Bondi Beach March 4

‘We saved the best for last’ – today we took the bus to Bondi Beach to walk the 4+K to Bronte Beach; a stunning walk that hugs the cliff & beaches along the coastline. Bondi Beach is roughly 1K of golden sand & sparkling sea, gentle to big swells (surfers), weak to strong currents (swimmers); patrolled by lifesavers to enforce the yellow and red flag boundaries. We watched a few experienced surfers before our walk towards Bronte. At 1.5K we reached Mackenzie Point where there is a lookout over Bondi. Memorial plagues to ‘Black Sunday’ and ‘Nosey Bob’ are posted. On Sunday, February 6, 1938, with the beach packed by 35,000 people 3 huge waves hit & washed 300 people out to sea. All but 5 were saved thanks to the team of lifeguards gathered for the weekly surf competition. ‘Nosey Bob’ or Robert ‘the gentleman hangman’ who worked as the state’s hangman for 30 years lived alone in a cottage in Bondi. His reputation was as a decent fellow who carried out his job with respect, gave rise to his name! We walked on towards Tamarama. Tamarama is a tiny beach also known as “Glamourama” for the beautiful (but not necessarily smart) people who frequent it! It was here we saw an ‘out-of-condition’ middle-aged man literally drag himself on his knees out of the surf and flop on the sand, with his failing energy ... boy oh boy! We followed a white fence to Bronte Beach. A pretty and busy beach bordered by a large park, with shady Norfolk Island pines & picnic shelters. Each roofed picnic shelter is divided to form 4 individual private tables. Practical & impressive! It was time for lunch. A row of cafes at the end of Bronte Road caught our attention. Tom and I sat at a cafe for a Chicken Burger (sounds boring, but tasty & great value with 2 bottles of cold water). Lewis & Elsa ordered take-away steak burgers with awesome-looking fries from a grill; then sat under a Cabbage Tree in the park to eat, watch the surfers & enjoy a refreshing breeze off the ocean. Wow – what a perfect way to end our walk. Bronte Beach ocean pool, when opened in 1887 was restricted to women between 10 am & 4 pm. Outside of these hours, and on Sundays and public holidays, the pool was men-only. Today the ocean pool still protects swimmers from marine life but gender restrictions are gone! We covered the factual side of the walk but the cliffs and vistas were almost indescribable. The cliffs are amazing sandstone formations in colours of tan, brown, yellow, red, orange, gray and white. The formations, textures & color combine to create true works-of-art. As such, it is difficult to select a photo for this blog. Once again, the most spectacular views were created by nature! Bob painted and mounted a 5x6 foot beach scene in his condo. Today we discovered his inspiration!