Sydney

---

I arrived last Sunday morning after 24 hours in-transit -- from freezing temperatures to the mid-70s. After checking-in at the hotel, I quickly proceeded to go swimming and jogging along the coast from Coogee Beach toward Bondi. I got about halfway and jogged back. Along the way I passed a few women tanning topless. Lots of children and families around... doesn't look like a big deal here.

After that I found out that the hotel did have a room available with an ocean view... so I switched rooms to one on the sixth floor with a straight on view of the beach. 😊

Oh, and I also got pretty sunburned.

During the workweek, we went to some good restaurants... one at Bondi Junction and another one at Bondi overlooking the beach.

On Wednesday morning, I got up a little before 6 AM and went jogging. After that I went swimming (I'm not in swimming shape). I stayed pretty close to the shore... swimming parallel to it. The Coogee Beach Surf Club was out doing exercises and I swam behind them for a little bit... of course, I couldn't keep up but it was fun. http://www.coogeesurfclub.com.au/

On Thursday morning, Shawn arrived and then proceeded to swim and hike along the shore and get sunburned, too, in the process while I was at work. That evening, Shawn, me, and my co-workers went downtown and walked across the Harbour Bridge at dusk. Beautiful views of the harbour and the the city. We then had dinner at a seafood restaurant and had Royal Copenhagen ice cream.

-------------------------------

This morning, Shawn and I picked up a bite to eat and after searching and walking a bit found a scuba shop that rented gear (http://www.deep6diving.com.au/). They got us fixed up and took us down to Gordon's Bay.

Gordon's Bay is between Coogee and Bondi beach and has an underwater trail (a 600 meter chain in a circle along the bottom of it).

http://www.gordonsbay.org.au/gordonsbay/findingus.php
http://www.sportscoast.com.au/sights/gordons.htm

We got all of our gear on, quite heavy, and got in the water... we snorkeled out a bit, found the chain, and descended.

What did we see? Neon like snails, dozens of different kinds of fish, about a dozen sting rays, plenty of seaweed, sand, and seashells, and a puffer to boot.

We stayed around 15 to 20 feet most of the time, but went down to 30 feet at various points.

After we got to the other side of the bay, the current started taking us out (the waves hit on the side we entered and the water flows out on the other side). It was a strange experience... the water was pushing us along and the seaweed moving back and forth at about 15 or 20 feet down. At any rate, we made our way back to the shore... I swam until it was about 2 feet deep... kind of crawling along the way... but it was a little easier with the waves coming in.

We then hiked up a lot of steps and a few hills to get back to the dive shop. After returning our wetsuits and gear, we took a cab back to the hotel, rested for about an hour, and then took a cab to the Bondi Beach Golf Club.

-------------------------------------------------

The Bondi Beach Golf Club sits on hill above the ocean and overlooking Bondi Beach. On one side "Out of Bounds" is a huge cliff drop into the ocean. As we got started, the sun came out a little bit.

Well, as you can see from the photos... it is quite the awesome sight. Great views of the ocean, city, and beach. The golf course itself was mostly par threes and decent... but it was everything else that made it so great.

-------------------------------------------------

After that we had dinner at restaurant near Coogee Beach... we got to pick out our fish and they cooked it. Then we got some Italian gelato (which is a little different than ice cream... lower temperature and less fat). Great stuff. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelato

------------------------------------------------

Now we are resting and tomorrow we plan to go on the surfing trip. 😊

---

Photos

Shawn
At Gordon's Bay

Snail
The light blue thing

Random Fish
Not sure what type of fish this was.

Starting Out
Bondi Beach Golf Club

Split Cliff
The right side is not too far from tumbling into the sea.

Comments

[mom]

It's great to see the photos and hear what all you and Shawn are doing! Sounds like more fun tomorrow!

[Celeste in Missouri]

WOW!!
What awesome scenery!! I'm so glad you brought Shawn, he deserves a break and what a BEAUTIFUL break! That looks amazing. It's freezing here... literally!