Watsons Bay to Vaucluse

And on the tenth day the rain drops finally stopped falling from the sky.  To celebrate the first day in what seemed like forever without an umbrella we took the 324 from Circular Quay to the Macquarie Lighthouse, the first stop on our five mile walk.  This lighthouse is a replica of the original lighthouse that was first built in 1818. 
Throughout the walk we saw a variety of ocean and harbourside terrain and views.   We continued the walk along the coast which is part of Sydney Harbour National Park. 






This walk was a little more adventurous than the Bondi walk because at times the path was non existent and we were climbing up make shift steps from rocks or walking through the brush pushing aside branches to avoid the large rain puddles left in the middle of the road by the week plus of rain. 




As we continued along through Gap Park we reached Dunbar's anchor.  The anchor marks the location of Australia's worst maritime disaster.  The Dunbar ship crashed into the rocks and there was only one survivor.

 As we continued on we reached Watsons Bay.  In the summer Watsons Bay would be filled with sunbathers and boaters.  Since it is still winter all the boats were docked and there were just a few brave scuba divers in full wetsuits.  The most adventurous part of the Watsons Bay portion of our walk was the sprint across the beach.  High tide was in full effect as we set foot on what little sand remained on the far right of the beach.  Timing the waves we walked at a fast pace to try and reach the curve which signified the end at which point we would rejoin the wooden path alongside the cliffs leading to Lady Bay Beach and Hornby Lighthouse.

However, about half way through the tide and waves were inching closer to our toes.  At this point the running began.  Two of the girls made it safely to the other side because they had a head start in the beginning.  The rest of us got a later start (due to photography) and the running was not timed very well with  the ever approaching tide.  Lucky for us this was the part of the beach where there was a raised wooden ledge and fence.  Two of us made the jump fast enough to climb along the side and escape the water but one ended up with a wet left foot and calf.

  But by the end of the five miles waiting at a bus stop on a dark curvy road which felt like the middle of no where all were dry and just hungry for dinner. 

The next stop was the Hornby Lighthouse which marks the entrance to the harbour.  

We then ventured toward Vaucluse which brought us through an exclusive neighborhood.  We wandered along the curvy streets and admired all of the beautiful multi million dollar homes that were behind locked gates with access by keypad.  It was a very quiet and beautiful neighborhood. 

As dusk was nearing we finally reached the long awaited Vaucluse House which was surrounded by very beautiful gardens. 

Two guided walks down and two to go from the Sydney guidebook. 

Cockatoo Island Underbelly Arts Festival

On Saturday we went to the Underbelly Arts Festival on Cockatoo Island which is a short ferry ride away from Circular Quay, the main ferry terminal in Sydney.  The art festival is a combination of modern and contemporary art.

The first exhibit we visited was "The Stream, The Boat, The Shore, and The Bridge."  It was an interactive exhibit in which we all played.  Through a series of questions, card drawing, and simple games a chalk mural was being created on a brick wall.  After you completed your rectangle you were given a patch that symbolized either the stream, the boat, the shore or the bridge.  Your task was then to go out and seek (or be sought out) three individuals that had different symbols than you and then go back to the site as a group to do an additional block.  We unfortunately failed at locating a group to complete the task with as we each had the same symbol and everyone seemed to have our symbol.  Even though we didn't make it back the mural was coming together.  

Next was "The Pattern Machine".  It involved an inflatable sculpture, projection art, and audio.  The meaning of it is up to the observers imagination.

The most interesting exhibit was "The Horizon".  It was a very dark room that caused your senses to become disoriented.  The effect of the green lasers on the field of space was deceptive.  The camera didn't do the deception justice because you actually couldn't see the floor because of the fog and lasers but the flash on the camera shows you what you couldn't see in the room. 

After the laser room was "Inflate My Heart With 1000 gushes of Wind".  This was a short choreographed performance which incorporated music, dance, kazoos, and inflatable structures. 

There were various other exhibits but these four are the most interesting and contemporary.

After we finished enjoying the art we walked around Cockatoo Island to take in views of Harbour Bridge.

Interesting Aussie Facts

Did you know.....

that revolving doors revolve in the opposite direction from the way the doors rotate in the states?
that people wait for the green cross walk light to cross a street even if there are no cars anywhere in site?
that if you see a hotel every few feet it is actually a bar because years ago the Aussies couldn't sell alcohol unless they had accommodations so they named everything a hotel and had a few rooms for accommodations?
a rollforward schedule in accounting is called a movement schedule?
that many accountants here are expats from Europe and South Africa?
the most popular phrase is "no worries"?
that there are sharps disposal containers in the park?
and you don't have to physically describe where New Jersey is because everyone in Australia knows about it from the show "Jersey Shore"?

Bondi to Coogee Beach Walk

With a few public transportation hurdles conquered, we made it to Bondi Beach.  Bondi beach is a long crescent shaped beach that attracts sunbathers and surfers from near and afar.  Our adventure at Bondi Beach began with a quick walk on the beach before lunch at the Bondi pavilion. 

We then set out on what we thought was a leisurly 5k walk to Coogie.  Little did we know the steep inclines we'd be walking up along with the long incline of stairs at various points.  But it was all worth it for the amazing views we got as we passed 6 of the top 30 beaches of Sydney. 

One of the most interesting sites along the way were the Bondi Baths at the Bondi Icebergs clubhouse.  The baths are basically pool structures that are built into the ocean that feel all of the effects of the moving tides and waves.  They are the inspiration for modern day infinity pools which are common at high end resorts.  We watched a few swimmers really get pushed around in these baths. The inner pool is more sheltered than the outer one.  You can see the white caps starting to come in and make swimming quite difficult for the swimmer in a black wetsuit in the outer pool. 

The next stop on our walk was Mackenzies Point which over looked Mackenzies Bay.  The views were absolutely stunning.  

After Mackenzies Point, we rounded the bend and continued on to Tamarama Beach.  The beach was dotted with sun bathers on this semi chilly/warm winter afternoon. 

The next point was Bronte beach. The waves and surfing at this beach was incredible.  (There were surfers in the picture to the right - somewhere lost in the crash of the wave).

The point at which the surfers entered the water appeared quite dangerous.  At one point it looked like a father and his two sons were going to be swept away at sea.  There was yet another bath and the family of surfers hung on to the ropes identifying the edge of the pool to try and jump onto rocks in the ocean to begin their paddle out to sea.  When large waves came crashing into the pool edge before the surfers got out past the rocks we lost them in the white caps.  However, they somehow managed to hang on to the ropes and eventually make it out to sea to begin their afternoon of surfing. 
















After the excitement of Bronte we continued towards Waverley and then to Clovelly and finally reaching the end at Coogee.  We approached the final three beaches towards the end of the day and we were basically the only ones in sight so it was quite peaceful and enjoyable.  Coogee was beautiful with the lush green landscape to the left, the city to the right and the fine cool sand.  The beaches of Sydney did not disappoint.

Exploring Downtown Sydney

Our first full day in Sydney was spent exploring The Rocks and Circular Quay section of downtown Sydney as well as the Botanical Gardens.  In order to get to downtown Sydney from our home in Wollstonecraft we must rely on public transportation as it is too far of a walk.  We have yet to find the train station closest to us so we have been taking the city buses.  For a mere $26AUD we can get 10 rides on the bus.

We took in breathtaking views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as well as the Opera House once we made it to downtown.  Although it looks like a beautiful warm inviting sunny day, it was actually quite chilly.  I invested in a nice warm scarf since I left all my winter clothes at home because I didn't anticipate the Australian winter to be colder than 55/60 but in reality they are in an abnormal cold spell which brings lots of wind and temperatures in the 40's and 50's.







We then walked around the beautiful botanic gardens all the way to Mrs Macquaries Point, a beautiful look out on the Woolloomooloo Bay.   

The trees in the gardens were so massive and unique.   It was very peaceful in the gardens and it is hard to believe that the central business district of downtown is right next door.  At this point we had been in Sydney for close to 36 hours and had yet to hear a police or fire siren or signal.  In all European cities I have visited as well as US cities, there always seems to be a fairly constant sound of sirens, but not in Sydney which is quite nice!

 

From Summer to Winter in about 30 hours

I left for my new adventure to Sydney Australia on the 4th of July.  I left behind the bennies and the hot summer sun of the Jersey Shore.  My flight from Newark to San Francisco California was an uneventful 6 hour trip.  For the next 4 hours I walked around the international terminal of the San Fran airport to stretch my legs before boarding the long haul 15 hour flight to Sydney.  Luckily the flight to Sydney was quite light and I got a whole row to myself.  After all of this flying and crossing the international date line I landed in Australia on July 6th in the middle of winter.  After clearing customs and quarrantine and meeting my coworker and roommate we were on route to our new home in Wollstonecraft, a northern suburb of Sydney.

We settled in and headed out for the basic staples of life.  First on our list were cell phones and internet so we could be connected to the world as international roaming charges on the BlackBerry were going to be too expensive.  The cell phones were a step back in time - we left the world of smart phones to old fashion Nokia slide phones that can text and call. 

After an afternoon of unpacking and long flights it was an early night to try and adjust to the time zone and new season of winter which I was unprepared for which resulted in winter clothes shopping a few days later....

Heading Down Under

After my first European vacation in November of 2008 , I came back to work and learned that we had a secondment program and was beyond excited.  It is a program in which you can work for one of our overseas affiliates for up to three months.  I immediately applied and hoped to get this amazing opportunity.  With the ups and downs of the economy nothing ever panned out with the program.  But I had my heart set on this so I always periodically followed up with the program coordinator in hopes of getting myself to Europe or Australia to work. Since nothing seemed to be working I occupied myself with various two week vacations to Europe.

In August of 2010, we became affiliated with another overseas firm and their secondment program seemed to be much more active than ours.   I began inquiring of overseas opportunities immediately. In March of 2011, the application came out for the summer 2011 secondment program in Australia.  I applied immediately and landed an interview.  And two days after Easter I found out I was accepted.  I was so incredibly happy and excited.  I had to keep the exciting news quite for a few days until all of the logistics were worked out but I was soon able to share the exciting news with everyone.

In a mere 23 days I will be en route to Sydney Australia for an opportunity of a lifetime.