Many of you may know that this past summer I had the amazing opportunity to travel around Australia for a couple of weeks. We arrived in Sydney on June 13 and, while we were a little out of it from the jet lag, we still managed to have a pretty productive day. The 14th (a Monday) was jam packed from 4:30 in the morning (watching the Australia vs Germany World Cup game live on the big screen at Darling Harbour) into the later hours of the night. We had spent the day discovering Sydney's many beautiful parks and gardens, gazing upon the inspiring Opera House and surrounding harbor, enjoying a gorgeous ferry ride to Manly Beach and a long trek around the peninsula.
I remember returning to Sydney on the last ferry of the evening, the stars were out, the moon was a lovely crescent overlooking these silent sea gulls which glided beside us the entire journey. The three of us stood at the front of the ferry to catch the view. We were all loaded with groceries at the time and definitely exhausted from our long day in which we had to have walked at least 15 miles. It was a bit cold standing in the front, but it was peaceful, very calm, standing at the front of the boat which tipped up and down ever so gently. I can remember my mind was melodically processing all it had registered over the past few days. The sea can do that to a man...or at least it can to me. It puts me at ease within myself. As if I belong to its systematic rhythm.
And then we saw it in the distance, the stunning glow of the Sydney Opera House. It is a whole different experience to see the piece of architecture at night under the gaze of the moon. It was lit up in these purple lights which washed over the Opera House like the ocean. It was a really cool effect and it looked pretty magical coming into the harbor being greeted by something so spectacular, with the big city looking over its shoulder. I can remember our ferry coming in toward the port, Circular Quay (pronounced "key"), just marveling at the romance of the city. It was so majestic. The Harbour Bridge is a pretty sweet spectacle as well. It is so big...giving the city a genuine feeling of safety.
We were tired. But coming into port from Manly, in the dark of the night was a tremendous experience. We wandered down toward this area of the city called the Rocks. It is an awesome place! Basically there are parts of old historic Sydney that are still there and there are new buildings which have been built within or on top of old Sydney. So the Rocks is this great experience of restaurants, pubs, apartments, and office buildings that have a unique feel. Now that I'm writing I realize how hard it is to explain, but it is a really cool area...and you'll just have to take my word on that.
We discovered three crucial things while going through there:
1) There was this awesome international cuisine festival going on throughout the Rocks that night. Everything looked and smelled so good. I was so upset to have groceries in my hand at that point. The streets were filled with tent after tent of flavorful smells. Mmmmm.
2) We ran into a tent where a guy was selling licorice. We stayed and talked to him for a bit and he ended up letting us taste through his entire display of licorices. They were so good. We finally bought a few ropes of it. But I remember that guy so vividly; a very engaging older man who kept cutting us off pieces to taste.
3) On our way back toward our hostel we ran past this pub which had a sign on it for $10 steak dinners on Tuesday nights...which after our time in Australia thus far, we had realized was a really good price for a restaurant in a legit area. So we walked in, talked to the bartender who happened to be American, and he hooked us up with a reservation for the next night (which was Tuesday) at a table up on the balcony, which overlooked the Opera House. So that whole discovery ended up being the means to an entirely other amazing experience the next night.
I write all this (as you wonder what it all has to do with the "cliff top walk" title at the top) to give you context of what happened next. I can remember sitting on this big rock by the harbor as it was late at night and we were trying to figure out what we were going to do the next day. Some of the ideas were: trying to get out to the Blue Mountains somehow, go to the zoo and aquarium, go to the outback and see some kangaroos and aborigines, or go to Bondi Beach. Now I had this guide book, which really was a big help and I recommend it , by Frommer's, which was telling me that Bondi Beach and the cliff top walk along the coast was a must see. And so, after some discussion, Bondi was in and the others were out.
Let me just say how happy I am that we made that decision. For so many reasons.
Both the map and video below can give you as small visual taste of our time on the Bondi to Coogee walk. Most of the icons on the map have pictures if you click on them, which gives you a bit of a visual picture of the walk.
I remember returning to Sydney on the last ferry of the evening, the stars were out, the moon was a lovely crescent overlooking these silent sea gulls which glided beside us the entire journey. The three of us stood at the front of the ferry to catch the view. We were all loaded with groceries at the time and definitely exhausted from our long day in which we had to have walked at least 15 miles. It was a bit cold standing in the front, but it was peaceful, very calm, standing at the front of the boat which tipped up and down ever so gently. I can remember my mind was melodically processing all it had registered over the past few days. The sea can do that to a man...or at least it can to me. It puts me at ease within myself. As if I belong to its systematic rhythm.
And then we saw it in the distance, the stunning glow of the Sydney Opera House. It is a whole different experience to see the piece of architecture at night under the gaze of the moon. It was lit up in these purple lights which washed over the Opera House like the ocean. It was a really cool effect and it looked pretty magical coming into the harbor being greeted by something so spectacular, with the big city looking over its shoulder. I can remember our ferry coming in toward the port, Circular Quay (pronounced "key"), just marveling at the romance of the city. It was so majestic. The Harbour Bridge is a pretty sweet spectacle as well. It is so big...giving the city a genuine feeling of safety.
We were tired. But coming into port from Manly, in the dark of the night was a tremendous experience. We wandered down toward this area of the city called the Rocks. It is an awesome place! Basically there are parts of old historic Sydney that are still there and there are new buildings which have been built within or on top of old Sydney. So the Rocks is this great experience of restaurants, pubs, apartments, and office buildings that have a unique feel. Now that I'm writing I realize how hard it is to explain, but it is a really cool area...and you'll just have to take my word on that.
We discovered three crucial things while going through there:
1) There was this awesome international cuisine festival going on throughout the Rocks that night. Everything looked and smelled so good. I was so upset to have groceries in my hand at that point. The streets were filled with tent after tent of flavorful smells. Mmmmm.
2) We ran into a tent where a guy was selling licorice. We stayed and talked to him for a bit and he ended up letting us taste through his entire display of licorices. They were so good. We finally bought a few ropes of it. But I remember that guy so vividly; a very engaging older man who kept cutting us off pieces to taste.
3) On our way back toward our hostel we ran past this pub which had a sign on it for $10 steak dinners on Tuesday nights...which after our time in Australia thus far, we had realized was a really good price for a restaurant in a legit area. So we walked in, talked to the bartender who happened to be American, and he hooked us up with a reservation for the next night (which was Tuesday) at a table up on the balcony, which overlooked the Opera House. So that whole discovery ended up being the means to an entirely other amazing experience the next night.
I write all this (as you wonder what it all has to do with the "cliff top walk" title at the top) to give you context of what happened next. I can remember sitting on this big rock by the harbor as it was late at night and we were trying to figure out what we were going to do the next day. Some of the ideas were: trying to get out to the Blue Mountains somehow, go to the zoo and aquarium, go to the outback and see some kangaroos and aborigines, or go to Bondi Beach. Now I had this guide book, which really was a big help and I recommend it , by Frommer's, which was telling me that Bondi Beach and the cliff top walk along the coast was a must see. And so, after some discussion, Bondi was in and the others were out.
Let me just say how happy I am that we made that decision. For so many reasons.
Both the map and video below can give you as small visual taste of our time on the Bondi to Coogee walk. Most of the icons on the map have pictures if you click on them, which gives you a bit of a visual picture of the walk.
View Exploring Sydney - Cliff Top Walk in a larger map
We took a bus the next morning from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach. This was a very different beach from Manly...it had a strong commercial feel to it, even though it was pretty empty (since it was the middle of winter and pretty early in the morning). We just sat and relaxed for a while. I took pictures, Scott read, Joel took a nap. It was so peaceful out there, which is rare for Bondi. In the summer Bondi is crowded with 35,000 people an any given day. Crazy!
After a while we decided to start our walk. Our goal was to get to Coogee Beach where our hostel was putting on a cookout, which meant free food. It was remarkable as the day went on how many people we saw walking and running the pathway coined the "cliff top walk". So many runners, just really active people. We started walking up hill away from the beach and the views became magnified. There was something special about the way the golden sand meshed with the topaz ocean. The sun glazed over the waters melting the sea and sky together into a harmonious blue tint. It was magnificent.
And we walked and walked. I was continually stunned by my surroundings. Was I really taking a stroll on the cliffs of a beautiful beach in Australia?! Each cliff that jutted out to a view told me that I was simply observing a living photograph. The colors and shapes seemed to perfect to be real at times. My mind was racing of ways I could live along that area. I actually ran into a lady who was originally from Britain but had been living in this beautiful home here on the coast and I envied her. It soon came to my understanding that I would never live in Bondi Beach...but it was fun to pretend for a little while.
Needless to say, there was a certain feel along those cliffs that really energized me and ignited an excitement and vigor for life within the deeper parts of me. I love the ocean and the beach and Bondi had hit the spot!
There is a lot more to our walk that I could rattle on about. You'll notice on the pictures that we pass through a huge cemetery. It was pretty cool to take a look at. People born as early as 1850. We also passed a bowling green, which was awesome to observe for a bit...seems like such a gentleman's game. Also, I saw the most colorful wild bird I had ever seen in my life, we hung out with people from our hostel as we grilled out on the barbie, and we tested out my newly purchased boomerang in the sand. I can also remember some great conversation we had.
Most of my thoughts, as we returned to Bondi Beach from the cookout at Coogee, were fixed on the people from our hostel who were obviously so lost. The hostel culture in Australia is actually quite sad, and it was tough for me to watch. We were really surrounded by a bunch of kids who are searching for a place to belong, a place to feel happiness, excitement, a place to get away from what's familiar. In Sydney we stayed in a 30-bed male/female dorm room. Sometimes, I'll be honest, it made me cry to see how everyone lived. I thought about that a lot as we walked back to Bondi. I thought about the task I've been given to bring the news which reaches into the heart of this longing. The great responsibility to live life to it's max each day, no matter where I am. That God has great plans for me...and those plans always involve the Gospel.
Whether we are in Australia or our very home, we have been given the task of living a life which reflects the glory of God and points others to Christ who gives life and breath to all who are weary, worn out, confused and lost. As beautiful as the Australia coast is, it does not compare to the magnitude of a human soul...and that is what caused me to marvel. That the inexplicably wondrous sights I had before me could not compare to the masterpiece of human life. The most beautiful part of our adventure was actually each person we encountered along the way.
-b garrison
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