Road Trip Brisbane To Sydney Part II
Five
and a half hours on the M1 we hit out designation, situated 10 kilometres north
of the Sydney CBD; Chatswood which is a shopping and foodie hub. Days could be spent eating in Chatswood,
tasting all there is on offer; however, we only had a few hours.
After a
little pre-visit research we hit Chatswood Chase, which is a large upscale
shopping centre located at the eastern edge of the Chatswood central business
district on Victoria Avenue. The centre features a major three level David
Jones department store, Kmart, Coles Supermarket, Harvey Norman plus over 120
specialty stores, most of them upmarket and fashion oriented. The centre is
situated over four levels. It's an unofficial scientific fact that shopping makes
you hungry, so it makes sense that Chatswood's cluster of shopping centres. We
started the food crawl with a shot of coffee at the train station-side Steam
Engine cafe. Run by self-confessed coffee geeks, it opened on the first day of
September and is serving up serious Toby's Estate coffee, a custom blend and
various single origins.
We
headed to Khao Pla, which has been the hottest meal ticket in Chatswood since
opening in July last year. Highlights from the Thai menu include sticky
tamarind pork ribs and chilli-hot sashimi scallops. Sweet, milky Thai iced-tea
is the key to taming the authentic chilli-levels. New Shanghai is another
ever-popular option – both the aforementioned Lemon Grove branch, and the more
upmarket Chatswood Chase site. The most sought after dish on the extensive menu
is excellent pan-fried crab and pork buns.
We had
a great meal and then headed back to hotel to a well deserved rest.
We took
a little over an hour's drive from the city to Palm Beach, which is at the
exclusive end of Sydney's long stretch of northern beaches. It sits at the end
of a long peninsula, with surf on one side and Pittwater on the other. Many of
the country's wealthy have built their holiday houses here. Fans will also
recognize Palm Beach as the mythical village of ‘Summer Bay' where the hit TV
series Home and Away is filmed. The two-kilometer long, golden beach curves
from Barrenjoey Head at the southern head of Broken Bay, to the sandstone rocks
of Little Head in the south.
Palm
Beach sits at the end of a long peninsula, with the ocean on one side and the
tranquil waters of Pittwater on the other. Dramatic Barrenjoey Head looms over
the northern end of the beach, with historic Barrenjoey Lighthouse and
light-keepers' cottages at the end of the Barrenjoey Lighthouse Walk, a popular
track for surfers, joggers and walkers. From the Barrenjoey Lighthouse, built
in the 1880s, you can look over Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and Broken Bay,
or all along the dramatic coastline north of Sydney.
The
North Palm Beach surf club is an ideal place to sit and enjoy the sweeping
ocean views. The southern end of Palm Beach is more protected for swimming.
Most of Sydney's northern beaches have ocean rock pools which are perfect for
swimming laps or for young children. In the village we found one-of-a-kind
designer boutiques, which Kim loved, award-winning restaurants.
We
capped off a great day with lunch at Jonah’s Whale Beach Restaurant.
Blue
skies, the sun on your face, a shimmering expanse of azure water stretching its
way to the horizon. It's hard not to be taken aback by the views from Jonah's.
Perched high on the cliffs above Whale Beach, there's an instant sense of calm
as you take in the serenity of the magical trio of sun, sand and sea. The
dining room is a sea of pressed white tablecloths set with glinting glasses.
Most people seem to revel in the opportunity to get dressed up for a fancy
Friday lunch but there are also more casual dining areas on the balcony and the
terrace.
We headed
down to one of Australia's most famous beaches and well-known worldwide. It has
probably featured on more postcards and more television shows and films than
any other in Australia.
Each
year tens of thousands of people, from backpackers to billionaires, take to the
golden sands of this wide, one-kilometre long city beach expanse to walk, jog,
or just soak up the sun. Being only 10 kilometres from the city centre, Bondi
Beach is one of Sydney's busiest beaches. There's a host of events held here all
year round from community art shows to city to surf running marathons.
After
having a look we headed to the main street along the beachfront, which is
Campbell Parade, where we found a range of stylish surf and fashion shops,
outdoor cafes and bars. It's a popular meeting place for Sydney's cafe society.
The main streets leading back from the beach are Hall Street, Roscoe Street,
Curlewis Street and Beach Road. Hall Street has cool fashion and designer
labels while Curlewis Street has many art galleries.
Being a
Sunday, the grounds of the local public school hosted the Bondi Beach Markets,
a flea market where you may pick up some bargains including locally produced
jewellery, handicrafts and vintage clothing. Empty wallet later we headed to
find a bit to eat.
We had
a fantastic lunch at Ribs and Burgers.
Two
lightly sesame seed toasted buns encasing a beef mince patty, grilled, basted
with iceberg lettuce, tomato, Spanish onion, dill pickles, BBQ sauce and a pink
secret sauce. Gorgeously pink inside, we loved the simple and classic flavours
of this perfect burger. We can't have a burger without a side of chips and
these ones were fantastic. Crispy, crunchy and every other synonym for “crispy”
describe these chips. Perfect when accompanied with BBQ sauce and their secret
pink sauce.
We then
headed back down the beach for an chill out afternoon.
Day 4 Part of CBD Visit
Today
we explored Sydney's early convict days at the Rocks, a jumble of cobblestone
streets and cul-de-sacs just five minutes from Circular Quay. You only have to
step off the harbour foreshore to find the sandstone terraces and cottages and
some of Sydney's oldest pubs. The historic precinct also draws both visitors
and locals with its museums and galleries, lively weekend markets and hotels
with harbour views. The past and present collide in the best way in the Rocks,
home to both ghostly tours and some of Sydney's liveliest celebrations.
We took
a walk up the steep, higgledy-piggledy streets of The Rocks sprawl out to the
western side of Circular Quay and the viewed the imposing steel arch of the
Sydney Harbour Bridge. We then wandered
around the harbour foreshore, from the iconic Opera House on one side to just
beneath the bridge. We visited the Pylon Lookout
The
pubs here are some of the oldest in Sydney, and we listened to live music and
tasted a locally-brewed pint in bar where sailors, soldiers and stevedores
celebrated and drank away their sorrows in the 1800s. We immersed ourselves in
their stories we wandered between the pubs, historic Playfair Street terraces,
storehouses and workman's cottages.
Kim had
to explore the boutiques and I killed time in some of the galleries. We were
lucky that we came on Saturday, as the markets you'll find everything from
stylish, hand-crafted jewelry to gourmet bush tucker condiments.
Garden Island
Today
we travel down the F3 to Sydney, across the beautiful Sydney Harbour to Lady
Macquaire’s Chair. "Whose chair?" that was Kim’s reaction when I said
we were going to Mrs Macquarie's Chair. We were on our way to Mrs Macquarie's
Point, hopefully, to get a nice view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.
We parked up and a little short walk later, we were at the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was reminiscent of Brisbane Botanical Gardens, a huge garden and park in the middle of the city. We strolled around a bit and made our way to the Mrs Macquarie's point.
During our walk to the Mrs Macquarie's Point, we had to take some detours as there was construction work going on. The walk ended in, what seemed to be the end tip of the island.
We didn't see the chair (actually, we didn't bother to look for it), we saw people looking over the bay gawking at the Opera House, photographers setting up there tripods and some just taking a stroll. There was a cold breeze flowing from the bay, it was strong enough to knock our tripods off but rather pleasant enough for us to stand and enjoy it and take in the view ahead.
It's one of the best places to see the panoramic view of the Sydney's iconic performing arts venue with the Harbour Bridge in the background.
After
some quick photos we jumped back in the car and traveled to The Rocks to find a
park then jump on a ferry to Garden Island. We gained access to the Naval Base
where my father was based in the late 60’s and enjoyed tour in the RAN Heritage
Centre within one of the most historic and beautiful locations on the harbour.
The
theme of the initial exhibition is Australia’s Navy in Peace and War, and it
emphasises the operational Navy over its history and Navy’s people, who have
always been central to what Navy is and represents. Kim ran amuck playing with
the periscope which overlooked the harbor while I chatted with the volunteers.
One of the volunteers helped pass of a few photos of my dad’s ships he was
posted to. We took a walk around the grounds and jumped back on the ferry to
Watson Bay.
Finally,
we arrived at Watsons Bay. The first thing we noticed was the million-dollar
view of the Sydney harbour and the city skyline. Having fish’n’chips by the
beach is an Aussie tradition. Or you could have a sit-down meal at the famous
Doyles Restaurant. Doyles is a well-known restauranteur name in Sydney, if not
Australia, and this one on the beach was the Doyles dynasty’s first seafood
restaurant. Est 1885. We went to have a drink at the Beach Club, otherwise
known as the Watsons Bay Hotel, next to Doyles. It was a very chillax and
lively beachside club.
We
awoke to another glorious sunny day in Sydney. We were lucky to catch the
9.30am Manly ferry. The ferry ride gives you the opportunity to see Sydney from
the sea with views of the bridge, Sydney Opera house and coastline. The ferry
also bizarrely goes backwards for 30 minutes all the way to Manly. We took a
short walk from the ferry terminal to Manly beach passing many shops in The
Corso, the main pedestrian street in Manly. It was quite a slow walk keeping
Kim out of the shops. We decided to do a shortened version of the Manly Scenic
Walkway. We walked to Shelly Beach and then up a hill towards North Head.
Because we had to explore the shops later that day we could not walk up to
North Head and instead cut back to Little Manly Beach and back to where we
started, the ferry terminal.
Was
hitting lunch time so, we headed to The Panty.
In prime position opposite The Corso and directly overlooking the beach
stands this homey deli-style beach house. It’s a triple threat of smug real
estate, consistently good service and a menu that says you’re in for something
special. We went light and went with charcuterie, pate, terrine and tapas mix,
all rustically presented on wooden boards and ideal for sharing.
Kim
jumped into the Manly’s one-of-a-kind boutiques far from the main drags, which
brim with kebab stands, tourist-y variety shops and standard clothing outlets.
We strayed to the laneways and backstreets instead. First shop was Bow &
Arrow which had artfully sourced fashion, jewellery, trinkets, homewares and
objects of desire from designers like Paper Denim & Cloth and Chronicles of
Never. Next the Mint Shop which had an even split of guys’ and gals’ clothing
and accessories, plenty of high-end denim and a permanent sale rack of designer
bargains. The small pocket of shops in Rialto Square boasts McLean & Page,
which stocks Shakuhachi, Lover, Camilla & Marc and other luxe labels. Next
stop was in Sammy & Sid which she found vintage, retro and recycled
fashion, and always has some new pieces thrown into the mix, and came out with
a couple of things. Back at circular quay we've got another decision.
We made
a decision to head for drinks at the Blu Bar on 36 at the Shangri-La Hotel
Sydney. As the name suggests, the cocktail lounge is located high above the
city, on level 36 of the prestigious 5-star-hotel, allowing guests to enjoy
breathtaking views of Darling Harbour, Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera
House. Sounds too expensive? Surprisingly it isn’t. The beers are all priced
around 10 AU$ and glasses of wine start at 12 AU$. Just make sure you get there
straight after they open at 5 pm, in order to get the best seats directly in
front of the windows, which usually are taken very quickly. So we stayed in
this marvelous place for quite a while, drinking cocktails, soaking in the
fantastic views and watching the sun go down over the city. Was a beautiful
spot to relax, after a busy day of sightseeing was definitely one worth
visiting.
Today
we decided to head into the CBD. First stop was Sydney’s Paddy’s Markets at
Haymarket is located just beside Chinatown’s main street Dixon Street, on the
ground floor of the Market City Building.
Paddy’s Markets is one of Sydney’s largest markets with a wide variety
of goods ranging from fresh produce to souvenirs and cheap imported clothing
and accessories. Paddy’s Markets is a great place to get cheap souvenirs,
clothes, imitation bags and gifts. You
can get lost in the rows and rows of shops all selling similar stuff. As Paddy’s Market is popular with people
like us, tourist, remember to bargain with the storeowner to avoid getting
ripped off. Nevertheless, it is an
excellent one-stop centre to get all the souvenirs you need to gather dust back
when you get home.
From
there we headed towards the city and walked to The Anzac Memorial which was
built for the soldiers in the First World War but is now used for all service
Persons. We had a good look around and watched a short film about how it was
built.
We then
walked again to St Andrews Cathedral, lots of people sat outside in deck
chairs, people sit everywhere. Then we plodded on to Sydney Fish Market which
was really exciting, very buzzy and noisey. The fish down there was amazing, I
don't think we have ever seen that amount of fish, so we decided to sample some
lobster and it truly was worth the walk.
We then
walked over to Darling Harbour which is just beautiful, loads of restaurants,
bars, museums, Sea Life and just loads and loads of things to look at. My neck
has got longer, really too much to take in. I think by the end of this trip, I
will have to get a new camera, it will have worn out. We walked over the
Darling Harbour Bridge and they play music from speakers on there, 'smooth
sounds', really lovely to hear whilst looking out to the harbour. We then went
back to the Sydney Tower so Kim could have one last Shopping Day.
Woke up
nice and early and packed the car and started heading back to Brisbane. Our
next stop was going to be Coffs Harbour. Follow Blog under Coffs Harbour.
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