When we learned that our travel dates fell on the Australian winter months, we had one thought in mind: humpback whale’s migration. Oh well, two. Sh**, winter clothes!
HUMPBACK WHALE WATCHING
What’s interesting about their migration is that they travel 16,000 miles each year as the seasons change. What people love about this particular species is their “singing” which is thought to be done by male species to court their females. However, in more recent studies, the song actually attracts more males, which made more scientists believe that this is a call for challenge. The audio link is from wikipedia.
That being the case, we didn’t expect the whales to sing for us when we approach them on a boat. But to see them splash water while they “exhale” is the adventure and thrill we sought to experience.
Mary and Jons went in June and they were more lucky than I was a month after as I barely saw the calf off the surface.
We booked online with Go Whale Watching at $40 per person for a trip that takes about 3 hours. You would have to wait for the boat at the Darling Harbour. It’s going to be cold due to the wind, and hey, it’s winter. Pack a warm jacket and be careful because you might get wet (wink), like Mary did. This is the open ocean, and waves can be 10 feet high.
BONDI BEACH
One’s visit to Sydney won’t be complete without going to the famous Bondi Beach. It can be accessed by the public and is one bus away if you’re in the CBD area, as long as you take bus 333. You won’t miss it because on the right side of the road, you’d see a kilometer-long white-beach with some swells – I was lucky to have seen some surfers on a winter month.
It is also the set location for the popular TV series Bondi Rescue.
If you can’t swim since it’s too cold (even the sand is cold), you can always warm up in their cafes, post in front of the graffiti, people-watch, and reflect on where your life is taking you and if you’re liking it so far.
Just 2 days before I went there, hot Aussie actor Hugh Jackman aka Wolverine just flaunted his body at the beach – not that I would drool if I saw him in person, but it would be cool if we had a selfie together.
Below is the VLOG I made and uploaded on the FootlooseTomcat facebook page.
I brought snacks with me and hot coffee (that eventually turned cold due to the temperature) so I never really spent anything there, except use my opal for the bus ride. Mary did have a moment there over coffee while Jons ventured the shore.
Spending a couple of hours at the beach, if you’re not swimming, is already good enough and you can always go back to the business district. But for some who’d love to spend the day to frolic at the beach, you can also wait for the night party – if there’s one. If you also would notice, there are no rubbish littered on the shore. Quite impressive, really. Dogs are also not allowed along the shore, but are always welcome in the Bondi Park or cafes near the beach.
When visiting Sydney and you want to drop by the beach, check out Bondi. Though I also heard Manly beach is as fantastic, I didn’t have the chance since it’s a little farther from where I was and I only had 2 days and a half to explore. Next article will feature the itinerary samples and expenses for Sydney, one of the top 20 most expensive cities. Thanks for reading the Aussie Dreams series!
