Our day began with a walking tour of Sydney! The tour was given by our trip manager Steph and covered a few of the spots I hadn't yet been to. I really enjoyed whenever Steph took us around and gave us a brief history of sites we visited. It seems more of what I signed up for.
The first site we stopped at was the Anzac memorial. European exploration of Australia began in 1606. The Europeans felt that because there were such large landmasses in the Northern Hemisphere, there must be some landmass in the South to balance out the continents. The English didn’t fully believe Australia existed and so in 1770 the famous James Cook was sent on an expedition. He was the first non-indigenous person to arrive in Australia and claimed the entire Eastern side in the name of the British crown. Even today Australia is still a part of the Commonwealth and follows British rule. The Eastern side was claimed by the British and named New South Wales while the Western side was claimed by the Dutch and named New Holland. January 26th is the day Australia was formerly founded and is known as Australia Day. Australia takes its name from the latin word Terra Australis which means southern land.
Due to the British influence, there are several things named after sights in England. One of the big landmarks is Hyde park right next to Anzac memorial. Hyde Park is the oldest public park in Sydney and is named after the one in London. In fact the city of Sydney was designed to model England with public buildings situated around the park. Right next to the park was the first hospital in Sydney. Rumor has it that the hospital was the shadiest one to exist as they would engage in practices such as free bleeding and would just drain patients blood to cure disease after which, they would just collapse and die. The builders also ran out of money while building it so it is known as the “rum hospital” since the workers were paid in rum.
We passed by a man busking with his guitar in the park and some tourists plugged their ears as they passed by. The guitarist got so pissed, called them “little shits” and then went running after them. I have been warned that Australians are just as wild as their wildlife.
Our walking tour took us through the Royal Botanic Garden which was the first farmland in Australia and then to the ferry where we headed towards Watson’s Bay. At Watsons Bay there was a very pretty lookout cliff area. The sight, while strikingly gorgeous, had a dark history. Due to the rocky cliffside, it has historically been used as a place for suicide. Stories spread about how a man managed to save 187 lives just by sitting there at night and talking people out of it. Now there is a massive fence, tons of surveillance, and helplines for people who still go there.
From Watsons Bay we boarded a bus that took us all the way to Bondi Beach. Bondi is an Aboriginal word meaning water crashing on rocks which is exactly what Bondi beach is. Bondi beach is a huge tourist destination popularized by the show Bondi Rescue. The show is a reality television series that details the lives of the lifeguards who are tasked with saving people’s lives. Bondi beach is ranked in the top 5 most dangerous beaches in Australia due to the deadly rip currents. The rip currents pull you out to sea without you realizing it and leave you unable to swim against the current. It is the reason there are so many lifeguards patrolling the area. The beach is completely full of tourists who blatantly defy the lifeguards constant reminder to “swim within the yellow and red flags”. I cannot even count the number of times the lifeguards had to repeat that. The lifeguards are everywhere from in the big lifeguard hub, on the shore, in the water, and even in helicopters above looking out for tourists. It's incredible the amount of effort they put into keeping people safe. I really don’t understand why so many people swim in the beach if it is so dangerous. Okay fine, I do because I swam in it and it is definitely gorgeous.
Right near Bondi beach is a coastal walk to another beach called Coogee beach. The entire walk takes about 2 hours and I really wanted to at least go see the views. It was too hot, around 90 degrees, to complete the full walk so I just walked to the viewpoints. The viewpoints were definitely worth it as I got to see the beach in its entirety. I also got a view of the cliffs on the other side and the infinity swimming pool for those who did not want to swim in the beach water. After the viewpoint I went down to the water for a dip.
It was so hot on the beach and as it was the middle of the day when the sun was at its hottest. I love the beach but don’t usually go at 1 pm. I also really don’t understand what white people’s obsession with burning is. The beach was packed with people tanning, rather burning, under the hot Australian sun. There were a lot of Brazilian men in Speedos flexing their 6 pack abs strutting all over the beach. Apparently Bondi beach has a reputation to attract all the sexiest people.
When I went back to swim in the water I could not find the group but I eventually ran into a girl named Kate who I recognized and we went back in the water together. The water was cold but also refreshing with the summer heat. I stayed close to the shore so I would not be one of the tourists causing trouble. I definitely felt the strong rip current attempting to pull me farther into the water. The waves broke further back in the shore giving a deceptive appearance that the sea was calmer than it was.
I spent the rest of the day alternating between running into the waves and returning to my beach towel to dry off. It was a bit hot for me to be outside in the sun like that, but all the white people were doing it so I had no other choice.
In the evening I returned with Kate and showered and changed to go for Beauty & the Beast. I had walked past the sign the other day and immediately knew that I had to go and see it. There was no way I was going to miss it. Tickets were $100 AUD which initially turned me off but I realized that meant $65 USD which was more affordable so I booked it. I am glad I went for it as it made me so happy!
Beauty and the Beast was absolutely phenomenal! I was so excited before and squealed with excitement the whole time! Everything about the show was amazing! The singers had incredible voices, the sets were so well done, and the choreography was outstanding! Everything was so sparkly and grand! It was much better than the opera I had seen and left me feeling so alive. How I wish I could be on the stage as Belle on day. What I found interesting from the performance was in the beginning they explained how the beast was cursed which I had never seen before. It was all too good and left me feeling like I had such an incredible night! I need more experiences like this that make me feel so alive and happy!
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