney

Last weekend we took the train to South Sydney, where we were met by my Dad's sister's husband's sister's daughter, Sue. We didn't even know of each other's existence before I moved here, but it was great to meet her, her husband Cary, and their daughters Chiara and Kacy. Sue gave us a grand tour of South Sydney, including a very fun afternoon on the beach at Botany Bay.

It wasn't quite warm enough for swimming - it is still winter in Australia, after all - but we had a great time lounging on the beach with Sue and Cary, their friend Annabelle, and the kids.


Pictures: Notice the Sydney skyline behind Shami, and the kids playing in the sand behind us.