RadioRoryI love the beach, but after sitting there for 10 minutes I need to start walking. Maybe it’s a holdover from my old days as Beach Patrol, walking up and down the town beach in Narragansett looking for lost children and confiscating alcohol. It’s more likely that I want to escape the harsh sun and stop my Irish skin from turning beet red.
The Coogee to Bondi Beach coastal walk is my idea of a perfect beach day. The hike can be a challenge, and it was more of a challenge than it should have been. It turns out, I took the bus to the wrong place. Instead of walking almost four miles, I hiked over seven. Some of the trek was hard and it got worse as the tide rolled in. I was walking on the water’s edge with two young women when we were cut off by the encroaching surf. Small waves were coming up through the rocks and we tried to time the exact moment when we could jump from rock to rock without getting our shoes too wet. They had moderate success. I failed, miserably.
Squishy shoes wouldn’t stop me.
Every corner revealed a new swimming hole, rock formation, surfing spot, or incredible view.
Then there’s Waverley Cemetery.
While a never-ending stream of tourists cuts through the sprawling seaside cemetery, the grave markers are fascinating.
This one is for Charles Owen Heart, a high-diver with the Fitzgerald Brothers Circus, who was killed during a performance in 1896.
In a different part of the coast, you get an unexpected, and perhaps unwanted, view while walking to Hornby Lighthouse. Located at the tip of Watson’s Bay, you hike above a nude beach on your way to the light.
Back in the city, Sydney is easy to navigate on foot. It’s mostly flat with big sidewalks, traffic signals, and a fraction of the scooters that buzz the streets of Southeast Asia.
The Botanic Gardens include the harbourfront viewing point Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair, there’s upscale shopping at the Queen Victoria Building.
One of my favorites is the Forgotten Songs art display.
The empty cages represent the 50 native bird species that have been driven out of the city by its development and expansion. Speakers recreate the sounds the birds would have made before skyscrapers replaced the trees. It’s an unexpected find as you walk through the heart of Sydney.
Luckily, after all that hiking and walking, there are more than a couple of places to grab a beer and map out your next trek.