Bondi Beach is an iconic destination for visitors to Australia – and yet, despite the fact that this is my third trip to Sydney, I’ve never been to Bondi before. Time to head out there. Unlike Watson’s Bay, you can’t reach Bondi by ferry.  Stefan suggested we catch the bus, but instead we decided to walk there. Google maps tells me, it’s only five kilometres, but five kilometres feels quite long when you’re walking in 30 c plus, especially when walking up hill!

Most of the walk took us through quiet residential streets, but the nicest section went through Cooper Park, a large Bushland reserve which has been a public park for over a hundred years. The path winds along an ancient natural creek which follows the line of a volcanic dyke which dates back to the Jurassic period. No dinosaurs in sight but plenty of wet and muddy dogs enjoying a cooling dip!

After an hour and a half, the houses began to give way to icecream parlours, funky cafes and organic supermarkets – welcome to Bondi! I can see why locals find it easy to lose a weekend in the Bondi Bubble. Soon, we could see the sea. First impressions? It’s not a very pretty town having been a working class suburb of Sydney until relatively recently. However, the long curved beach with fine white sand is lovely. David said it reminded him of Weymouth, but then, he always says that… There’s a wide grassy bank looking down over the beach which is dotted with people sunbathing and eating picnics. We joined them for a picnic.

Walking down to the beach, the promenade was lined with street art, including a memorial to the victims of the Bali bombing in 2002. 202 people died. I was impressed to see water fountains with refill points for water bottles all along the front. England, take note! It was time to hit the beach and brave the Bondi surf – not on surf boards, it looked far too rough for newbies like us. Again, I was impressed to find free changing rooms with showers and lockers for valuables.

Once in the water, I had no time to feel surprised by the force of the surf – as soon as I was in, I was knocked off my feet and tumbled under the waves. I got up and tried again, only to be knocked down again. David was game to go in again, but I was in wimp mode.  The rip tides at Bondi are fierce and I wasn’t going to take any chances.

Once we were dressed, we walked down the beach, watching the swimmers and, further along, the surfers. At the far end of the beach there’s a huge salt water swimming pool called Bondi Icebergs which is almost as iconic as the beach.

Above Icebergs, there’s a coastal walk which is one of the most popular walks in Sydney. It winds along the clifftop for 3.7 miles until it reaches Coogee Beach. We went about half way, passing the surfing beach, Tamara Beach until we reached Bronte Beach, a calm cove with a pretty ocean pool. We didn’t swim again, but hopped straight on a bus which took us up to Bondi Junction. From there it was a couple of kilometres easy stroll back to home sweet home, Double Bay.

The day wasn’t over. David had booked dinner in the Sydney tower at the 360 bar and restaurant. We didn’t do anything for Valentine’s Day so this was our ‘romantic’ evening out. We took a ferry into Circular Quay about 7 pm. Arriving at the building, we took a lift 50 floors up.  After a drink at the bar, we took our seat at the table.

The view was spectacular, and constantly changing – it’s a revolving restaurant.  We saw the sunset and then gradually the lights came on all over the city.  Okay, it was overpriced and a bit of a tourist trap but overall, it was pretty romantic!