Beautiful Bondi Beach

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We finally left our hell hole behind and headed off to the coast. After another adventurous trip on a bus, we arived at Bondi Beach. Our accommodation (Lamrock Lodge) was not only a lot better than Maze backpackers, but was also cheaper at $59. It still had some wierd querks though, like not been told that cutlery and china had to be hired, so after spending ten minutes in the kitchen looking for cereal bowls we finally worked out we had to hire them. We didn't have a bin in our room either but did have a TV and microwave (suppose you can store rubbish in the microwave!). The Lamrock Lodge is located about 300 metres from the beach, so after first having lunch at the excellent 'Rice Bowl' ($10 for a good sized lunchtime portion of Thai food), we headed off down to the beach to get a bit of sunbathing in. That evening we ate at Gelbison, an Italian restaurant, which was just superb. Again, reasonably priced and loads of choice.

Next day we went on the beach again but after two hours had to retreat to the juice bar. We then decided, against our better judgement, to do the coastal walk to Coogee. This is a stunning walk that takes you along the cliff, round bays and beaches. However, we decided to set off at midday, right in the heat of the day and were totally exhausted by the time we reached Coogee and were thankful to find 'A fish called Coogee' and have some excellent fish and chips. We attempted to get a bus back, but found that all roads led to Bondi Junction - about as much of a walk from our hostel as the 5km(ish) return walk from Coogee to Bondi Beach that we were trying to avoid!

That night we met up with SJ and Simon from the Wetsunday's cruise and had a bargain $6 meal deal at the Lamrock Cafe. It was great to see you both and catch up on what we'd all been up to since - and to see if we (and our clothes) had all dried out yet! We haven't forgotten the question for Toadie should we meet him on the Neighbours tour!

As for Bondi Beach itself, I'd heard a number of people's views expressing disappointment or that the beach doesn't live up to the hype. For me, perhaps it wasn't as physically big as it's reputation had led me to believe, but it is still a fantastic beach. There was certainly plenty of beach towel space for us - although this was early in the week and not the weekend. Besides, for anyone that doesn't like it, there's plenty more beaches to choose from all the way to Coogee. To take the beach alone out of Bondi does the area an injustice though - there are also some great eateries to choose from. Bondi manages to very successfully mix tourists and backpackers with local beach bums and those that actually live and work here in Sydney. We saw plenty of filming going on too - perhaps we'll end up in the background of an episode of Bondi Rescue!

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Photos

Coogee Beach
5 km walk south of Bondi, along the beautiful Coastal Walk

Bronte and Tamara Bays
From the Coastal Walk.

A confused Aussie Farmer?
There I was relaxing on the beach when this tractor came towards me! Beach combing for filming on Bondi Rescue?

Bondi Beach life
On a Tuesday morning!