Coastal Walk

Ocean views, towering sandstone cliffs, crashing waves and golden beaches were what we went in search of today. To achieve this goal we had to catch the 380 bus just around the corner from the apartment and head for Bondi Beach – the most iconic beach in Sydney.  The trip was not that far, but with traffic and frequent bus stops it took around 40 minutes.

Once at Bondi Beach we walked along the promenade, admiring the many murals to our left, the sand and surf to our right. 

After two windy days, the waves were crashing in and much of the water was foamy white. Just because we had to, we set foot on the Bondi sand and walked back along the beach.

From Bondi, the plan was to tackle the 6 km walk to Coogee, giving us the stunning coastal vistas we had come looking for. Being a sunny summer’s day, we were certainly not the only ones out doing the same!

Climbed the stairs up behind the ‘Bondi Icebergs’ – the swimming pool that today was being swamped by the waves – and headed off around the sandstone headland. There were many vantage points to stop and admire and photograph.

Around Mackenzies Point and across Tamarama Rocks and we came to the small sandy Tamarama Beach in Mackenzies Bay.

After skirting around the beach we climbed back up and next it was around another rocky cliff to Bronte Beach. Smaller than Bondi but larger than Tamarama, it had a sweeping grassy park behind it. We settled under a pine tree and enjoyed some morning tea.

Everytime we left one of these lovely sandy beaches, there was a climb back up to walk around the next rocky outcrop. Before leaving Bronte, Zac and I went and checked out the Bronte Baths – another pool that is built into rocks. The waves were crashing over the sides, but this added to the adrenaline rush for a bunch of kids and teenagers who held onto the chain fence and allowed the waves to crash over them. The waves crashed so high, Zac and I almost got drenched up on the path!

Any surfer out in today’s conditions was either very experienced or very stupid as conditions were quite rough all along the coast today.

Waverley Cemetery covers a lot of prime real estate along the next stretch of coastline… you could argue that the views along this coast are to die for….

In June 2016 a storm caused damage to the walking track and we had to detour through the cemetery before re-joining the coast near the Clovelly Bowling Club. The view from here back the way we came was great, with Bondi still visible in the distance.

Clovelly Beach was tiny, but had a very narrow inlet. It was a popular beach with families. We found another shady spot under the trees and ate our lunch we’d brought along with us.

The final part of the walk took us around to Gordons Bay which was more rocks than beach, but that did not stop a group of brave sunbakers from finding a spot to bake themselves.

From Dolphins Point the wide sweep of Coogee Beach appeared before our eyes. To celebrate our efforts the kids had a paddle in the waters of Coogee. While we were there a swimmer was pulled from the surf unconscious, with ambulances and police appearing soon after. A helicopter hovered over the bay for several minutes as well. We thought they were looking for other missing people, but it was a Channel 7 chopper and we saw it on the news that night. Apparently the 60 year old man was revived and was okay.

Ethan in particular got quite wet – the dramatic foamy swell had abated somewhat but somehow he got quite wet. After a bit of drying time we caught the bus from Coogee back to Hyde Park and returned to the apartment. 

Ocean views, towering sandstone cliffs, crashing waves and golden beaches were what we were looking for and we got them all and more! Great day out!

The view from the roof later in the evening...