There is nothing like Sydney on a warm summer's day - being on the Harbour, breathing in the fresh salty air, soaking up the rays of the sun (with sunscreen of course!), and just enjoying the all-round beauty that Sydney has to offer. This was the first weekend in about a month hadn't rained, so I had to get out there - my trigger (camera) finger had been itching for far too long, and there is only one way of fixing that - get snapping!
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| Sailing ships off North Head. |
There is always a long list of place to go in Sydney, and places on the Harbour is no exception. Manly is always a popular destination, with the added treat of catching a ferry. This time I decided on Watson's Bay, in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, as the place to ease my eager (camera) finger. Some people say taking pictures on a cloudy day is best, as you get even light, but I think cloudy weather gives a white, cold light, and not very good light at all. I much prefer sunny days, but with clouds mixed in to make the sky more interesting. There is nothing like warm light (especially sunrise or sunset) to make a nice better great. The day didn't disappoint!
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| The little beach at the bay - not bad for a city beach, and a Harbour beach at that! |
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| View of the city from Watson's Bay. |
Watson's Bay will always remain in my memory, as it is very close to my heart. I have many happy memories here - swimming in the caged-off baths, playing on green grass on the park which backs straight onto the beach, and running around the cliffs and headland that Watson's Bay is situated on. And of course, there is Doyles, probably the most famous (and most expensive) seafood restaurants in the city.
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Just around the corner - Camp Cove.
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The oldest Lighthouse in OZ.
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It is also home to The Gap, the South Head of the Harbour, famous for people jumping off the cliffs to their death. Walking along the cliffs, I can't imagine why you would want to jump, as I just don't think it is a sure way of doing yourself in... and of course the view in too good to take in on what would be a very short trip to the bottom. We started from the oldest lighthouse in Sydney (and Australia), Macquarie Lighthouse, which has been running since 1883 (yes, so OLD!!). To be fair, the has been something there since 1791 (A big pole with a fire stuck on top), and the first lighthouse was built in 1818, but started crumbling by 1823 and was replaced by the current one. We then walked down to the bay along the cliff's, keeping an eye out for potential jumpers. My heroic skills were not put to the test thankfully, and made it down to the beach without any incidents.
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| One of the many gun emplacements on South Head. |
All along the headland, there are remnants of WWII fortifications. At that time, Japan was posing quite a threat to Australia. Numerous gun emplacement were built on both Heads, as well as an anti-submarine boom net. This net failed to stop 1 Japanese midget submarine getting into Sydney Harbour in May 1942 - shortly before the net was fully operational. 2 submarines were detected by the Navy, and the pilots of these subs scuttled their vessels and committed suicide rather than being caught. The one that made it through sought to sink and destroy the USS Chicago, but occidentally sunk the HMAS Kuttabul killing 21 sailors. This midget submarine wasn't found until 2006 when amateur divers discovered it on the bottom of the Harbour.
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| Old canons guarding the harbour. |
Although it was getting on to 12 o'clock, and my belly was starting to rumble, I thought that if I stopped for lunch now, that will be the end of me! So, out group headed off to walk around the headland, doing a big loop to come back to Watson's Bay for a fish and chip lunch. On the way to the point, we had to go past Sydney's famous 'Nudists Beach,' Lady Bay Beach. While not a beach where you have to go naked, you should be ashamed if you don't really. It was all 'au naturale,' hair down and letting it all hang out. Out and proud in the sun - and why not! Shame to those 2 boys that kept their boardies on!!
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| Rain off the coast of Sydney... How's the weather New Zealand? |
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| Hornby Lighthouse. |
Rounding the headland, and passing pretty little Camp Cove, we came across the Royal Australia Naval Base, HMAS Watson, named after the ship of the same name. At this naval base, closed off to the public of course, they train up sailors in sonar, naval warfare and eventually to become officers. We also meet our second lighthouse here - also an oldie - built in 1858. Hornby Lighthouse came about after the wrecking of the Dunbar on the rocks of South Head. Quite a sad story really - the ship was coming back into Sydney, and was a regular here due to the boost in trade since the Gold Rushes. There was a storm, and visibility was low, and the captain thought he had passed The Heads of the Harbour already, and so turned straight into the rocks... maybe he was drinking, who knows? But the sad thing was that only he survived (found 2 days later), the remaining 21 crew members all drowned.
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| Horn(b)y Lighthouse. |
Finally we made it back to Watson's Bay proper - not a long trip, but a beautiful and scenic one. Also quite a hot one, and there was sunburn to be had all round - have to share the love! Fish and chips was had in the park overlooking the beach. And so another lovely day out ends, and while everyone and their dog headed off to get the ferry back, we took a lovely little drive through the Eastern Suburbs and back home. I must note that Sunday seems to be the day that everyone puts out their used (but still in great condition) furniture in Vaucluse - worth driving by and grabbing something - we did!!
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| Sydney CBD to Middle Harbour to Manly. |
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