Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 3 . SYDNEY
beach is accessible for visitors in wheelchairs via a series of ramps. To reach
Clovelly, take bus no. 339 from Circular Quay.
The cliff walk from Bondi will eventually bring you to Coogee, which has a
pleasant strip of sand with a couple of hostels and hotels nearby. To reach Coogee,
take bus no. 373 or 374 from Circular Quay (via Pitt, George, and Castlereagh
sts., and Taylor Sq. on Oxford St.) or Bus no. 314 or 315 from Bondi Junction.
NORTH OF SYDNEY HARBOUR
On the north shore you’ll find Manly , a long curve of golden sand edged
with Norfolk Island pines. Don’t be fooled by the two small beaches on either
side of the ferry terminal as some people have been—including the famous novelist
Arthur Conan Doyle, who traveled to Manly by ferry and presuming the
small beach near the ferry station was the best the suburb had to offer did not
bother to disembark. Follow the crowds shuffling through the pedestrianized
“Corso” to the main ocean beach. You’ll find one of Sydney’s nicest walks here,
too. Looking at the ocean, head to your right along the beachfront and follow
the coastal path to the small and sheltered Shelly Beach , a nice area for snorkeling
and swimming. (There’s also a small takeout outlet here selling drinks and
snacks, next to the good, but pricey, Le Kiosk beachfront restaurant.) Follow the
bitumen path up the hill to the parking lot. Here, a track cuts up into the bush
and leads toward a firewall, which marks the entrance to Sydney Harbour
National Park. Around here you’ll get some spectacular ocean views across to
Manly and the northern beaches (the headland further in the distance is Palm
Beach). The best way to reach Manly is on a ferry or JetCat from Circular Quay.
Farther along the northern coast are a string of ocean beaches, including the
surf spots of Curl Curl, Dee Why, Narrabeen, Mona Vale, Newport, Avalon,
and finally Palm Beach , a long and beautiful strip of sand cut from the
calmer waters of Pittwater by sand dunes and a golf course. Here you’ll also find
the Barrenjoey Lighthouse, which also offers fine views along the coast (see the
“Greater Sydney” map earlier in this chapter for a map of this area.) Bus nos.
136 and 139 run from Manly to Curl Curl, while Bus no. 190 runs from Wynyard
to Newport and then via the other northern beaches as far as Palm Beach.
The best harbor beach is at Balmoral , a wealthy North Shore hangout
complete with some good cafes (The Sandbar is the best for food). The beach
itself is split into three parts. As you look toward the sea, the middle section is
the most popular with sunbathers, while the wide expanse to your left and the
sweep of surreally beautiful sand to your right have a mere scattering. There’s a
Fun Fact Grin & Bare It
If getting an all-over tan is your scene, you have a couple of options in
Sydney. Head either to the nudist beach at Lady Jane Bay, a short walk
from Camp Cove Beach (accessed from Cliff St. in Watsons Bay, reached by
walking along the strip of sand—to the right as you look at the sea—at
the back of the Watsons Bay Hotel). Or you can try Cobblers Beach,
accessed via a short, but steep, bush track that leads from the far side of
the playing field oval next to the main HMAS Penguin naval base at the
end of Bradley’s Head Road in Mosman. (Follow the procession of men in
shorts.) Be prepared for a largely male-orientated scene—as well as the
odd boatload of beer-swigging peeping Toms.