Tag Archives: Coogee

Wrapping Up A Temporary Life in Sydney Australia

Step away from the gelato, sir! No, not really — just kidding. Don’t look at me like that!

Gelato goodness at Coogee Beach

The friend who gave us the keys to her apartment while she was away for the holidays just happened to mention that there were three gelato shops in this tiny community. And then she issued the challenge to Mark to try them all and report back on which one had the best gelato. I can honestly report that he has thrown himself into this task with gusto and thus far the hazelnut gelato from the shop at the far end of the beach has been his all time favorite.

We have loved it here. The smell of the sea or the harbour, the positively perky people who all seem to glow with good health and fitness, the vibrant hum of daily activities, the quiet times in slower-paced neighbourhoods, and the technicolour look of the place. Is it any wonder that this city is the first choice of spots to visit for most overseas visitors to Australia!

But by actually living here for several weeks, we have enjoyed a different pace of life and have, except for one visit to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, stayed completely away from all of the ‘sights’ that are thronged with tourists. Instead we have ambled up and down the hills of Sydney in the radically different neighbourhoods of North Sydney and Coogee Beach, shopped in the local stores, cooked almost all of our meals in our temporary homes, and relaxed into the experience in a way that we never could have if we had been staying in a hotel.

Art Deco era apartment at Coogee Beach


We had the use of a splendid apartment in an Art Deco era building and our proximity to all of the fresh groceries, seafood, butchers, etc. made our frugal travel concept quite easily manageable.

I will be posting more travel tales and photos in the days ahead from Amsterdam. But for now (and we will be back!), we bid a fond farewell to the lovely, friendly Sydney, Australia!!!

Beachside Surf Rescue Team at Coogee Beach in Sydney Australia

Parents with Child Wearing Sunblock Swimwear at Australian Beach

Living Like A Local at Coogee Beach in Sydney Australia

Intense glare, stunning heat, sunburnt bodies sprawled on every inch of sand, men in swimming trunks wearing Santa hats, and the unmistakable fragrance of coconut-scented suntan lotion — it all conspired to give me a serious flashback moment to childhood Christmas holidays spent on Florida beaches. But then the smell of beer and sizzling sausages combined with the overlapping Aussie or British or Irish or Scottish or German or French or whatever other accents and it jolted me back to the 21st century. I looked around and knew that I was in Australia for Christmas at the beach.

I didn’t try to take an expensive professional camera with me on Christmas Day because we would have gotten jostled in the thick crowds. The picture below was taken on Boxing Day — the very next day after Christmas — and the crowds were back to a manageable size. But this gives you a glimpse of this little piece of heaven.
 

Boxing Day at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia


 
Even the ‘Mums and Bubs Pool’ (aka Mothers and Babies Paddle Pool to you non-OZ folks) was thinned out compared to the previous day. But as you can see by the clock on the Surf Life Saving Club building, it was late in the day and rather a lot of people had already packed up and gone home.
 

Beachside Mums and Bubs Pool at Coogee Beach in Sydney Australia


 
We are currently enjoying our final week in Australia and the beachside Christmas which is quintessentially Aussie. We were able to have this final holiday in Australia because we were quite generously given the keys to a friend’s apartment which sits just up the hill from these scenes — a less than ten minute walk away. She lives in such an idyllic spot and we feel very blessed to be living in her gorgeous apartment while she is out of town.

Sometimes it’s the little things that allow you to relax into your holiday a bit more thoroughly — and having a full sized kitchen, a big deep bath tub, a spacious living room, and a view of a beautiful beachside neighbourhood has certainly contributed to our sense of well-being. I’m not a loving-the-sand kind of person but Mark certainly is. There are days when he goes down for a swim three times in one day. And watching the stress of our former lives just melt off of his face is quite joyous.

I do enjoy the beach scene as a spectator and observer. And as you can see, there is always something worth taking pictures of!
 

Gateway to the Baths — a natural pool set in the rocks.


 
Coogee Beach is around the bend from the well known surfing spot, Bondi Beach, but Coogee is definitely more laid back and family oriented.

Back down the hill from the apartment where we are “living like a local” is a very convenient street that contains well over a dozen cafes and restaurants along with pharmacies, gift shops, numerous banks, doctors and dentists, and a full-sized grocery store. Just like our previous stay in North Sydney, the proximity of all of these stores allowed us to shop for food and supplies every few days and cut our daily expense budget in half or less.

I’ll be sorry to see this end tomorrow, but we are off on an evening flight to Kuala Lumpur, a one day layover, and then it’s on to cold and wintery Amsterdam for a week before we travel to England. What a shock to the body that change of temperature is going to be!

We will be arriving in Amsterdam on the morning of New Year’s Eve. After a bit of sleep to recover from the jet lag, we will be ushering in a New Year AND a new life in the Northern hemisphere. And yes, we will be “living like a local” there, too.

Stay tuned for more travel adventures and a wrap-up of our temporary life in Sydney!

COPYRIGHT
© Deborah Harmes and ©A Wanderful Life
Please respect the copyright of all text and photos on this website.
All rights reserved.