Challenges from the Wordpress Community
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November in Sydney and the temperatures soared to 36 degrees (and I am talking centigrade here) for almost a week. People flocked to the beaches to bake in the warmth of the sun.
Thank you WPC for giving me an excuse to post more photos from Australia, this time with a yellow theme 🙂
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David Jones department store is famous for its animated Christmas window displays. And rightly so. I’m only sorry I didn’t get out in the evening to capture these all lit up, but trust me, they are superb and every child in Sydney ought to be taken to look at them.
Ursula Dubosarsky the award-winning Sydney children’s author was thrilled when asked to write an original story with an Australian flavour for the windows this year.
“I was thinking kangaroos, wallabies and koalas,” Dubosarsky says, but she quickly came around to the idea of using a reindeer. “It suggested a nice story of the Australian experience, which is very often an immigrant experience. Apart from indigenous people, we all appeared here from other cultures.”
Dubosarsky took home the toy reindeer to use for inspiration, as she often does. “You get a bit more personality from a toy. You know how it is, you think your teddy bear is talking to you,” she says. “I still use that technique, so I sat there with the reindeer.”
The tale he told her, Reindeer’s Christmas Surprise, was about visiting all his animal friends with presents, before getting a lovely surprise himself at the end of the story.
I began this popular cliff-top walk from Clovelly after taking a bus from the city (#339 ) to Clovelly beach. Walking down past a little cafe, the Seasalt Café and Kiosk, and public toilets which overlook the beach brings you to a footpath and the beach. A group of males were frolicking in the water in their budgy-smugglers, not sure who they are but they certainly had a few muscles between them 🙂
The walk from Clovelly to Bondi is about 4 km but there are quite a lot of steps and stairs on this route. Clovelly beach is a popular swimming and snorkelling spot and home to a fish called the blue grouper that is affectionately protected by the locals.
My first stop was at Waverley cemetery which may boast the world’s most scenic location.
Then on to Bronte beach. The ocean pool is very popular with children as is the sea-themed playground.
The path continues across the beach to Tamarama nicknamed by locals as Glamarama because of the bronzed and buffed bodies to be found there. En route you pass crumbling apartment blocks and multimillion dollar mansions.
Continuing along the very interesting sandstone cliffs sculptured by the sea and wind, you reach Mackenzies Point where there is a well-placed lookout point.
The coastal path then continues down to the Bondi Icebergs Club, so called because members swim all year round in its saltwater pool. Climbing up the last of the steps brings you to the southern end of Bondi’s beach and a bus ride back to the city.
This is a classic Sydney beach experience. Think stunning ocean views, invigorating salt air and the opportunity to cool off in the salt water pools along the way.
If you enjoy a walk, short or long, then you may enjoy visiting Jo’s Monday Walk where you are in for a treat.
TRAVEL WORDS 