Manly - North Head - worth the visit

Hi guys,

well today we were just up for a short drive from our place in St Ives. We decided we had not seen Manly yet so got the address and drove to North Head in Manly(Sydney).

This is the closest piece of land to the sea of the Northern side of the Sydney waterways.

It took us a while to get to seeign this and I wish I had done it before as one really needs to see the scenic views of Sydney. Sydney cannot be appreciated from inside it really.

Here is a small map I embedded from google.

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Its worth the view. You can walk, cycle and bus it so theres plenty to do. There are some nice beaches in Manly and seems very relaxed and festive. You can see all the yachts and ferries in the harbour from the head, so we are going to take the ferry tommorow.

That should provide us with an awesome view of Sydney from the water and we might go up the tower in Sydney once there.

Forgot my Camera so nicked this picture off the net...;)

Have a good one!

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Bondi Beach, Sydney - Tiger Shark causes havoc

Speaks for itself, doesn't it?

 

Awesome, secluded Beach at Bongin Bay.

Hi,

well we came across this awesome beach on one of our weekend twighlight wanders. We kind of get bored at about 5/6pm sometimes and just go for drives.

Its secluded, quiet and surrounded by cliffs. Awesome for sunsets. (I wonder where it gets it name "Bongin" bay, ahem, maybe its an aph)

You can drive right down to a small parking lot near Warriewood Surf Club.

Address: Narabeen Park Pde (I guess that means Parade or Prominade), then just look for a really steep little Rd going down to the beach.

This is just our kind of beach as we are not into crowds. Also if you drive a couple of hundred metre North you get to some nice green parks on top of some cliffs which have tremendous views. You can walk your dog there and so on.

This is the "left" (or North), side of this beach, nearer the surrounding cliffs.

Apparently this is popular for surfing too.

This gets return visit star from me.

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Sydney outing - West Head - 40 minute drive ;)

Hi,

West Head Lookout

We discovered this awesome little beach just below the West Head lookout. We drove to the West Head lookout point(which is awesome in itself).

Barrenjoey Head

It looks out to Barrenjoey Head over the water

At the top, if you are facing out to sea there are paths to the right (slightly back from the lookout). Take the path down to the nearest beach. The beach is totally secluded (ahem I did not have a costume and I swam in my rods). Its only about 60 metres wide and is surrounded by scenary and rocks etc.

Take some food, towel, cozzie etc. (or nothing) Chillout with a quick walk down- has stairs etc..

I would drive there via Church Point as the drive is so scenic and beautiful. You WILL want to live there!

My mobile camera went corrupt so I have nicked some photos off the web! gogogogo

laterz peeps


How I got my visa, Life, Lumps and spirit, Hate your new country? Your not alone! A good Furniture Rental company in Sydney,Why do immigrants leave Australia?, Sydney - Scotland island - hidden gem, Malls in Sydney, Living in St Ives, Arriving in Sydney, Driving through Sydney - first day, How expensive is Sydney

Sydney Day Trips - Blue Mountains

Hi,

well, from time-to-time we like to get out the house and do spontaneous day trips.

As we are new in Sydney the success of these trips are based luck or are based on hearsay from a  colleague or friend.

The below picture is the 3 sisters, where you can see the blue haze in the background...
Its from one of the viewing platforms.

This involves exploring, sometimes the trip fails and other times it seems its really good. 

We went on a sort of house/area investigation in the west(Katoomba) as the properties are largish and cheap and pushed on into the mountains. Now these are not Table mountain, but are just as scenic. They seem to creep up on you as you drive and all of a sudden you are 1000 meters above sea level.

There are numerous place to go in the Blue Mountains. There are lots of lookout places, rivers, gorges, valleys, caves and even a cable car.

Oh yeah, there a lots of trails, from 20 minutes to days. All clearly marked and so on. So bring your trainers with if your in the mood. Bring your costume if you like da water man! I do!!!

There are also lots of place to get food - from scones to meals - you know the score.

Watch out for spiders - WE went to a public toilet and after settling saw a red-back perched in the corner behind the toilet. (Worlds fastest rest stop!! oh yeah!)

I believe you can do abseiling, climbing and also canoeing too.

There are numerous places to stay, from hotels to bed-'n-breakfasts to resorts.

This is all quite spread out and there are some nice villages to visit.

Some people even buy property close to here as its cheap and just they just bear with the long commute into Sydney.

They are Called the blue mountains as they actually look blue. There is a blue haze that hovers above the mountains which is produced by oil from the plentiful Eucalyptus trees.

Well enough said for now, I'll blog about specific trips another time.

cya for now ;)

My most commented post on the blog is here - Why do immigrants leave Australia?

please leave a post underneath guys!

How I got my visa, Life, Lumps and spirit, Hate your new country? Your not alone! A good Furniture Rental company in Sydney,Why do immigrants leave Australia?, Sydney - Scotland island - hidden gem, Malls in Sydney, Living in St Ives, Arriving in Sydney, Driving through Sydney - first day, How expensive is Sydney

Scotland Island - the bad stuff (cons)

Well - you have to take a boat to get to your house. So that adds time to every journey. You also have to carry your shopping on the ferry or your boat.

If you dont live on the waterfront, you have to carry your stuff up a hill and for the houses at the back - that might be a long way. (I got quite fit after a while)

Oh yeah, there is an island taxi who is a phone call away with only a few clients.

There is no permanent conenction to water mains. So you rely on rain and topping up via a pipe network on the island. Takes about 2-5 hours to fill a tank with a pesky to walk around island to turn on the tap and measure. This can be a 15 minute walk each way if you are on the opposite side of the Island.

If you want fresh drinking water (bottled) you end up lugging water cans all the time.

Your waste and loo goes into one of these underground eco tanks. As a family of 5 we had to stop flushing between pee's in order to not fill up the sewage tank. Otherwise an unpleasant smell greets you all day.

Also (minor), you have to carry your rubbish down to the large bins on the jetties as these are emptied by the council by boat.

It can be isolated on the Island, - you might find that there are not enough kids on the island for friends. Depends on age etc.

Apaprently some wifes find it really difficult to cope on the island as its a hardier than normal city life.

Scotland island property value can be less due to the above factors. Rental income is less due to the above.

Still to me, its paradise.


How I got my visa, Life, Lumps and spirit, Hate your new country? Your not alone! A good Furniture Rental company in Sydney,Why do immigrants leave Australia?, Sydney - Scotland island - hidden gem, Malls in Sydney, Living in St Ives, Arriving in Sydney, Driving through Sydney - first day, How expensive is Sydney

Sydney - Scotland Island - a hidden gem (or not you decide) (3)

The way to get to the island is via a Place called Church Point. Park there, climb on ferry, buy ticket- easy. Ask the ferry driver/captain. Many people just take the ferry ride as it stops at most jetties and is very scenic - the ride takes about 35 minutes and leaves continually all day.

There is a shop and restaurant at the ferry point so you can eat there too.

The place is pretty small and rustic - so not big and bustling at all.

If you keep going afterwards (with car) - there is some scenery to be seen up mcArthers Creek road. V. nice.

I was astounded when I first arrived there. Locals take the place for granted....Its exceedingly beautiful.

Oh yeah the reason we stayed there was because the rentals were cheap. (must be honest, the ferry costs negated this in the end as we were 5) I think living there with "tinny" (a small alluminium boat) would be cost effective.

more soon

Sydney - Scotland Island - a hidden gem (or not you decide) (2)

Where was I?

GOOD STUFF about Scotland Island

Well Scotland Island is lovely. The people are helpful, there are dirt and some tar roads so plenty of people ferry an old jeep, car, bike or quadbike over. This helps them with getting around and also with carrying heavy goods up the hills (if you have to)

There is a local guy, who lives on the island who delivers Coles internet shopping on Saturday mornings, and its quite convenient as you dont have to be there. Just leave the door open with the cash on the table!!!! (Thats Island living huh)

Theres another local guy who has a sort of barge thing for ferrying cars, furniture, heavy goods. Although the ferries take anything you and a mate can carry.

There is also a 24 hour taxi service (the guys sleep on a houseboat) - so the first thing you do is get their cell number!!

There is a community on the island doing things like art, yoga, music, child care etc. It comes and goes. Many people have live there for over 20 years- I met one kind lady who had been there over 30 years!

My kids and I fished from the jetties (despite signs saying no). The islanders just said "go for it". Beside we did not have a boat!

Oh yeah, theres a playground there with swings etc.

Its quite safe - no roving people.

Kids get ferried to school in the nearby town. (20 minutes max adn supervised) Ferry paid for by gov as its considered school transport.

So if you have a boat, its a small walk to you playground eh? And if your on the waterfront - well you park on your jetty right!? man man man - paradise without doubt! (well i'll get to the cons later)

I walked right round the island in about 25 minutes... Although I somehow managed to take a wrong turn at one point.


How I got my visa, Life, Lumps and spirit, Hate your new country? Your not alone! A good Furniture Rental company in Sydney,Why do immigrants leave Australia?, Sydney - Scotland island - hidden gem, Malls in Sydney, Living in St Ives, Arriving in Sydney, Driving through Sydney - first day, How expensive is Sydney

Sydney - Scotland Island - a hidden gem (or not you decide)

We looked everywhere for short stay accommodation in Sydney that was affordable for a family of 5 and, you guessed it, there was none.

I found this place called Scotland Island (google it). its actually an island in a river/lagoon waterway. ITs closest point to mainland is about 200 meters so its inaccessable by land.

Why did I choose this?

Well it has cheap rentals for a start (dues to the water you have to cross)

We stayed there for about 5 weeks. Its accessible by water taxi whihc takes 5 - 20 minutes depending where you live on the island as the water taxi loops around the island stopping at about 5 jetties.

Its an island paradise in my opinion and I would love to live there!

But its a 50 minute bus journey to central Sydney and that does not take into account the ferry to the jetty and you walk up to your house. (Depends how far)

You could be on the island waterfront or at the top of the hill - there are about three concentric rings of houses on the Island.

Water is mainly rain water stored in tanks, although you can fill the tanks from fresh water pipes- its not too expensive, but you have to train the family not to shower forever (teenagers! nuff said! - not to mention my 11 year old daughter)

Well it is a paradise - wooden houses amongst treesm surrounded by water! Everyone has a boat, and most islanders have one or two boats. This avoids the ferries and saves on commute time.

more in next blog guys


How I got my visa, Life, Lumps and spirit, Hate your new country? Your not alone! A good Furniture Rental company in Sydney,Why do immigrants leave Australia?, Sydney - Scotland island - hidden gem, Malls in Sydney, Living in St Ives, Arriving in Sydney, Driving through Sydney - first day, How expensive is Sydney

Driving through Sydney - first day

The first thing I did when arriving in Sydney was rent a car (at the airpot). Actually, I booked it a few days before in the UK. The cheapest I could find was AVIS car rental. Another good option is the well known Budget car rental.


After picking my car rental at the airport - which was quite quick, I then got a sim card, loaded my cell phone and off I went. I also had pre-loaded my TomTom with AU maps and just plugged it in and I was soon on my way to my temp bedroom accommodation.

Ok! This    feels   like I am back in Cape Town, wide streets, low buildings,,,, SPACE!!!! So different to the UK. Surprisingly a lot of  UK people migrating to Australia actually don't like the spacious houses.

Blue sky's!!  I was awestruck - after growing up in Zim and South Africa with space and warmth it is so nice to be out of London (read dirty, dark, icy, clothed to the hilt -etc. never going out)

A notice slowly that Sydney and its Suburbs are a lot bigger than Cape Town - like 10 times bigger -(maybe 20)

Everyone drives slowly and you get caught immediately if you don't. Wonderfully! I am driving with no stress! - there are gaps to change lanes!! - the roads are well though out. I have my UK TOM TOM and its easy!!!

WTF! what can only be uttered as a flock of budgies just fly past me!!! that is pretty awesome as I only have ever seen budgies in a cage. Triple awesome tbh.

I then see a large white parrot. This is what gets me no-one ever mentions the birds in Sydney?
Why is this? There is a huge variety of parrot types in Sydney. That's just amazing in itself. The large white parrots walk around like tame doves. They seem to be totally unafraid of everyone. Well with a large beak like that... Actually I think its the respect that Australians have for animals in general that allows them to live like this.

These birds have given me numerous wonderfull moments.

Ok this might sound boring but I'll change tack in the next blog ok ;)

Wait till you hear about my room I rented in up market Baulkham hills!!! What a treat (specially the shower).

signing off for now or read next blog!!!


How I got my visa, Life, Lumps and spirit, Hate your new country? Your not alone! A good Furniture Rental company in Sydney,Why do immigrants leave Australia?, Sydney - Scotland island - hidden gem, Malls in Sydney, Living in St Ives, Arriving in Sydney, Driving through Sydney - first day, How expensive is Sydney