I arrived in Sydney late morning on Monday 3 March minus my suitcase which had not made the transfer from the Napier to Auckland flight. "I assume that you transferred from the Napier flight. It is not unusual for that flight" said the baggage attendant at Sydney Airport. I'd already been told by a commuter on the Napier to Auckland flight as we waited with the engines running for 20 minutes on the tarmac in Auckland for a stand at the terminal, that the flight was invariably late. These things never phase me: it was, after all, Air New Zealand's job to get me to Sydney one way or another. The baggage arrived 10 hours after I did. The Glad Game: it arrived. No luggage would have irritated me.
Fiona (British Canadian Aussie and daughter of almost-lifelong-friend, Mo) had planned an afternoon going to see some of the sights.
These maps may be useful reference points for some of the posts on Sydney's sights over the next few days.
We started with a trip to, of course, Bondi Beach which, on a drab Monday afternoon is possibly less appealing than on a sunny summer weekend. Actually the beach is large and the swimming is good but the town is a Sydney weekenders' tourist trap. Given that it was originally built as an English style seaside resort that's possibly not a surprise.
 |
| Bondi Beach looking north |
 |
| There is a lot of wall art. Some of it very good indeed if that is what one likes at the beach. |
 |
| This could be almost any English seaside resort |
 |
| Probably once the grandest Bondi hotel, the Hotel Bondi is still imposing (this is the side view facing the beach). |
After Bondi we travelled around the coast and saw the
Macquarrie lighthouse. This is the near the original light erected in 1791 and the site of the oldest lighthouse in Australia built in 1818 with the current lighthouse built to replace it in 1883 (the 1818 one having been built of sandstone and basically fallen down). This light is still fully operational today.
 |
| The 1883 Macquarrie Lighthouse |
 |
| Detail from over the main door - I'm not sure whether that's a flattering model of the monarch's face but it's not as severe as usual. |
Then we went to The Heads which is the entrance to the harbour.
 |
| The South Head |
 |
| Obviously the South Head is the southern headland but isn't that a head I see before me? |
There will be some sunny pictures and skies to come over the next few days.
Posts
Naturally I loved the dog wall art at the beach.....and the lovely lighthouse too.
ReplyDeleteOddly, Virginia, I thought about your lighthouse post when I saw that one. Sydney harbour is huge and there are lots of lighthouses, of course, but this one was of particular interest.
DeleteThe beach looks good to me, but then I prefer to walk along them rather than throw myself into the waves. I like the look of the hotel. Have to confess though that giant dogs is not really my favourite kind of wall art... Being that size they might come back and haunt me in my nightmares!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest Monica I prefer beaches to walk along too these days and the remote beaches of many parts of New Zealand and Scotland are more to my liking. However as "beach culture" goes Bondi and the beaches I will show in the posts that will follow are pretty impressive.
DeleteThis looks like a great place to visit and all the better when you have a personal guide.
ReplyDeleteI agree that having a personal guide always makes a big difference Red.
DeleteYou have done good, many thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks Adrian. The light in some of the photos to come might be a bit garish for you!
DeleteBack in the day I was only interested in being in the water. I'm a bit surprised I even remember the pavillion and the hotel but they look the same to me. I like the photo of the head at The Heads.
ReplyDeleteWhen you think, Pauline, of the thousands who go to Bondi on a summer weekend the great majority want to be in the water at lease some of the time. I'm told it gets very very crowded these days.
DeleteI nearly drowned on Bondi beach. Mainly, when I was a kid, we went to Coogee beach which I suspect is a bit less touristy. Disappointing looking weather, though, but then winter is on its way in Oz. .....have fun the rest of your stopover.
ReplyDeleteJenny there will be photos of Coogee because that's where Fiona's apartment is. It is still less touristy than Bondi and has a 'villagy' feel even in the winter whereas I'm told Bondi virtually closes in the winter.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWhat fun to see your photos. Our niece and her partner live at Thirroul, NSW. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your photos of this fascinating place. Thanks, GB. xoxo
ReplyDeleteCarol, Thirroul is not far away from where I was but I didn't get that far south in the week I was there. It's only 50 or so ks down the coast so I would imagine that the beaches are fairly similar.
DeleteOops! Had to delete my comment off Jenny Wolfe's post and put it down here where it belongs.
DeleteThanks, GB, I knew it must be fairly close, because Jen talks about going into Sydney a lot. I've never been to Australia, but one of these days, maybe we'll have to go and take a look. Enjoy your holidays. xoxox
The weather was your advantage, Graham. Bondi Beach looks beautiful, and I can imagine it being overcrowded on a sunny day, which clearly wasn't the case when you were there on that first day.
ReplyDeleteTo build a lighthouse out of sandstone... what a daft idea! No wonder it needed replacement so soon afterwards.
Meike there are more beach scenes to come when I manage to return to Blogland tomorrow (hopefully). As for building a lighthouse out of sandstone that really does make one wonder about the engineer/architect who did it.
Deletethis lighthouse looks much grander than those I saw on Lake Michigan! still I love any lighthouse!
ReplyDeleteNorma by the standard of may lighthouses in the UK this is a small one. Indeed the ones on Lewis (my Scottish home) are several times as large.
DeleteThe walk from Bondi south around the headland towards Bronte is spectacular. I hope you were able to do it while you were there... and you are right it is very special on a sunny Summer's day.
ReplyDeleteHi Helsie. Mo and her daughter have walked most, perhaps all, of that coastal path. I managed several parts including some of the one you mentioned. It is, as you say, quite spectacular.
Delete