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When looking for a place to stay in Sydney, we couldn't help but notice several ads for apartments in Bondi Beach, which Jan knew was a famous surfing beach. On arrival in Sydney we learned that it was also the closest beach to our Elizabeth Bay apartment (oops, unit in Oz-speak). That made it an easy choice for our first beach outing.

Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach is close enough to our place — five kilometers or three miles — that we could walk there. But for our first outing we took the train from Kings Cross, a station a five minute walk from us, to Bondi Junction. From there we walked (downhill, of course!) the last 1.5 kilometers. The photo above shows our first view of the beach as neared the south end of the beach. We had heard from a fan of another beach in the greater Sydney area that Bondi was not very good, but at first sight we guess any European would pay a lot to have such a beach on their front doorstep.

Saltwater pool near Bondi Beach

We had already seen the saltwater pool not far from our unit but had not expected to find such a pool right on the ocean with the beach just a few minutes walk away. Apparently beachfront pools are an Australian habit as you will see below.

Bondi-Coogee Beaches

Although we got close to Bondi Beach, we didn't actually set foot on it. Instead we set off to walk south along a coast path to the beach of Coogee (don't you love those Australian names!).

Near Tamarama Bay?

On our walk we passed half a dozen different coves and bays with beaches large and small. Some were preferred by the nudists, others by families. All were lovely, all were very different.

Ice-tea cups in trash bin, near Bronte

We were very happy about halfway along to find a promotion of Lipton ice tea on the coastal path and got a couple of cups of mango tea to help us on our way. There was always a cool breeze off the water, of course, but the two hours in the middle of the day were very warm in the sun.

"Steel" Band, Bronte Beach

Free tea wasn't the only freebie on offer. This steel band entertained the crowds that were strolling along the path to see the sculpture on the beach exhibit. We never understood why they were there, but happily enjoyed their music.

Bronte Beach

Bronte was definitely a surfer and sun-lover beach. Set in a cove protected by cliffs, it was an amazing sun-trap in which the temperature was a good ten degrees warmer than on the cliffs into and out of the cove.

Bronte

Wind-sculpted rocks like these are a feature of the coast here and make a great place for old and young to clamber around on and from which to explore the tidal pools.

Bronte Baths

This photo gives you a complete view of Bronte, with its deep beach, its rocks, its swimming pools and bathing pavilion. Nobody seemed to be complaining of cold water, but to us tender plants recently arrived from the tropics it looked awfully chilly.

Poly-chrome Polly

No this snap wasn't taken in a zoo and the parrot isn't someone's caged or trained pet. This lovely creature and its mate swooped and dived over our heads at one point on our walk and Gerry tracked the pair down to a nearby tree and got this lovely shot. We were entranced and spent a good 20 minutes just ogling them as they fed and made parrot noises while all the locals wandered by oblivious to the wonder that is their country.

Near Watson's Bay

The very long cove of Watson's Bay makes for very protected swimming and so the beach seems to be a favorite place for families with very young children and for the elderly. It also has its own built swimming pool but it hardly seems to offer any advantage over the natural environment here.

Between Watson's Bay and Coogee

In spite of the prohibition, this little beach seemed to have no water or sun worshippers but many dog owners taking their pets for a constitutional.

Between Watson's Bay and Coogee

Our afternoon walk was almost at an end when we ventured out onto this windy rock ledge just before getting to Coogee. We had covered the distance that Lonely Planet estimated would take 2.5 hours in a leisurely five. Why be in a rush when you have three months at your disposal.

Coogee Beach

And finally to Coogee Beach, our destination. Second in size only to Bondi and almost deserted at this late hour of the day, Coogee struck us as a very nice all-around beach with good bus connections to Sydney. Maybe we'll come back here one day to join the sun-worshippers or the body surfers.