Monthly Archives: October 2009

And now for the Nude Beach Update

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I failed a few months ago to do a full report on my second nude beach excursion, to the well known Lady Bay or Lady Jane Beach, one of the first nude beaches established in Sydney.  Like a lot of harbor beaches, this one was in a lovely little cove at the end of a quiet tree lined walk.  We went on Australian Father’s day, so the crowds were out brunching (with clothes on) rather than sunbaking.  Yes, the Aussies call it sunbaking, which I find rather appropriate since you are quite literally cooking a shallow layer of skin every time you do it.

It was just as picturesque, just as relaxing, and just as flesh covered as I had anticipated, and well worth the ferry ride out there, even though we had to contend with the Father’s day crowds.  But when the weather finally gave us blue skies and warm sunshine again this weekend, we decided to head back to the site of our first adventure, Cobblers Beach.

I’m happy to report, that it has maintained it’s reputation for being very friendly, an obvious hang out (no pun intended) for regular beach goers (sans tan lines) and very naked.  The water temperature is steadily increasing, and feels less like a meat locker now, and more like a rocky mountain pool.  In addition to the coffee boat, Cobblers beach also gets visits from an ice cream boat and a fresh juice boat.  Next time I will have to stay until sunset, to see if the booze boat will arrive.

I’m still a bit baffled by the people who show up in nice, church appropriate clothing, carrying nothing but a plastic bag and maybe a towel, then proceed to strip down and stuff all their clothing into the bag.  I guess the advantage of a nude beach is, you really don’t need to bring anything with you.  I personally prefer to have a few creature comforts available, just in case I miss the refreshment boats.

On my next visit, I am determined to meet one of the sailboat owners, since the people who drop anchor near the beach seem to be constantly having naked parties on the decks of their luxurious sailboats (which the refreshment boat also makes visits too).  Maybe by then I will actually be able to swim that far without having to stop and catch my breath.  Perhaps ditching the cossie is the key to becoming more water dynamic.  It’s worth considering.

Apparently, It’s Tick Season

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tick bite

And like all Australian animals, the ticks are very tough.  Not only did the tick who produced this nice little rash nearly refuse to be pulled off, but doing so also produced a pain similar to that of being stabbed with a broom handle.  But after a few hours I experienced no loss of vision, numbness in any limbs, or trouble breathing, so I think I managed to avoid becoming a news story.  The ranger at Royal National Park, where we had otherwise taken a very lovely hike, seemed less than worried.

In fact, the tick bite has now reduced to a tiny red welt, while the sunburn on the one uncovered portion of my neck has become so clear that it looks like lobster bib (in a lovely shade of lobster red).  But I think the hike we took today was well worth the risks.  Through some beautiful, even if tick filled, bushland we came to a gorgeous coastal cliff from which we watched massive schools of fish swim around in the waves, and whales break through the clear blue ocean in the distance.  Hey, no pain no gain, right?

cliff view

Saved for a Rainy Day

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If you were wondering about my radio silence over these past few weeks, it was not a result of alien abduction, or any other suspect activity, but simply a consequence of a weather induced lockdown, a.k.a. a slow couple of weeks.  With the insanely high winds that followed the infamous Mars Day dust storm, and a week and a half of rain and otherwise unreliable skies, my activities have been limited at best.  But that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of fun to be had in the great indoors.

Even though I have already been won over by the classy experience offered at the Hayden Orpheum theater, I couldn’t refuse an opportunity for promotionaly priced Gold Class movie tickets at another theater.  What is Gold Class, you ask?  I think it’s probably best described like this, as close as you’ll ever get to watching a movie in Spielberg’s private screening room, plus waiter service.  For the wallet thinning price of $32, a Gold Class ticket lets you wait for the theater to open in a lounge instead of a line, gets you a lazy boy style seat in the theater, complete with adjustable back and leg rests, offers a menu that includes more than just hot dogs and plastic cheese covered nachos, and waiter service that can time food deliveries with the beginning, middle and dramatic conclusion of the movie you’re watching.  Awesome!

Even though you have to pay extra for the food and drinks, they actually come at reasonable price, a decent (for Sydney) $7 per cocktail and $11 per dessert or entree (which we would call an appetizer, but they call them entrees here.  Which one of us is right about that?)   My malteser covered sunday was delicious, even if a little hard to eat while leaning back in a lazy boy, in a darkened theater.  Despite the hefty price, it’s an experience well worth repeating.

The other safe indoor activity we decided to participate in was getting ourselves cultured.  This was done at a combination of the Art Gallery of New South Whales, and the Powerhouse Museum.  The Art Gallery of New South Whales, is an interesting combination of the Met and MOMA, housed in a lovely landmark building in the heart of the Royal Botanic Gardens.  In addition to a large collection of historic paintings from all over the world, that included a fair number of Australian landscapes (makes sense) the gallery also displays the works of many contemporary artists.  Did you know that Christo once wrapped up a piece of the Australian coast line?  What hasn’t that man covered in fabric?

The Powerhouse Museum is more a kin to the Smithsonian, with a dash of the Exploratorium and a design museum, all rolled into one.  Located inside an actual old powerhouse, this massive structure houses an interesting collection of furniture, clothing, planes, trains, automobiles, satellites, spaceships and I saw more than one kitchen sink on display.  The lower level of the museum includes an area full of interactive displays, where you can experiment with electricity, magnets, chemistry, sound waves, gravity, and all other things that are only cool when learned about outside of the classroom.  I’m sure that had I been the primary target age for the displays, that I would have had a blast, but my mature Sunday morning gin haze was a bit overstimulated by the noise.  Personally, I wanted to play with the art nouveau era dressing table, but that’s just me.

It still gets a bit windy in the afternoons these days, but I can’t complain about the temperature.  I’ve enjoyed my cultural excursions around Sydney, but hope that this weekend will bring with it the opportunity to add to my steadily increasing number of freckles with a little sunshine.