On my second to last day in Sydney I went out to Bondi Beach. When looking at a map I thought Bondi would take quite a while to get to, but it really only took 15 minutes from Sydney’s CBD. Because I stayed about 30 minutes outside of the CBD it took me closer to an hour to get there, but it didn't feel that long because most of my trip was on the train.
I left my Airbnb by 9:00 AM because I wanted to make sure I could get access to a place called Bondi Icebergs Club. On my first night in Sydney I Googled “things to do in Sydney” and found a couple different websites to build my list of what I wanted to do while in town. Both lists has Bondi on them, but also had the Icebergs Club. You can read more about the Icebergs if you're interested; they have a pretty cool history. I wasn't interested so much in becoming a member as taking a dip in their famous open ocean pool.
I left my Airbnb by 9:00 AM because I wanted to make sure I could get access to a place called Bondi Icebergs Club. On my first night in Sydney I Googled “things to do in Sydney” and found a couple different websites to build my list of what I wanted to do while in town. Both lists has Bondi on them, but also had the Icebergs Club. You can read more about the Icebergs if you're interested; they have a pretty cool history. I wasn't interested so much in becoming a member as taking a dip in their famous open ocean pool.
I had never really heard of one before. The Icebergs Club bills theirs as the most Instagramable, and it really is just that. The views are amazing and the crashing waves make for outstanding photos. I paid a small fee to get into the Icebergs and for a locker and towel service. I didn’t realize that the locker was a one-time use locker, so that was probably a waste of money because I wanted to be able to pull out my phone to take pictures then put it back so I didn't have to worry about it while I used the pool. However, I was happy to use a nice plush towel while I was there instead of my quick dry backpacking towel. There are some other free options in the Bondi area for open ocean pools, but this was one most convenient and I felt like my possessions were more secure than they would have been at those other pools. After I left the Icebergs I walked along the famous coastal walk and spotted one of the other open ocean pools at Bronte Beach. It looked pretty great, but there was practically no deck along side the pool so there was no place to put your stuff close to the pool without it getting soaked by the waves or actually falling in. I stand by my choice to pay to get in to the Icebergs.
The day that I visited the ocean waves were pretty fierce, so it made for some great photos. It also made for some pretty great shocks when I got hit by the waves. Despite it being the Australian summer, the water was quite crisp. When I checked in the woman at the register asked if I planned to swim and I said yes. For some reason I got real nervous all of a sudden and asked, “it’s not that cold right??” I mean, it IS called the Icebergs Club for a reason! She laughed a little and said, “no, it’s quite refreshing!” When she said quite refreshing she meant it in the way your dad tells you something is refreshing and makes fun of you for being a wuss while flirting with hypothermia. It was also a bit overcast in the morning, although the sun came out more later in the day and it was quite warm throughout the day.
I was going to go take a picture on the far side of the pool, but the lifeguard stopped me because the waves were getting so high and crashing so hard. In this picture the wave is probably mid crest. They were HUGE. Not five minutes after this picture was taken the guards closed off this end of the pool because it was too turbulent. You can see in the photo below that there are stairs located right about where this picture is being taken from and you can go straight down to the ocean from there. There's a really clear sign that hangs on the gate to the stairs that declares the Icebergs' lack of responsibility if something happens to you. Throughout my couple hours at the pool I saw several people go back and forth from the ocean to the complex - even a kid once! The waves pound and crash so hard against the rocks there. I cannot imagine feeling confident enough to enter the ocean there. The picture below really doesn't do it justice because the water looks somewhat calm in this moment. The lower edge of the photo as looks there's sand there, but it's actually a tarp that covers a patio of sorts located on a low cliff. That bottom edge is all rocks, no nice soft sand there at all.
After I chilled at the Icebergs (see what I did there?) I took the Bondi to Bronte coastal walk of about 1.5 miles and back. The views were stunning. My pictures do not do them justice at all. I also didn't take too many photos because I felt like they were all the same and not showing the natural relief very well.
I was going to go take a picture on the far side of the pool, but the lifeguard stopped me because the waves were getting so high and crashing so hard. In this picture the wave is probably mid crest. They were HUGE. Not five minutes after this picture was taken the guards closed off this end of the pool because it was too turbulent. You can see in the photo below that there are stairs located right about where this picture is being taken from and you can go straight down to the ocean from there. There's a really clear sign that hangs on the gate to the stairs that declares the Icebergs' lack of responsibility if something happens to you. Throughout my couple hours at the pool I saw several people go back and forth from the ocean to the complex - even a kid once! The waves pound and crash so hard against the rocks there. I cannot imagine feeling confident enough to enter the ocean there. The picture below really doesn't do it justice because the water looks somewhat calm in this moment. The lower edge of the photo as looks there's sand there, but it's actually a tarp that covers a patio of sorts located on a low cliff. That bottom edge is all rocks, no nice soft sand there at all.
I got permission from the lifeguards to go to the far side to take a few photos. One thing that sucks about traveling alone is that your options generally are to take a selfie or a picture of something without you in it. I was lucky enough to meet two women who were super sweet and one volunteered to take some photos of me. Both of the women used to live together in Bondi, but had each had moved away for separate reasons. They were reuniting after a long period of time apart. I chatted with them for maybe 20 or 30 minutes while we all braved the chilly water of the pool/ocean and bucked up the courage to ask for help taking a photo while I had the chance. The woman who took the photos was a dream come true because she just kept clicking away knowing that I'd want to select from a series of shots instead of hoping one super posed photo came out good. I was happy with a few of the photos she took that I didn't even know to expect.
After I chilled at the Icebergs (see what I did there?) I took the Bondi to Bronte coastal walk of about 1.5 miles and back. The views were stunning. My pictures do not do them justice at all. I also didn't take too many photos because I felt like they were all the same and not showing the natural relief very well.
While I took my walk this crazy car accident happened. I was happy to have missed seeing it, although it did cause quite the hullabaloo. I had to reroute my walk at the end and all in all I probably walked up and down the hills of the coastal walk for about 3 to 3.5 miles. I was happy to get into the water to cool off.
As it's a surfer's paradise I couldn't help but take time to appreciate the surfing culture and mentality - and form ;) LOL. It's amazing that the waves are so consistent that you can pretty much surf all day if you wanted to. I think surfers still prefer the morning to some degree, but that's just because there are fewer people in the water. (Side note: This morning while eating breakfast I watched a reality television show about the lifeguards at Bondi and the beginning credits mention that 40,000 people a day can visit Bondi!) There was one point when I decided to spend some time jumping waves in the ocean that I actually got a little scared. From the moment my feet hit the water I could feel how strong its pull was. The water moves in and out so dramatically that you can be standing 20 feet into the ocean and be thigh-deep in water, but two minutes later you can be in ankle deep water because of how much the water moved back out. The waves were so powerful and rapid that I knew I had to be really careful. There was one moment when I got knocked down and violently pushed back toward the sand. I was in stomach deep water and then a few seconds later I was in six-inch deep water. When I got up I saw the same thing happened to a surfer next to me. I think he was coming in to the shore anyway, but washed out on the wave I was attempting to body surf. He gave me a look I don't know exactly how to describe except to say it was a knowing look that he paired with a gesture that clearly said, "Nah, mate. It's time to get out." Which I immediately did. Later in the day I moved spots and picked an area with less dramatic waves so I could jump in just long enough to cool off. A minute dip was enough for me and I was done in the water for the day.
All in all it was an amazing day and I was in heaven! It was one party of Sydney that I whole-heartedly enjoyed.