After an intense week at the Peats Ridge festival we stopped at Shelley Beach for rehab on route to Sydney. Shelley Beach is gorgeous – it felt pretty good waking up parked at the beach and having not been drinking the night before. We tried to make up for the festival unhealthy living by going for a beach run and workout – bench pressing logs, curling rocks.
We met yet another extremely friendly Aussie, Kate, at the festival and she kindly invited us to stay at her apartment in Bondi Beach for our 5 day visit to Sydney. She must have been drunk at the time, I don’t know who in the right mind would invite three smelly bums to stay in their apartment after a festival.
We arrived at Kate’s apartment and it was in a perfect location – free street parking for the van and a 5 minute walk to the Beach.
The following day we took a stroll round Bondi armed with Kate’s cute dog Harvey, a complete babe magnet! Toby attempted to utilise this by holding the lead but had no success.
On the evening Kate took us to her local. The Bondi RSL (returning servicemen’s league), pretty similar to an ex-serviceman’s club in the UK but only without out the old folks and doms. Australia seems to have RSL clubs in every town and city. It was more like a student union for the mid twenties, the one in Bondi anyway.
The following day Toby, Kate, Harvey and myself decided to do the east coast walk from Bondi to Coogee Beach. One reason to see some of the coast the other to meet up with a travel buddy from my 2008 SE Asia trip – Canadian Carolyn! We started at Bondi passing through Tamarama, Bronte, Clovelly, Gordon’s Bay finishing at Coogee Beach. It took us just over an hour, the section of coastline is REALLY nice. Packed with runners with awesome bods the walk is really geared up for people exercising with outside mini beach gyms scattered along the route. We met up with Carolyn in Coogee and discussed how Will and I would kidnap her for the next part of our trip.
In an attempt to re-live my teenage years I decided to buy a skateboard, it was also a plan to try make myself look cooler in Bondi. I purchased a new cruiser board in Bondi from; Skateboard (Skate or Bon-Die 14, Hall St. Bondi Beach, 0291304336, Captain Billy’s Crab Shack). 5 minutes later I was on my arse round the corner, not coooool.
We began to get the feeling we had outstayed our welcome in Kate’s street when a resident shouted from their window at Will – “Oi ya bum! Stop living in my street!”. It was time to move on.
Later – We met with travel buds and friends from home Katya and Harriet and school mates Lisa and Luke. We arranged the mother of all Roadtrips, Sydney to Melbourne. There were 8 of us, Will, Toby, Carolyn, Katya, Harriet, Luke, Lisa and myself. We were to travel in ‘The Van’ and ‘The Interceptor’.
