Life's a Beach

Beach #1.

Surf. Sun. Sand. These are probably the first three things that come to mind when you think of Australia. But unfortunately, since we’ve located ourselves in Canberra, even the simplest pleasure of a beach is hard to come by. So naturally, when Mandy and I arrived in Sydney, our main goal was to hit up the closest beach. There are two main ones in Sydney, Bondi and Manly. After discussing with Nicki which one would be the best choice for us on our first day there, we decided to head to Manly and save Bondi for our next trip. Luckily, Friday was prime beach weather and we had an entire afternoon to hop on a ferry to the beach! After about a half an hour ride across the beautiful harbour, stopping over to change vessels in Circular Quay (pronounced key), we arrived at Manly Warf. This is a nice little beach area where kayaks were being rented out and kids splashed around in the shallow water, but it didn’t really provide the full ‘beach’ atmosphere. So we followed our directions (and some other beachy-looking tourists) along the street and in about five minutes we arrived at Manly beach. 

I can’t remember the last time I’d been at a real beach. Maybe Florida in Grade 11?? A long time ago. I had forgotten how much I love it. The sand, the sun, the smell, everything about the beach just makes me so happy. I love that you can just lie out on the sand for hours, doing nothing and still have a great day.

As we walked along the shore scoping for a suitable spot to set up camp, Mandy quickly noticed that it was dotted with little blue things…jellyfish!!! Awesome. I probably would have stepped on one if she didn’t notice, I was so absorbed with staring out at the water. After settling into a spot on the sand an announcement was made and the woman on the other end of the speakers began to warn the swimmers of the bluebottle jellyfish that were washing up on shore. 

Jellies!

They’re actually only about the size of your thumb tip but can give a nasty sting (her words, Australian accent, fun to impersonate). If you’re stung, there is no immediate cure, only to remove the tentacle and wait for about an hour until the pain goes away. Fun. We were rather disappointed that we couldn’t go into the water. But still, there were some crazies out there surfing and swimming. Us foreigners didn’t take our chances and we stayed safely away from the bluebottle infested water.

The remainder of our beach day involved people watching and tanning, with Mandy learning lots about the beach, since she had never been to one before. Like, there is sand. Lots of it. And it gets everywhere in a matter of seconds. Also that the sun is strong even later in the afternoon and sunscreen is key…but you also need to re-apply. Often. That’s ok though, this beach experience prepared us for next week, where we spent another day out on the water.

Fun in the Sand

Beach #2.

After a week of clouds and rain, we were praying for a sunny Saturday, because a bus full of exchange students was headed to Broulee Beach, about 2.5 hours away from Canberra. According to The Weather Network, there was a 90% chance of rain that day, so we weren’t too thrilled to be outside all day, with no shelter in case of torrential downpour. But we tried to keep positive and hope for the best, since oftentimes the weather predictions are wrong, or the rain only lasts a fraction of the day.

6:15am rolled around as I rolled out of bed and got ready to meet the crew at 6:45. It was probably about 6:37 when we were almost ready to leave and the rain started pouring. We had nothing left to do but grab an umbrella and head out. Only a few minutes later, the rain slowed to a light mist and then the only proof that it had rained were the poor soaked people who were already waiting for the bus. At least everyone had towels.

7:00am came and went as we loaded onto the coach bus. Now I’ve gotten used to taking coach busses around here and they’ve all exceeded my standards of cleanliness and modern-ness, but the one we took on Saturday didn’t seem to be quite up to par. I mean, it did the job of getting us there and back in one piece, but the headrests looked like they were made out of matted old koala fur (I don’t even want to think about what could be living in there) and I don’t think any of the mesh pockets on the back of the seats weren’t ripped or falling off in some fashion. It did have a tv at the front though. But I couldn’t see it without craning my neck in twisted ways. The movie that played on the way there…have no idea what it was called…was an old movie about Aboriginal Australians. Apparently it was sad, but I couldn’t see it/read the sub-titles.

So…two and a half hours later, we arrived at Broulee Beach! No rain yet, just clouds and a high UV rating. That was ok with us! We made sure to lather on the sunscreen, because those pesky rays come straight through that hole in the ozone, make their way through the clouds and then we end up having to deal with the painful result. Anyway, we were all rocking the shorts tan and soon enough people were trying out the water, playing volleyball, and exploring the surroundings. Dave, Alex, and a few of the other guys decided to check out how much renting a surfboard cost (only $15!! including wetsuit) and ended up showing off their skills for the rest of the day. Next time I’m on the beach, I’ll actually bring money and try this surfing thing out for myself!

While on the beach, we discovered some new critters like black cockatoos and pelicans – those things are huge! Thankfully there were no jellyfish here. There were also really interesting rock formations near a little river that led out to the ocean (technically the Tasman Sea). 

The rocks looked kind of like turds from a distance and had weird olive-looking balls all over them. Apparently these are normal and are just some form of food for starfish.

Although our sun dance didn’t make the sun come out and play, it was still a pretty perfect day and everyone seemed like they had a good time. At 3, our bus departed and we made a stop in a nearby tourist town called Mogo. Sadly, all Mogo had to offer us was a delicious ice cream store, a few entertaining souvenir shops, and a ton of lizards. Those guys were crawling around everywhere. I’m pretty sure everything closed around 4 or 4:30…just when we were leaving. Oh and I didn’t actually see it (except for pictures) but there was an organ in an old church that was actually made in Guelph! How random…what a small world we live in.

The ride home featured a more recent Australian movie called “Tomorrow, When the War Began”. Again, I didn’t see it but I heard it was ok but had a bad ending. I was sad to leave the beach and wished we could have stayed longer, but this weekend is looking hot and sunny so hopefully we’ll make it out to discover another one.

Sending my love from down under,

Laura

and yes, we all have matching towels. They were on sale at the supermarket ok?