Weds 19th Nov - Bryon Bay to Sydney
Over the last few days I have been in and out of contact with Kipan.. he will be driving to Sydney from Bryon today but only at 10.30pm the previous night (my birthday..) I am told of his plans to leave at 6.30am! A stormy evening had meant that me, Karys and Aimee had returned to a wet teepee.. beds wet.. and clothes damp.. not great, thankfully the alcohol levels diluting the unweclome situation. We quickly grab our belongings and are moved to another room for the night..
.. Buzzzzz.. I awake to my phone ringing.. and see a number of miss calls from Kipan. It is close to 8am and after speaking to Kipan I find that he has not set off yet. I subsequently quickly get ready.. check out.. (receiving a refund for the previous night) load my bags into the car and soon after nodding off as we drive out of Byron on route to Sydney... a 9/10 hour journey ahead of us.
A few hours into the drive we stop off, get some coffee and I have the chance to eat a bacon roll.. much needed to claw myself out of this horrid hangover. I help out with the driving (2hrs on/off), around 7pm as the sun is setting we are close to Sydney. We cross the iconic Harbour Bridge and journey across the city to the coastal town of Bronte (between Bondi and Coogee). Kip kindly offers me a bed in his flat for the night, after a long day on the road we are both shattered. Kip has a stylish studio style flat (if I hadn't known that he was an actor, I would have guessed artist/musician/actor from his flat).
Over the last few days I have been in and out of contact with Kipan.. he will be driving to Sydney from Bryon today but only at 10.30pm the previous night (my birthday..) I am told of his plans to leave at 6.30am! A stormy evening had meant that me, Karys and Aimee had returned to a wet teepee.. beds wet.. and clothes damp.. not great, thankfully the alcohol levels diluting the unweclome situation. We quickly grab our belongings and are moved to another room for the night..
.. Buzzzzz.. I awake to my phone ringing.. and see a number of miss calls from Kipan. It is close to 8am and after speaking to Kipan I find that he has not set off yet. I subsequently quickly get ready.. check out.. (receiving a refund for the previous night) load my bags into the car and soon after nodding off as we drive out of Byron on route to Sydney... a 9/10 hour journey ahead of us.
A few hours into the drive we stop off, get some coffee and I have the chance to eat a bacon roll.. much needed to claw myself out of this horrid hangover. I help out with the driving (2hrs on/off), around 7pm as the sun is setting we are close to Sydney. We cross the iconic Harbour Bridge and journey across the city to the coastal town of Bronte (between Bondi and Coogee). Kip kindly offers me a bed in his flat for the night, after a long day on the road we are both shattered. Kip has a stylish studio style flat (if I hadn't known that he was an actor, I would have guessed artist/musician/actor from his flat).
I wake to the sound of the ocean in the distance through the kitchen windows.. and see blue skies.. a hot sunny day.
Next I find a cafe with WIFI, eat lunch and book up a couple nights accommodation in the city, plus a night climb of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
After taking the bus into the city, I wander through Sydney's Hyde Park and down to my hostel nearby to Kings Cross.
In the late afternoon I walk to Circular Quay via the Royal Botanic Gardens and find myself viewing the iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House.. what a great sight. Here I meet up with Stef from my Atherton Tablelands trip back in October and who I'll be sharing a roadtrip from Sydney to Melbourne with next week.
Soon it is time for me to head to the Bridge Climb Centre. After checking in and munching down a sandwich I am approached by a staff member and told that I am the only person on my scheduled climb.. do I wish to go sooner with a group (corporate looking) or go ahead on my own.. VIP of course.
I am in for a personalised trip.. usually the groups can be up to 14 in total! As I am on my own it means the process leading up to the actual climb is a lot quicker... usually it takes around an hour. My guide gets me geared and we jump ahead of 3 other groups.. this means that the city is not fully in darkness when we begin the climb so I see the transition. A fantastic experience, with great views of the city.
Fri 20th Nov - Sydney (City..Coogee..Bondi..)
Today is my final full day in the city before I meet up with my school friend Iain Todd at the weekend and stay at his flat in Manly.
After a brief morning research for my upcoming roadtrip I walk up to Hyde Park. I end up at Westfield where you take the lift up to the Sydney Tower. I buy a ticket and plan to return for sunset.
Next I walk to central station and take a bus to Coogee Beach. It is a beautiful day and the beach/surroundings prove to be too. It is great fun in the sea.. big waves. I leave intially with the intention to walk the coastal route to Bondi Beach but the thought of a 2 hr walk isn't so appealing after a tiring few days..
Instead I fill myself up with a tasty 'health whip' smoothie, then jump onto a bus first to Bondi Junction and then another down to the beach.
Bondi is a huge beach. . and despite late afternoon very busy. It's an iconic name but Coogee and Bronte were a lot nicer.
An hour later and I am waiting at the bus stop to get back into the city in time for sunset. However a busy busy beach means all the buses fly by full.. I end up walking (along with a few others also fed up waiting) to Bondi Junction.. it is getting closer to sunset so I jump onto a train.. (going one stop too far.. so back on the next train) a walk..and a run later I arrive at the Sydney Tower making it up just in time to see the final 15 mins of the sun setting. I see the city turn to night.. and then head to Circular Quay to meet up with Stef.
We head to some night markets at The Rocks (first settlement in Sydney.. next to Harbour Bridge), after eating a tasty burger we go for a drink. We walk across the Harbour Bridge.. again great views.. another packed day! We return to The Rocks for another couple drinks.. we will next meet on Monday for the start of our roadtrip to Melbourne.
After a brief morning research for my upcoming roadtrip I walk up to Hyde Park. I end up at Westfield where you take the lift up to the Sydney Tower. I buy a ticket and plan to return for sunset.
Next I walk to central station and take a bus to Coogee Beach. It is a beautiful day and the beach/surroundings prove to be too. It is great fun in the sea.. big waves. I leave intially with the intention to walk the coastal route to Bondi Beach but the thought of a 2 hr walk isn't so appealing after a tiring few days..
Instead I fill myself up with a tasty 'health whip' smoothie, then jump onto a bus first to Bondi Junction and then another down to the beach.
Bondi is a huge beach. . and despite late afternoon very busy. It's an iconic name but Coogee and Bronte were a lot nicer.
An hour later and I am waiting at the bus stop to get back into the city in time for sunset. However a busy busy beach means all the buses fly by full.. I end up walking (along with a few others also fed up waiting) to Bondi Junction.. it is getting closer to sunset so I jump onto a train.. (going one stop too far.. so back on the next train) a walk..and a run later I arrive at the Sydney Tower making it up just in time to see the final 15 mins of the sun setting. I see the city turn to night.. and then head to Circular Quay to meet up with Stef.
We head to some night markets at The Rocks (first settlement in Sydney.. next to Harbour Bridge), after eating a tasty burger we go for a drink. We walk across the Harbour Bridge.. again great views.. another packed day! We return to The Rocks for another couple drinks.. we will next meet on Monday for the start of our roadtrip to Melbourne.
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| It's Christmas.. |
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| Coogee Beach |
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| Coogee Beach |
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| Bondi Beach |
Sat 22nd Nov - Sydney (Manly Beach)
I will be staying with Iain for the weekend.. we meet at the ferry entrance. The ferry ride to Manly is 30mins with awesome views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
On arrival to the flat I meet Iain's room mate Ollie. After some lunch at a local Thai restaurent we spend the rest of afternoon at Manly Beach.. which is a lovely sight and the streets leading up to the beach are vibrant and busy. It is a wealthy area. In the evening we have a BBQ by the bay and I meet Iain's girlfriend Liz. It's been great to catch up.
Sun 23rd Nov - Sydney (One day Cricket)
Today we head back from Manly to the city where we will be spending the day at the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) watching the one day cricket game between Australia and South Africa.
Before the game we have lunch at a local pub.. me Iain and Liz choose the Lamb Roast.. and it's delicious.
We head to the ground.. arriving just in time to see the first ball bowled as we walk to our seats. It's a heat wave weekend in Sydney.. a beautiful sunny day .. but a times toooo hot (+30).. sweaty! Later in thr afternoon there are a couple of quick rain showers. We drink.. eat our leftovers from the BBQ and leave around 9pm.. jump on the ferry back to Manly. A great day! Tomorrow will be an early start and the beginning of roadtrip with Stef.
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