Things to do in Sydney when you’re alive
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Bushfire smoke from the Blue Mountains |
We’re back in Sydney, we have jobs, we even have a flat. Doris has been sold (bless her lil constantly-breaking-down cottons) and we’re trying to fix up Scrappy in a desperate attempt to re-coup some of the money we spent on the bloody things. Some, cos there ain’t no chance of getting all of it back.
Anyway, I’ve made a mission of trying to experience more of Sydney. The last time we were here we stayed at home far too much, although a lot of that was money-related (hah! I don’t have a massive credit card bill to pay off, oh no). Either way though, it’s time to look around a bit more – time to be a tourist.
The story so far:
Christmas on the Beach
Our flat is right by Coogee Beach in the eastern suburbs, and naturally I wanted to try this strange Aussie practice of Christmas on the beach. Rob, on the other hand, was eagerly awaiting a return to his version of normality. A barbecue was planned with the guys next door, but as it turned out we ate just about everything two days before on our ‘practice run’. Oops. Still, frozen chickens and ready-mix gravy to the rescue, and a spell on the sand while we waited for them to roast nicely – those eskies come in useful for plenty more than camping!
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‘St’ Nick on his mini-moto |
The sun was shining and the lads were sweltering. What else would you expect of a bunch of nutters wearing Santa suits in 35�C heat? Especially Nick (from next door) whose first act of the day was to hop on his Suzuki TL-1000 and broom his way up and down Bondi Parade as a high-speed Santa, then along the prom on his tiny mini-moto. But we had plenty of beer and a spot on the beach, plus easy access to the lovely, cooling waves. Sea gooooood.
Then again, the day toned down later on as we spotted the bushfire smoke creeping up from the Blue Mountains and Royal National Park to the south. For anyone who missed the news, the fires were huge and burned for a couple of weeks – the region was lucky not to lose more parkland or homes, and the fire fighters are generally the most popular people in town. Nice one, lads and lasses.
Volvo Ocean Race and Sydney-to-Hobart
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Djuice, RTW yacht (before the race) |
On Boxing Day, we were brave enough to venture forth in the early hours (10am is early!) and claim a spot on near the Harbour entrance to watch the Round the World and Sydney to Hobart yachts make their exit, off on another leg. Unfortunately it was a smoky, almost smoggy day, and the city centre was very hard to make out… bushfires don’t go out that quickly.
Anyway, it was pretty exciting – and not just due to the yachts. Even though we turned up early it was hard to keep a spot, so in the end we clambered over the railings and inched our way across the overhang that is the cliff edge. Nice views down there, plenty of rocks, lots of waves. Keep balance, don’t back away too far so that your mate can take a piccie of you’n’ the yachts. Mmm.
Back to the boats though, and I really admire them for managing to get out of the Harbour and off to sea safely with all those tiny little boats and assorted tourist vessels getting in the way. Apparently they had worse luck further on, partly due to smoke and partly due to a baby cyclone that turned up out of nowhere and damaged some of the fleet. However, seeing them come round the head and unfurl sails reminded me of the Whitsundays… I wanna go sailing again! (must save money, must save money)
New Year’s Eve on Circular Quay
Next up: New Year’s!! For the last few years, Sydney has been known for its New Year celebrations – being close to the International Date Line and home to the 2000 Olympics seems to have its benefits 🙂
All the goss tells you to turn up early, or don’t bother. There’s even family-oriented events in the afternoon to convince parents that they don’t have to bring the rugrats to the craziness later on, although if you’re smart enough to buy a ticket for the fly-over near Circular Quay or other controlled areas, you’re laughing. We, however, went for the ancient tradition of buying two crates of VB and gathering our forces (the Dutch-Brit-Irish-Kiwi conglomerate) to take over a handy section of wall opposite the Opera House.
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Fireworks over the Opera House |
We were not disappointed. The 9pm fireworks were fantastic, but midnight was better. Fireworks galore, timed to perfection, gorgeous colours. Slightly tacky music as a background (the 2000 Olympic theme), but you could hardly hear it over the screams and yells – not to mention the bangs. Nice old boats like the Bounty were out on the water too, all lit up along the ropes and masts. Oh yes, and if you ever need the loo on New Year’s and need to find a pub, the Orient was surprisingly good (even for girls!).
The Coogee to Bondi walk
This strip of coastline is beautiful, rocky and cliffy enough to make me think of all those movies set in rural Ireland, minus the American actors with dreadful accents. The walk takes 1� hours – more if you start further south at Maroubra – and is great on a sunny day, just take some water and wear half decent shoes cos it isn’t exactly flat! And sunnies are essential, as foam on a bright day takes on a whole new shade of white, now known as ‘OUCH!’
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Coogee Beach |
Coogee looks great from the North Head, with the promenade and lil green strip, but there’s plenty more bays to look at on the way to Bondi. Gordon’s Bay first (no beach, but nice and woody), followed by Clovelly (small and quiet), then a walk through Waverley Cemetery on the way to Bronte Beach (lots of parkland just inland, plenty of public barbecues). The cemetery is one of the oldest in Sydney, running out of space – and crumbling into the sea in some parts – but still popular enough that those rich enough will book their very own plot years in advance of, um, moving in.
Not long left before Bondi, and there’s only Tamarama left – a nice enough looking bay, but with the sides reinforced with a bit too much concrete perhaps. And then, there it is: Bondi, one of the most famous beaches in Sydney, if not Australia. While we were there a capoiera group where doing a demonstration – amazing moves! – and there’s sometimes stuff going on at the pavilion too. Then again, I do find Bondi too commercial: too many shops and too many beautiful people. It’s a nice place for a day trip, but give me the more casual version of Coogee any day.
Eastern Creek Raceway & Oran Park
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Race day at Eastern Creek |
Where? A couple of race tracks, of the motor sport variety. Why? Because Rob and Nick are bike crazy, so off we buzzed on two successive Sundays to the track – the lads riding, and me hanging on to the back of Rob’s nearly-new (aka Nick’s second hand) CBRR 250… not quite up to the TL’s standard, but good enough.
Anyway, I won’t try to get techy cos I know sod all about bikes, but Eastern Creek was a good laugh. It was a Classic Bikes race day, featuring oldie Brit star Barry Sheene (now living on the Gold Coast), and a whole range of well-maintained bikes of varying performance. It was a bit awkward seeing an immaculately kept classic being lapped again and again by slightly more modern machines, but they seemed to be having fun at least!
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Me in sexy (?) leathers |
The next weekend saw us at Oran Park, um, hanging off the back of racing sidecars. Yes, you read correctly. The three of us got day-licences, kitted up in helmets and full leathers, and spent the better part of a day clinging to these weird things that race round corners at stupid speeds (and muscle-wrenching G-force), swinging from side to side and reaching for awkward handholds to help the driver go even faster! Crazy yes, fun definitely. An essential day out for the pre-straitjacketed, run by the local bike/sidecar club 🙂
Harbour Cruise
This was my Valentine’s present to Rob: a lunch cruise with Magistic on Sydney Harbour (um, booked at Lastminute.com.au for extra cheapness). We headed down to King Street Wharf on Darling Harbour and spotted the nice big catamaran taking us and a fair few others out on the water for the next couple of hours. Sparkling water, and it was even a bright and sunny day, not too windy. Our eyes got greedy as we spotted the buffet provided for lunch too – lots ‘n’ lots of seafood… yummm…
Off we chugged, round to Circular Quay (not far, but by which time most of the buffet had vanished) and on past the Opera House toward the Entrance. There was a really good commentary from the crew, but to be honest I don’t remember a great deal – too busy looking out the window or running on deck to take piccies in my usual Japanese tourist style. Lots of stuff about how the harbour-side was developed, which parts were originally islands, where assorted famous people live.
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The view from the water |
The views were gorgeous though, especially looking back toward the city, bridge and Opera House. Heartily recommended for anyone wanting to get a different view of both the city and the Harbour – and if you’re running low on food you can stuff yourself on the buffet and desserts to your heart’s content!
The Mardi Gras Parade
The most recent of our activities, and one of the funniest. Sydney’s Mardi Gras is not quite like New Orleans, but close to both that and the Rio Carnival… it’s just a bit more political, for gays and lesbians in particular. It runs along Oxford Street, which was packed with both people and the essential Mardi Gras accessory, milk crates (to stand on), and lasts about three hours.
It all starts with the Dykes on Bikes crowd, though this was preceded by a group marching in memory of those who’ve died of AIDS this year, followed by the loudest and most colourful floats and dancers I’ve ever seen. Fantastic, and a great party atmosphere. There was a whole range of topics: one group had a go at the Pope and Anglican bishops (probs with Catholics, and Australia’s Governor-General who has been very insensitive to rape victims in the past), another bearing a huuuuge Bob the Builder (did you know he has pierced nipples?), and of course the Backpacker float – a recent idea, brought about by all the international gays and lesbians staying hostels around Sydney during Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras isn’t just about the parade though, there’s a lot more stuff going on like plays and comedy and dance and… I didn’t go, I’m not cultured enough – and too lazy. It’s a great event though, well worth seeing and deserving of its reputation. If you’re in Sydney at the right time, grab a milk crate go find yourself a spot.
And that’s all for now: I’ll write up more of our exploits in Sydney sometime soon!