It’s good to be homeless when you have good weather and great friends. We’ve been thoroughly enjoying ourselves for the past week here in Bondi, New South Whales, Australia. We were a bit over prepared for a moderate climate and an approaching fall, with wet suits and a few long sleeved shirts. But they have proven to be utterly superfluous as we endure day after day of sunny, high 70s (I still can’t handle Celsius), and board short appropriate water temps. And despite my sarcasm I’m by no meanings complaining.
On top of the wonderful weather our hosts, the Browners (Jen’s Father’s Father’s Brother’s Son & Family, no joke) have been spoiling us rotten, with meal after delicious meal, tours of the city and local neighborhood, rides to the beach, and so on. Even their dogs, Bella and Mitzy, are friendly. Bondi, where they live, sports a famous surf spot, a great beach, miles of walking paths, and blocks of restaurants and shops. We really couldn’t have asked for a better place to stay. Bondi also plays host to numerous backpackers and vacationers (hence the title of this post) some of whom we’ve rubbed elbows with in the local German beer house.
Boredom is nowhere to be found, and three weeks now seems much too short a time for a visit, as our days fill up with plans for trips to the Blue Mountains, beaches north of Sydney, visits with other relatives in the area, fishing, surfing, and trips to the zoo. And on top of that I’ve been filling every spare moment practicing playing the guitar I was happy to find lying around the house (my fingers have the calluses to prove it).
Speaking of surfing, I can’t write a first post from Bondi without a report. The beach is quite a bit better than I expected, although the
line-up is at least as crowded as people warned, and the manners of the surfers (if you’d call some of the amateurs out there surfers) are appalling. Despite this, the surf is clean, chop minimal (when you get out on early on a light wind day), lines are long enough to take a moment and enjoy the ride, and the waves have enough power to keep it thrilling. It’s the best beach/sandbar break I’ve surfed, although this is only the third (Bolinas and Pacifica being the other two). It’s probably comparable to some of the similarly crowded Southern California breaks.