Maroubra to Bondi

Maroubra Beach

A man made swimming pool.

Views of the coastline.

Bondi Beach and the thousands of runners and all the tents and kiosks for the City to Surf 15km Run

Finally back to the harbour in time to see a huge cruise ship sail past the Opera House.

Sunday, August 14^th

I received an e-mail this morning from John's wife Betty with the really sad news that his cancer operation was only partly successful, there is still cancer in his lungs and now they have found it in his lymph nodes. The outlook, to use her word is 'grim'.

I talked to the lady on the desk at the hostel about where I might find a good walk. She suggested going to Maraubra Beach and walking north along the coast to Bondi Beach. I have heard of Bondi through Midnight Oil. She also told me that there was a 15km run called the City to Surf Run which was finishing at Bondi. So I decided to go for that walk.

The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny. I walked the short distance to Maraubra Beach and watched a few surfers, a couple of swimmers and people out for a walk. I walked along the boardwalk to the end of the beach and then climbed up and over the rocks. The coast line alternates between rough rocky headlands and cove beaches. At a couple of places you had to go inland a bit to get around houses that were right on the shore but most of the walk was right along the coast.

I continued along the shore from beach to beach, past Coogee Beach, Gordan Bay Beach, Clovelly Beach, Waverley Cemetary, Bronte Beach, Tamarama Beach and finally to Bondi, which was the largest of them all.

By the time I arrived the fastest runners had arrived. I walked around the site and looked at all the people, tents of food, running kiosks and I watched the finish line for a bit too. Then I walked along the beach and enjoyed the vibe of the runner's party and the seaside environment. I had a bacon and egg sandwich supplied by the Surfers Life Guard Service and then decided to head back.

I basically retraced the run route in reverse and walked the 15 kms back to the CBD. It took a long time but was a pleasant walk. I had to walk around a huge golf course and through a couple of upscale neighbourhoods where I got lost in the maze-like streets. I had to ask a woman how to get out of one of them and she showed me a 'secret' staircase that went up and over the hill and got me back to the main road which eventually led me back to the Botanical Gardens and then the Opera House. By this time I was exhausted.

At the harbour, the buses, ferries, and the train all meet. I bought a $17 ticket for the train (this is not the usual train fare but there is a surcharge for the airport stations), to take me to the airport. It was a beautiful train: double decker, new, fast, and quiet. I arrived in plenty of time and had much less hassle with the airport than on Friday. The flight was with Qantas and although it was only 75 minutes they still fed me a meal! In Melbourne I caught the bus to the parking lot and found my car quite easily and drove home. A whirlwind trip to Sydney but lots of fun. It is a beautiful city and I hope to return before the end of my year.