Beach Time!

Our past few days here in Sydney have been nothing but beaches, beaches and more beaches. On Thursday we took the bus down to Bondi Beach, where we walked around for a bit before having lunch overlooking the water. It was a bit cloudier that day, and while it was still probably 30 degrees, it seemed a lot cooler which was nice. We set off on the 6 km coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee and it was beautiful. We passed so many beaches and there are a few I would love to go back to, especially Bronte Beach. After some stops for pictures and lookout points, we arrived at Coogee aproximately two hours later. We both loved this beach, it was a lot of fun. We didn't waste too much time getting into the water, and played around in the waves for a long time. They were huge! Definitely got knocked down a couple of times, but the water felt great. We were also able to test out my new underwater camera, and it seems to work fine! At around 5:30 or so, we took the bus and then train back to our hostel, stopping for groceries again on the way home. We decided to cave in and buy some Toohey's beer at the expensive liquor store nearby. I can't believe how expensive beer is here! Looks like we will be drinking a lot of wine on this trip! We showered, cleaned up and ate dinner before heading back into the city. It was so great to see the harbour all lit up at night :) We heard an outdoor concert going on by the Opera House and even though we couldn't see the stage, we listened for a bit and realized it was Sting singing 'Message in a Bottle'! Very cool. After we got some pictures, we headed to a bar that had some drink specials going on. I tried out Fosters, and wasn't a fan, but had to give it a shot. We had fun dancing and meeting some other people. A good night.

The next day we had a slower start to the day, but made our way into the city before taking the ferry over to Manly beach. What a great atmosphere, definitely lived up to its expecations. We checked out some of the shops and then headed down to the beach. We decided to rent a surfboard for an hour just to try it out on our own, thinking the lessons were a little expensive. We had fun trying, and were starting to get the hang of it by the end, but weren't completely successful in standing up. Lots more opportunity to practice over the next few months!! We were originally planning on hanging out longer in Manly, but headed back around 6:00 because my bug bites were starting to bug me. Lots of mosquitos and sand flies here, and somehow I am always the target and my body just doesn't react well to them. I don't think I have ever had this many bites before, but we stocked up on some stronger bug spray and some cream, so hopefully they go away soon! We had an easy night just relaxing together, and were able to switch to a better room that didn't have open patio doors for 'mozzies' (aussie slang for mosquitos) to get in.

We are off to New Zealand tomorrow, and while I have loved Sydney, we are both a little excited for cooler temperatures! Before we leave we are hoping to check out some different neighbourhoods, see a few more beaches, take the ferry over to Taronga Zoo and maybe back to Darling Harbour. Once we are in NZ, we are planing on camping the majority of the time, so blog posts might not be as frequent because I'm not sure of the internet availability. But I will still be keeping you all updated!