Sydney

We’re going to stay with our good friends Nicky and Andy + 2 year old son Cooper for a week in Dulwich Hill. The journey from the Hunter Valley is uneventful and unscenic save for Hawkshead about an hour north of Sydney. Here a gap in the endless trees allows views down sheer cliffs to the waters below. The road suddenly turns into an arcade driving game with roads cut straight through the rocks. This leaves not only vertical stone on either side but also strangely in the middle of the road too. I sweeten Andy up with some excellent takeaway pizza, ply him with some of the aforementioned port and convince him to sign up to Setanta sports who are showing the 6 nations live. I shouldn’t have bothered on the basis of England’s dismal display against Scotland but I get his money’s worth for him by watching all 3 matches until 5am. I hope he remembers to cancel his subscription but maybe he doesn’t want to.

2 hours later it’s Sunday morning and what better way to fine tune your hangover than a lounge on beautiful Bronte Beach. After a paddle in the rock pool and a decent lunch I’m just beginning to feel a bit better when I spot Andy creating intricate architecturally sound sandcastles for the kids. I just know this is going to stitch me up for future beach trips.

On Monday Nicky and Andy are up at the crack. We appreciate the beauty of being able to choose from Nicky’s plethora of kid’s videos and go back to bed. We eventually summon the strength for a trip to the North Shore. We drive past the plush marina-laden suburbs of Seaforth and Clontarf to the pretty district of Manly. We stroll along the attractive open mall complete with water jets that the kids love and get completely soaked. Time to change into swimmers and enjoy a picnic and a swim at the beach. Sadly there’s a plague of bluebottle jellyfish that doesn’t prevent a quick cooling bodysurf, but it’s no good for the kids. I’m forced into some intricate sandcastling (thanks Andy), while Karen is being spatially invaded by Eastern European sunbathers in spite of empty beach all around. We leave early, as Karen is getting cold with the temperature dropping to a chilly 80 degrees…

Next day we head to the city centre admiring the stunning views from the park across beautifully manicured green lawns to the white sailboat shaped opera house in the shadow of the colossal black Sydney Harbour Bridge. Bridge climbers look like vertical ants high above the azure bay. No wonder people rave about the beauty of Sydney – this is its visual centrepiece.

We take a closer look at the Opera House strolling around for a while and soaking the
atmosphere as well as a few rays.