In this video my friend Stevo and I walk from Bondi to Coogee along the spectacular coastal path. We were in Australia for a whirlwind 2 week holiday and this is the first video in the series from day 2 of our trip.
Route Map – http://my.viewranger.com/track/details/NjU0NjQxOA%3D%3D
When Stevo initially had the idea of going to Sydney to watch the cricket we both knew that we had to come back to Bondi. I’d visited a couple of times in the past and Stevo had spent a week or so there while backpacking around Australia. We chose to stay in the same place he did back in 2005, Noah’s Backpackers Hostel which is perfectly situated for doing the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee. We had both done the walk before, I’d only walked from Clovely to Bondi back in 2015 so wanted to come back and complete the full trail.
We arrived at Sydney airport at 06:00 and got an Uber straight to Noah’s, we couldn’t check in for a few hours so we decided to dump our bags and go for a walk. We walked along the beach and took in the sights while trying to stay awake and adjust to Australian time.
The following day it was time to get the walk done and make our way to Coogee and back. After having breakfast in the Bondi Massive Cafe under Noah’s we set off southward along the coast.
The weather was perfect for a walk today, a little bit of cloud and a nice breeze. Just what was needed to ease us in to the Australian summer climate after leaving sub zero temperatures back in the UK.
The walk meanders along the coastline following the cliff edges and descending down to beaches before climbing back up towards Waverley Cemetery.
There is a great section of boardwalk running along the coast at Waverley Cemetery but during today’s walk we were diverted through the graveyard itself. The boardwalk had been damaged by storms so it was undergoing repair.
After the cemetery there is a great detour from the main path out on to Shark Point. The dramatic cliffs here are very photogenic and I attempted to recreate an imagine I’d taken back in 2015, I almost got it.
The weather forecast for the day said light showers and as we left Shark Point the sky to the south was looking ominous. Thankfully we managed to make it to the Sea Salt cafe at Clovelly and take refuge, they had great coffee so it was no hardship. As quickly as it had arrived it passed so after a caffeine hit we continued on.
After passing the carpark at Clovelly where I had walked from in 2015 the path rises sharply up on to the cliffs once more. You then descend via boardwalk to the little improvised harbour you can see in the image below.
The route climbs again before the final downhill section in to Coogee and finishes at the pavillion. As we had come to Sydney to watch the Ashes we timed it nicely to catch a game of cricket at the Coogee Oval between the Barmy Army and the Aussie Fans teams.
We spent a good few hours in Coogee, relaxing while watching the game and grabbing lunch. The rain came down that heavily at one point we had to take refuge in the doorway of McDonald’s 🙂
It was a really enjoyable walk and I’m glad we managed to fit it in to our pretty tight schedule. The walk back to Bondi was equally as spectacular, the wind and rain had passed so we made good time on the return journey. A truly great way to fight the jet lag and get our body clocks set correctly for the weeks ahead.
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All music by Dean Read. Footage shot with a Canon 7D with a 17-40mm lens and it was edited in iMovie.
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