The next day Andrew and I took off on our own as did Kathy. Kathy had a special interest learning about the indigenous people of Australia and some of the affiliated horticulture of the area, and we wanted to do some hiking and exploring some of the less touristy areas around central Sydney. Our plan to meet up midday worked out really well.
We started out on a long walk through a beautiful suburban park and preserve that ended at a scenic place called – really – Jew Fish Bay. Oatley Park is a 112 acres reserve located on a promontory jutting into the Georges River in the southern Sydney suburb of Oatley. It is bounded by the Georges River, Lime Kiln Bay, and… Jew Fish Bay. The park itself has many trails wandering through it and lots of native plants and animals to spot along the way.
We’d worked up an appetite hiking in the morning so we took the recommendation of our hosts and had lunch at a quaint bakery/cafe in Oatley called Edmunds and Greer. The cafe was attached to a high-end gift/home goods shop and it was clear that the main clientele was retired women who liked to “lunch”. While we were there a group of senior women strolled through after celebrating the birthday of one of their friends who was turning 75 or 80 (I can’t remember). The “birthday girl” stopped to chat when we wished her well – such a big smile! Turns out the food was great and we ended up back there again later in our trip. The owner came over to us to say hello and when we told her we were from California she said “What in the world are you two (tourists) doing in Oatley of all places?” We all got a laugh but this is what happens often on our home exchanges…we end up with the locals – we love it.
Off to Famous Bondi Beach and Meeting New Friends
There was no way we could come to Sydney and not visit Bondi Beach and do the Coastal Walk along the adjacent eastern beaches. Bondi is known to be “where the action is” for great white sand, a beautiful bay for swimming, and many restaurants and cafes plus clubs for the evening crowd. It turned out that the weather could not have been more perfect! There is a wonderful, paved path that wanders from Bondi along the coast where there are many incredibly lovely smaller bay-type beaches and the vistas are incredible. Along this path is The Icebergs – the only licensed Swimming Club in the world, founded in 1929. The famous Bondi Baths have been a historical landmark of Bondi Beach for over 100 years and are open to the public all year round. It owes its origin to a bunch of local life savers with a desire to maintain their fitness during the Winter months. You can become a member of the club as a resident or pay a daily fee to use the facilities…they have a gym, a pub, and more. While we didn’t partake, we were smitten by the location and views swimmers had from the lap and play pools.
Next up was a visit with some new friends. I’d struck up a conversation via Home Exchange with a gregarious guy named Ethan Weisz. He and his partner and young daughter live in a lovely part of Sydney called Dover Heights. Before we arrived down under, we had committed to each other that we’d get together. Ethan and crew were in Queenstown at the same time we were, but we just couldn’t make a connection there. Once we got to Sydney, we were invited to Ethan’s home for lunch. I thought that Andrew was the most outgoing “people person” on the planet but Ethan takes that prize. He shared with us that while he and his family love to do exchanges, he really loves meeting and developing friends globally whether they end up exchanging homes or not! Beautiful. We were treated to a great spread of local sushi/sashimi and salads, and got to meet Priscilla and their 5-year-old daughter, Ava. We found many things in common – including our Jewish affiliation – and I’ve a feeling that they will visit us in the future which would be terrific!
More to come…
Living La Vida Loca 