Bondi Beach - surf's up!

Bondi Beach is one of those mythical places that I've heard about for years, but never really had a picture in my head of what it looked like.  It's just a 45 minute ride on public transit from central Sydney, and I can imagine that in the height of summer, the place gets packed.

Bondi Beach

It took me a while to figure out that if you click on these small pictures, you get the full size version.  You can even skip all of this commentary by just clicking on the big picture to move to the next one.

Anyhow, being just a few days into spring here, and with rain yesterday and a forecast in the mid-60's F, the beach wasn't too busy, but there were plenty of surfers out in the water, and the waves were in good form.  Facing the water, it's newbies and soft boards to the left, and experienced with fiberglass boards to the right.

There were some really talented surfers out there.  I imagine that the weather is good for surfing year round, so plenty of opportunity to practice.

There's also an excellent skate park at Bondi, along with a fairly lame version of Venice's Muscle Beach.  Lots of well behaved dogs walking off leash, and plenty of little kids that I was sure were going to get washed out to sea, but never did.  Also some cool art on the walls along the walkway.

Back to the city for my last hurrah before heading up to Alice Spings and my caravan (RV) in the bush tomorrow.  I took a lap up and around the end of the Harbour Bridge, and stopped in at a small brew pub called the Tap Room for their Aussie IPA and a plate of "kangaroo croquettes".  Never had kangaroo before, so when presented with the chance, how could I say no?

Roo balls

Just a tiny bit gamey with the texture of pot roast, when you add some spices and a few more ingredients that I can't identify and then deep fry them, they make for the perfect pub fare to go with a cold beer.

Here are a few final photos from my Sydney walkabout.  Signing off for now and I expect for a while.  No idea what to expect up in Alice Spings and around Uluru and the Kings Canyon National Park.  Hoping to take a lot of great photos and get my drone up in the air.

Manly, Harleys & Beer

Sydney's Iconic View

I met an Aussie on the flight over who said that a ferry ride up to the suburb of Manly was a very good way to spend an afternoon.  The ferry runs right from Circular Quay and leaves every 30 minutes for the ~20 minute journey.  Some time spent poking around the Internet before I went found one of Australia's oldest craft breweries right at the Manly warf, and North Beaches Harley-Davidson a short Uber ride to the north.  Sounds like a Manly kind of day!

Departing Circular Quay

The ferry ride itself is amazing with views of the city, the Opera House, and the Harbor Bridge - along with great views of the many coves and beachfront homes that make up I'm sure some of the most expensive houses in Sydney.

Sydney Opera House

The Opera House is an amazing structure from all angles.  I wonder if Pearl Jam ever played there?

Manly living

Manly would be to Sydney what Bainbridge Island is to Seattle.  Close enough for a commute if necessary, but a world away in terms of pace.

From the inner protected warf, it's a 5 minute walk across a pedestrian plaza lined with bikini and surfboard shops to the ocean beach.  As I arrived, a stage was being set up for Manly's Evening Jazz program which unfortunately doesn't start until the weekend when I'll be long gone.

Manly Beach

From Manly Beach, I grabbed an Uber for a 10 minute ride up to North Beaches Harley-Davidson with the idea of checking out the inventory and costs relative to the US, and of course, to buy a t-shirt.  In the end, it turned out to be pretty much same-same but with heavy emphasis on Sportsters and other smaller bare bones models  Not so much of the big baggers that are pushed in my local shop.  Owner of the shop says the roads in Australia are not as good as in the US - no freeways, mostly rural 2 lane roads, so I guess less of the 80mph, 500 mile days that are typical of cross  country rides in the States.

After beaches and bikes, you of course need beer - so Uber back to the warf and to the 4 Pines brewpub sitting up on the 2nd floor just across from the ferry landing.  Enjoyed a nice pint of New Zealand Pale Strong ale along with some bread and hummus and some tasty calamari & finished with a short time in the brewhouse with the head brewer who shared tastes of a couple of experimental beers - one brewed with hemp seed and one with seaweed.  Both were excellent!

Micro Beers on the balcony

I was really impressed by this brewpub and the brewer.  They seem to be really into the craft and trying new things, brewing over 60 different styles each year I'm told.  The great thing about brewpubs is that it really allows for that kind of experimentation.  These guys also can their beers for the outside market, and seem to have a good balance to should provide for good income while still being "craft".

4 Pines Brewhouse

Heading back to Sydney, I get the reverse view of things which is no less wonderful.

It's been a good day!

15 hours to the other side of the world

My 15 hour flight from LAX to SYD was really not so bad.  I think its sort of a memory muscle that builds up over time doing long trips.  I actually appreciate that it's so hard to get here - otherwise it would lose some of it's specialness.  I watched a movie on the plane that dealt with worm holes and ways to skip across the universe. I guess that would be cool, but something would definitely be lost if someone could get to the other side of the planet without some effort and a bit of suffering.


Sydney Harbour daytime timelapse from Paul Taylor on Vimeo.

I'm too tired to write, but don't want to make the mistake of sleeping during the Australian day.  Many things to see and do, so staying upright for now.  Well, maybe just a little nap...

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Darling Harbour

15 hours later, I meandered through the central business district of Sydney to Darling Harbour - another jumping off point for ferries, a place to catch a party boat, or visit museums, the city aquarium, and other tourist attractions.  If Circular Quay is similar to the Seattle ferry terminal area, Darling Harbour is the equivalent of the Seattle waterfront to the north, less Ye Old Curiosity Shop.

In my now more than 24 hours in the city, I can say from my extensive experience that Seattle and Sydney seem to be twins separated at birth and sent to opposite sides of the planet.  The biggest differences I see are:

• There are few to no people who appear to be of African, Middle Eastern or Indian origin.  Mainly European and Asian.  Given the geographies, I suppose that makes some sense.
• No insane people on the street, no one begging passers by for change, no one camping in public places.  It's very clean here, with no obvious reason why (i.e no heavy presence of police or other authority).  I'm thinking Seattle's mayor might want to pay a visit and see what she can learn.

Darling Harbour Aquarium

Other than those things, I think you'd find yourself hard pressed to tell a significant difference - on the surface anyway.  I suspect that the differences that are easy to see have some deeper underlying roots in the culture.  We'll see if my perceptions or understanding change over the next few days.  

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

I'm going to the Land Down Under where Women glow and Men plunder (click me)

Seems like I've been trying to get to Oz since this song came out back in the early 80s.  I've been to other places just as far away, but always thought that it would be pointless to go to someplace as vast as Australia without at least a month (or six) to explore.  Australia is roughly the size of the US, so even with three weeks in front of me, I'm just going to get a small sample.  A week in Sydney, staying on the harbor at Circular Quay followed by a week around Alice Springs, Uluru, and the Outback in a RV and ending with a week-long liveaboard dive trip out of Cairns, north to the Coral Sea.  A 15 hour flight from LA to Sydney seems daunting, but there are worse things in life than having 15 hours with nothing to do but sleep, eat, read, and binge watch Netflix shows.  

something to look forward to:  https://vimeo.com/290798606