Australia

weekend walks: coogee to bondi

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A sunny and warm autumn day called for us to visit the beach. So we chose to walk from Coogee to Bondi and back – totalling about 12 km all up!

The conditions were perfect for our weekend walk along the Eastern Coast which took us from Coogee to Clovelly to Bronte onto Tamarama before ending up on world famous, Bondi Beach! The walk took us up some steep inclines and steps but the view compensated for any pain we felt at times!

To finish off the walk, we met a Blue-Tongued Lizard – we had SO hoped to capture his blue tongue for the post but unfortunately he became very camera shy! And for the record, his tongue is very blue!

Looking north from Coogee
Looking north from Coogee
Looking towards Maroubra from Coogee
Looking towards Maroubra from Coogee
Gordon's Bay
Gordon’s Bay
Looking out from Clovelly Car Park
Looking out from Clovelly Car Park
Waverley Cemetery
Waverley Cemetery
Looking back after passing the cemetery
Looking back after passing the cemetery
Bronte and beyond
Bronte and beyond
Bronte cliff faces
Bronte cliff faces
North looking south after Tamarama
 Looking south to Bronte
Creeping towards Bondi
Creeping towards Bondi
Enormous rock on the path towards Bondi
Enormous rock on the path towards Bondi
World famous Bondi Beach
World famous Bondi Beach
Mr Blue-Tongue himself
Mr Blue-Tongue himself

Wishing you all a lovely week ahead! 

This entry was posted in Australia, New South Wales, Oceania, Weekend Walks and tagged , , , , , , .

weekend walks: the rocks

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Just in time for St Patrick’s Day we visited St Patrick’s Church in Sydney City, for the first time ever, the traditional heartland of Sydney’s Irish working class Catholics.

St Patrick's Church
St Patrick’s Church
St Patrick's himself
St Patrick’s himself

Well, we didn’t only visit St Patrick’s, we spent 2 hours walking approximately 7km around Circular Quay and The Rocks. The City of Sydney have very useful Historical Walking Tour brochures  which we used this week while playing tourists in our home city. We chose to do the COLONY walk. And we saw things that we had walked past a thousand times in our lifetime but never really stopped to learn about it or even really “look” at it.

Customs House - where shipping was cleared and goods were taxed
Customs House – where shipping was cleared and goods were taxed
The flag post where the first British flag was raised. The flag flies permanently here.
The flag post where the first British flag was raised. The flag still flies permanently here
The original anchor of the ship that sailed into Sydney Cove back in 1788.
The original anchor of the ship that sailed into Sydney Cove back in 1788
Lands Department Building
Lands Department Building
Old steps leading to Cumberland Place and Susannah Place.
Old steps leading to Cumberland Place and Susannah Place
Susannah's Place - a museum into the lives of the mid-19th century residents
Susannah Place – a museum into the lives of the mid-19th century residents
The entrance to Susannah's place - unfortunately it was closed.
The entrance to Susannah place – unfortunately it was closed
View from Observatory Hill towards Walsh Bay Wharves
View from Observatory Hill towards Walsh Bay Wharves
Iconic Moreton Bay Fig trees on Observatory Hill with the Harbour Bridge just peaking through
Iconic Moreton Bay Fig trees on Observatory Hill with the Harbour Bridge just peaking through
Lord Nelson Hotel - one of the oldest pubs in Sydney
Lord Nelson Hotel – one of the oldest pubs in Sydney
Garrison Church - the first official military church in the state.
Garrison Church – the first official military church in the state
Heading down Ferry Lane to the wharves
Heading down Ferry Lane to the wharves
Walsh Bay Wharves - established in 1901 to contain the chaos at Sydney's waterfront
Walsh Bay Wharves – established in 1901 to contain the chaos at Sydney’s waterfront
Walking underneath the Harbour Bridge
Walking underneath the Harbour Bridge
One of several murals painted on Cumberland St.
One of several murals painted on Cumberland St
Our wedding reception (thrown in for good measure)
Our wedding reception venue (thrown in for good measure)

We are a day early but Happy St Patrick’s Day 🙂

Have a great week ahead.

This entry was posted in Australia, New South Wales, Oceania, Weekend Walks and tagged , , , , , .

weekend walks: cumberland state forest

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We are hoping “Weekend Walks” will become a regular feature of our blog as we are hoping that walking will become a regular feature in our weekends. Since our hike in Cradle Mountain, we have become inspired!

Our first weekend walk was in Cumberland State Forest. It is only about half an hour from Sydney and is the state’s only metropolitan forest. There are three tracks available for walking: 2 at moderate grade (approximately 1 km each) and 1 easy grade (approximately 350 m). All can be started and finished at the main car park near the Forest Visitor Centre which also has a nursery and cafe attached.

Hope you enjoy our photos… beware the funnel web, the bull ant (we think) and the 10-15kg Bunya Pine.

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This entry was posted in New South Wales, Weekend Walks and tagged , , , , , .

introducing sheffield: town of murals

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We stayed in Sheffield while in Tasmania and used it as our base to visit Cradle Mountain National Park.

It can definitely be described as an open-air art gallery. There are murals painted everywhere and the artwork is simply spectacular.

No words are needed to describe this quaint and pretty town! We will let the photos of the murals canvasing the  streets do the talking. Hope you enjoy our photo essay.

(Photos taken by wisemonkeysabroad.com)

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This entry was posted in Australia, Oceania, Tasmania and tagged , , , , , , .