One Last Exploration

On my train ride to and from work twice a week I would pass Waverton Station, which has a big sign for Balls Head. After all the times I saw the sign and snickered, smirked or snorted at the name, I finally looked up Balls Head the last week I was there.


Balls Head is a little reserve in North Sydney with walking trails and picnic spots. I decided it’s be a great last exploration with my friend Becky.


It was a beautiful day so we wanted to enjoy the early winter sun. We wanted to do something we hadn’t done before, though I thought it’d be good to say goodbye to Sydney’s familiar spots.


Balls Head is right on the water a few stops over the Harbour Bridge so we got a new view of the Opera House and the skyline. It was a perfect panorama from North Sydney over the Harbour Bridge to the CBD and Darling Harbour, across the Anzac Bridge to Balmain and Rozelle.


It was a nice little walk and a fitting end to our adventures.

The Long Way to Watsons Bay

Watsons Bay is a great spot in Sydney. Though I’d say it’s a Level 3 tourist zone (beyond Centerpoint Tower and the Opera House, but still in the guide book), it’s relatively peaceful and had a cozy feel to it, at least on the day we went. Imagine a lazy Sunday in the park and by the water. You can take a really quick ferry from Circular Quay, or you could do the almost 8km scenic route.

My mom, two housemates and I train-and-bussed it over to Rose Bay. I had a vague idea of where we needed to go and figured the walk would be self-explanatory from there. We randomly hopped off the bus at the above spot on New South Head Road. We walked through residential streets until we came to the historic Strickland House. Wandering the public grounds lead us to the water and the Hermitage Foreshore path. Perfect.


There we walked across the rocks and collected colorful bits of beach glass, admiring the gorgeous day that developed out of a drizzly morning. The trail followed the shore, but turned out to be more of a bushwalk than I’d expected. Nothing too strenuous, just more dirt and vegetation than the Bondi-Coogee walk.


Soon we reached Nielsen Park, a stunning family beach with crystal clear water, a lush park and rainbow lorikeets in the trees. It was nearly June, but we wanted to dive in. Instead we sat on the concrete steps for ages, watching the little girls at a birthday party splash about.


After Nielsen Park, our walk moved back to the residential streets, which was fine because we loved seeing the beautiful homes in Vaucluse. We weren’t sure if this was the route we were supposed to take, but we kept winding back to the coast, so I suppose it was right. We crossed the bridge over Parsley Bay, then shared a bench for another extended period of time.


Eventually we reached Watsons Bay. We had no idea what would be there — I hadn’t done any research — but we were pleasantly surprised. There was a big open park, restaurants along the wharf, and a trail up to The Gap, which offers extraordinary views south to the city skyline and north to Manly, not to mention the sparklingly cobalt Tasman Sea.


Back at the wharf, we ordered takeaway fish and chips from a place called Doyle’s. We had to finish the meal on the ferry back to Circular Quay, but it was delicious. I later learned Doyle’s is something of an institution at Watsons Bay, and for good reason. Those were the best fish and chips I’ve ever had. My friend Becky later declared it the best meal she had in Sydney, but to be fair, we had just walked nearly five miles and my mom paid for it. Still, I’d say it’s worth the trip...by ferry or by foot.

If you can see this, you’re not lost

Even as someone who sets out to explore and “get lost,” I like knowing where I am. Luckily Sydney has a recognizable skyline, including the Sydney Tower, about a thousand feet high. Also known as the Centerpoint Tower, it’s my point of reference wherever I go, and I’ve seen it from nearly every angle and varying distances.

From Glebe (southwest):


From Rose Bay (east):


From Centennial Park (southeast):


From Kirribilli (north):


From Manly (northeast):


From Royal National Park (south):

From Little Things Big Things Grow

Conveniently, the last week of lectures for my Indigenous Australia class overlapped with National Reconciliation Week. The week aims to bring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues to the forefront, while recognizing their culture and history. Over the course of the, er, course, we discussed the disadvantages and injustices faced by Indigenous Australians in the past and still today.


Sometimes the discussions were really depressing. These are people who have had their land stolen, were victims of what was essentially genocide, have had generations of children taken away from them, and are still fighting notions of being second-rate citizens. But this last week has been especially positive, focusing on recent changes and optimism for the future. The Sea of Hands really embodies that.


The Sea of Hands, which began in 1997, is a series of public art installations meant to symbolize support for reconciliation between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. People write their names on plastic hands (red, black and yellow like the Aboriginal flag; green and blue like the Torres Strait Islander flag; and blue, white and red like the Australian flag) and add them to designs across the country. Right now there is a display on the front lawn of Sydney Uni’s Great Hall.


The design seems to be a lizard and includes the word “Sorry” since in February the prime minister gave a national apology for the “Stolen Generations” of children taken by the government away from families.

We also learned about GetUp! which is an advocacy organization that supports a range of causes, including those of Indigenous Australians. The GetUp Mob remade a Paul Kelly song, “From Little Things Big Things Grow,” that makes a good point and has been stuck in my head since we heard it in lecture.



“It seems to me if we can imagine the injustice, then we can imagine the opposite. And we CAN have justice.”
Paul Keating, Redfern Speech 1992

Harbour Bridge Walk

With this past Saturday being the last in April, I took a quick train north for the monthly Kirribilli Markets. A friend of mine from class, who lives just a few minutes from Kirribilli in North Sydney, met me for a browse through a few hundreds stalls of clothes, crafts and food.


Though she had to leave for soccer practice (she’s on the Sydney Uni team), I hung around and explored Kirribilli, from the main restaurant row to Luna Park and through the residential parts along the water.


It was cool seeing the opposite side of the Opera House.


Then an American friend, Jeff, met me at Milson’s Point so we could walk across the Harbour Bridge back to Circular Quay. The Harbour Bridge Climb, which takes you to the very top, costs up to $300, but a simple walk on the pedestrian path doesn’t cost a thing.


The views are still pretty good.

The Best Spot I’ve Ever Had a Matzo Sandwich

The best spot I ever had a sandwich was a remote ledge on the Barrenjoey Head in Palm Beach. But this overlook in Manly was pretty spectacular as well. Here’s to the last day of Passover and the return of bread, rice and legumes to our residential college kitchen!


Sydney finally saw some sun this weekend after two solid weeks of rain. My friend Sarah and I took advantage of this by taking a ferry to Manly, which is probably Sydney’s most famous beach after Bondi.

We only stopped briefly at the beach because we were headed on a coastal walk around the peninsula. The walk took us to Shelly Beach before leading us uphill to said fantastic sandwich spot.

Then it was more of a bushwalk until we reached North Head Scenic Dr.


This point of Sydney Harbour National Park near the North Fort Artillery Museum has an incredible view of the whole city. But where haven’t I gone with a good view? Sydney just has too many. Sarah and I kept turning to each other, smiling and saying, “We live here.”


And after beautiful days like this one, it gets harder to consider living anywhere else.

Whole Lotta Hoopla

Last Monday, two friends and I went to Darling Harbour for the last day of the annual Hoopla Festival, which included street performers and acrobatics.


These guys who played movie themes and classic rock as they flew, spun and flipped were maybe my favorite.




But the breakdancers on stilts were awesome too. (The photos didn’t just come out as good.) That's two people doing some sort of crab-walk together.







These two women were incredibly strong and graceful. They would climb the rope without any safety net or harness, then entwine themselves in the rope and twist around.









My friend and I were inspired on the playground. But without the same finesse, we didn’t draw much of a crowd.