February 10th... Bondi

Once again the night consisted of many squeaks of the bunks and the droning of cars passing my hostel, although my tiredness took me through to the morning. I had nothing serious planned this morning, so I just decided to take things leisurely today. I can't afford to do tours everyday so I need to find some cost effective things to do instead as well! After getting ready I went for my free breakfast from the hostel, I missed out on this yesterday because of my tour. It was just toast and jams which was nice enough but nothing substantial.

After packing up all my remaining stuff and leaving the hostel I headed out for a quick look round the area. I mentioned yesterday that I found the local supermarket, well this was part of a shopping centre and there were other shops like Dollar King and cheap food places. I went to Australia Post however where I sent a few things home, although it was a little more expensive than I expected. I think I will stick to postcards next time! I then headed down to the main central station where I managed to find a free internet place, although the actions on it were limited. This aided me throughout the rest of the day however. The other thing I was getting worried about was my photos as my memory card was nearly full on my phone (my camera broke if I didn't already mention it) so I needed to back up my files somewhere. My efforts at buying a memory stick and everything were unsuccessful however.

By now I was just wanted to get out and do something, so I caught the train to Bondi Junction to go down to Bondi Beach. I was baffled however at how a single 5 stops to the airport was $16.40 when I arrived, but a return 5 stops to Bondi Junction was only $5.00, I'm not complaining. I would have caught the bus down there but I haven't got my head round their system yet. The main station of Bondi was a about a mile from the beach, so I walked down past all these gift shops and food places before finally seeing a sea view in front of me. After heading down some steps and going through this rock formation, I was presented with that iconic image of Bondi Beach. It is actually a really big area! I decided to walk past the shops to start with, going through the park to do this. I then headed to the other outermost point of the beach to get a view of the beach from the other angle, just as impressive. I was pleased in finding my first Australian geocache here too!

After walking along the warm white sands of the beach, which was not very busy because it was a bit overcast today. It was still warm though as I was gasping for water the whole time. Australia is very good with water though because they have this "refill not landfill" scheme which means there are water fountains everywhere you look. I then headed further along the coast through Hunter Park to get a view of the Tamarama and Bronte beaches which were the other side. The coastal path here was very beautiful with all the rocks and plant life on the side. After taking in the view of the smaller beaches, and seeing the constant stream of planes coming in, I headed back through Marks Park to the road to head back to the station.

Upon arrival at the station I looked round the local Westfield centre which had many shops. The shopping centres out here are always massive. After having a look round a few of the shops, I went into Coles to pick up a few bits for lunch and also dinner this evening as I was taking the night bus. It was then onto the train, I still love how they are double decker, for the short trip back to the central station. It was empty when I boarded, but by the end it was full of school kids! Upon arrival back I went down the Cockle Bay and Darling Harbour to have another look round at the fountains, park and shopping centre. Sydney is such a clean area which is why I love it so much. I then headed to the greyhound terminal, although I arrived about an hour early just so I could sit down!

After a short wait for the bus, it finally arrived and when everyone had showed their tickets and they had packed our bags in, it was off to Byron Bay. It was 7pm by this time. The journey here was scheduled to take 12h 50m! I decided there wasn't much else between other than historical towns, and surfing hotspots/beaches. Speaking to people on the bus most people were doing the same. The bus said that it had free wifi, but this didn't work to the frustration of the people on board. To add to this about an hour after leaving it started to rain! I then ate the random items I bought from Coles earlier today, and just sat back and relaxed trying to sleep... easier said than done.