The Best Way to See Sydney?

We checked to see others’ recommended “must-do’s while in Sydney” and three walks were on all the lists. Clearly, one of the best ways to see Sydney includes walks with sweeping views of the sea, the harbor, and beaches – with a few parks and woods thrown in to round out the experience. We want to tell you about three of those walks that we took:

Coogee Beach to Bondi Beach

We took a bus to Coogee, and our first view of the water was the bath at the base of the rock cliff.  Several swimmers were enjoying the water on a warm Fall morning. (Not sure that the water would have been warm enough for us.)

We strolled on the wide, paved walkway with continuous ocean views and watched residents playing in the park, surfers catching waves, and swimmers going every which way.

Taronga Zoo to Mossman circuit

The walking path started at the Zoo ferry stop. One minute, we were on the ferry, and, the next minute, we were off the ferry with birds chirping all around us.  Not far down the path, we discovered a rainbow lorikeet nesting in the hollow of a tree.  We walked on and started to pass a group enjoying picnic sandwiches.  A man in the group started to eat the last bite when – in a flash! – a laughing kookaburra swooped in and snatched the bread right out of this hand and landed about 4 meters away, triumphant, the bread in his beak. The bread was quite an unmanagable chunk so the kookaburra whacked it on the concrete a few times till it broke apart.  Within seconds several other kookaburras, plus one noisy miner, flew in to share the guy’s lunch.

Our walk continued through old forests and (surprising to us since it is Fall here) flowers periodically lined the path.

From Mossman we walked back through the neighborhood; dropped down many, many steps bordering the wall of the zoo; then caught the next ferry back into Sydney for our return home.

Cremorne Point to Mossman Bay

We strolled leisurely as the distance was not great.  The walk was memorable – with beautiful water views on one side and majestic houses on the other side.  We took time to watch the sailboats and birds.

We stopped at Mossman’s Boat Club – where the public is welcome — for a drink before finishing our walk in the later afternoon.   The ferry ride home gave us time to rest and take in the best views of the harbor.

 

May 2014