Solo Journey to Sydney - Day 3

Solo Journey to Sydney!

Every girl’s dream is to experience solo travel, so, to mark my #dirty30’s, I took courage and traveled – alone, to Sydney, Australia.

*Late post. Travel was completed two years ago, during the last week of November 2015.

27 November 2015

Day Three. Bondi, Beach Bondi.

After the mountain adventure yesterday, it’s about time to explore Sydney’s beach attractions.

But first, I had to transfer to another backpacker’s hostel. I booked a bed in an all-female dorm type room in Sydney Central YHA for my third night in Sydney. I was impressed the instant I set foot inside the hostel. The lounge was luxurious, the toilets were clean and the pillows and sheets were beyond comfortable. I should have stayed here since Day 1, unfortunately, all rooms were booked for the past two days.

Since check-in was at 2pm, I had to deposit my luggage in the locker room of YHA. Man, the lockers were advanced technology for me. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out how to activate my rented locker. Whew!!!

After storing my luggage, it’s now time to do the Cogee to Bondi scenic ocean view walk.

Clad in black tee and checkered skirt-shorts, I started the cliff top coastal walk from Cogee beach. I passed through stunning parks, sparkling bays, golden beaches and secret rock pools. There were also places to rest, toilets and picnic areas.

The trail hundred meters north from Cogee beach.

The Cogee to Bondi walk, considered as the best Sydney coastal track, covered a lot of famous beaches. The first beach in the trail was Cogee and this was followed by Gordon’s Bay. Next was Clovelly beach where I rested for a bit. After relaxing my tired limbs, I continued the walk and stopped at Waverley Cemetery to capture the jaw-dropping vista. There were thousands of intricately designed marble gravestones blanketing the cliff tops. Since the gravestones were mostly white, they seemed to glitter under the sun and quite dazzling to the eyes.

The stunning view from Waverley cemetery look-out.

First rest stop at Clovelly Beach.

I stopped next at Bronte beach and in front of it was a sprawling park dotted with picnic sheds and playground. I had my snacks consisting of Sirena chili tuna (OMG my favourite) and cinnamon rolls in the picnic area. While snacking, I observed a lot of families in the park having their typical Australian barbie (Aussie’s slang for BBQ).

After Bronte, I continued the trail and rested for a bit at Tamarama beach. This was where I’d seen drinking water fountains mounted in the beach (right in the sand) dispersing cold potable water for free. I was amazed because it was for free! Deep inside, I wished that someday we can have the same free water service right in our own Philippine beaches.

At that point, I was already dead tired, but got encouraged to carry on because my next and last stop was the famous Bondi beach I only read before in travel magazines. In a couple of minutes, I would be able to see it in real life.

That Bondi pose.

Sydney’s iconic Bondi beach is definitely one of the most famous beaches in Australia. This beach has something for everyone: sweeping views of the ocean, surf waves, fine golden sand, glitzy bars and cafes, graffiti art and…. smokin’ hot male surfers.

Australias' famous Bondi beach.

Bondi beach street art.

To reward myself for completing the coastal walk, I had my lunch in the famous Bondi Icebergs Club. I ordered my favourite Australian meal “fish and chips” and partnered it with a cold glass of dark ale. From here, I was able to capture amazing views of the ocean with the two pools below the restaurant. 

Different shades of blue.

My favourite fish and chips set in that perfect spot.

Quite expensive for a tourist like me but I just have to reward myself after the exhausting Cogee to Bondi walk.

The six kilometre walkway took me more than three hours to complete. I thought it would be a leisure stroll, but I was so wrong, there were lots of steep gradient paths and staircases along the track. I also underestimated the Australian sun and did not apply any sunblock. As a result, I got two shades darker. But that’s okay!  Just a little price to pay in exchange of the expansive South Pacific ocean views and Australian beach culture I discovered that day.

Bondi beach selfie, because...why not?

After exploring Bondi beach, I travelled back to Queen Victoria Building in central Sydney to retrieve my newly cleaned bracelet. All Pandora stores in Australia offer free cleaning of their products. Yay!!!

The sun was still up and I decided to go back to Circular Quay. I planned to visit the Museum for Contemporary Arts and the General’s House. Unfortunately, both were already closed at that time.

Since the museum was closed, better to take photos in the exteriors.

The modern design is just fitting for the Contemporary museum.

I went back to YHA, had dinner and tucked myself early to bed. Tomorrow, I would be picked up early in front of my hostel for a Hunter Valley wine tasting tour. So excited!!!