Considered one of the top 25 things to do in Sydney, the Coogee to Bondi walk (or vice versa) is a much talked about Coastal Walk that stretches over 7km.
On a nice and sunny winter Saturday, we started our walk from Coogee, a beach-side suburb 8km south-east of Sydney.
The name Coogee is said to be taken from a local Aboriginal word koojah which means "smelly place" or "stinking seaweed". I suppose we were lucky that it did not stink the day we were there.
And for those who wants to fuel up before the walk, how about some chish and fips?
From the beach, we started walking north-wards to the little hill on our right …
… and interestingly, although it says no camping, someone was there at the beach with a tent.
After checking out some of the cliffs around the area, …
… we continued with our walk along the Eastern Beaches Coastal Walkway …
… towards Gordons Bay.
A very picturesque bay, …
… Gordons Bay gave me an initial impression of a fishing village, with all the sampans lying around.
But in reality, it is actually a unique and protected aquatic reserve, which makes it one of Sydney’s most popular dive spots since it is Sydney’s only underwater nature trail. Continuing on with the boardwalk, …
… there is a sign introducing the locally famous Cliffbrook Mansion.
Since we were not able to identify any surrounding buildings that looked like the mansion from the board walk, we decided to move on.
While walking up and down the flight of stairs, …
… we came across an interesting phenomena. For the houses that painted their fences white and invited people to spray graffiti on it, they looked extremely clean.
Otherwise, be prepared to be sprayed!!!
After the flight of stairs, we arrived at a car park, with a path way leading us to ...
… Clovelly Beach.
Although Clovelly Beach is a small beach that sits on the end of the narrow bay, it is home to one of the first surf lifesaving clubs in the world, the Clovelly Surf Life Saving Club, which was founded in 1906.
This might be the reason why both sides of the beach are concretised for a pool and pathway.
Although dogs are prohibited from the beach, we still managed to spot a doggie there.
As we left the bay, the path continued and led us to Bundock Park …
… a dog’s playground (not exactly a playground, but at least an open space for dogs to play/exercise and enjoy the nice views).
The only catch, please clean up after your dog!!
My favourite part of the walk is this next part, which continued along the boardwalk passing Waverley Cemetery.
Established in 1877, this cemetery may be one of the most idyllic locations for a graveyard on the planet. It is said that many famous Australians are buried here, but unfortunately, we did not take the time to wander through it to appreciate the history.
Instead, we chose to check out the magnificent views of the Pacific Ocean, where we spotted some whales.
As the board walk ends, …
… we headed down through a road …
… towards Bronte Beach.
A small but popular recreational beach, it is a well known place for surfing …
… as well as for its 30 metre ocean pool, which is claimed to be one of the best known in Sydney.
Moving on, …
… we arrived at the most glamorous beach in Sydney, Tamarama.
Affectionately nicknamed Glamarama (or Glamourama) by the locals, Tamarama beach is where wannabe trend setters come to sunbathe and swim or simply try to be seen.
And guess what? Back in 1887, this little playground used to be Sydney’s first coastal amusement park, named the Bondi Aquarium, which was famous for its plunging roller coaster that dived and twisted over the beach.
Adjacent to Tamarama on the north is MacKenzies Bay.
Extremely rocky, it is said to be a semi-secret surf spot, especially when the sand builds up over summer.
As the sun started to set, we were also much closer to our destination (see Bondi in a distance?).
This last section of the walk passes by a series of rocky cliffs ...
… before coming to an end at the Bondi Icebergs Club, the only licensed Winter Swimming Club in the world.
And finally, we arrived at the world famous 1km long Bondi Beach, home to the world’s oldest surf life saving club.
Now that we have conquered the most dazzling 7km urban stroll of Sydney, anyone interested in the remaining 93km (the Sydney Great Coastal Walk stretches 100km from Palm Beach to Cronulla)?
Photo credits: Chrys
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