The smell of fresh flowers in the air, the call of birds outside, and the need to feel the powerful Australian sunshine on my skin, recently brought me back to one of my favorite beaches, along with many others.

I also decided to take up the challenge of walking from one beach to another, which involved getting around a deceptively wide rocky point.  It’s a task I’ve attempted in the past but always been turned back by a rising tide and what is probably an unreasonable fear of getting swept into the harbor.

But I decided to face my more reasonable fears of bloody toes, a lost lens cap (both of which almost happened) and the possibility of needing to be rescued by a family whose small children make the rocky scramble weekly, and headed toward the point.

All the barefoot scrambling and rock balancing with my camera in hand was going fairly well until I reached a point where what lay ahead was the rapidly closing in tide on one side . . .

. . . and imposing sandstone on the other.

I have no idea how close I got to the other beach, but alas I was turned back by the forces of nature.  I have all of spring and summer ahead of me now to make the rest of the journey.  I’ll let you know if I find a pot of gold around the next bend, assuming an Aussie dad and his five year old haven’t gotten there first.

You can see the rest of the photos from my journey on flickr.

One month it has been

Since Marglish received my love

Haiku for lost time

From over the sea

A visitor to fair Oz

Time to show it off

Down to Jervis Bay

Whitest sand in the whole world

Water clear but cold

I have a new job

Which combines my passions for

Design and nature

Fall is coming now

Goodbye to sun soaked beaches

I’ll see you next year

You can see more photos from Jervis Bay on flickr.

And after a day spent with my feet in the surf, I traveled north to Brisbane.  Walking around the center of the city I realized an eerie truth about every major Aussie city I have seen in the last year and half.  Like every street set on every major movie lot, they all have the exact same things.  There are civic halls, town squares, statues and waterfronts.  There are streets named George, Victoria, Margaret, William, Edward, Queen, King and just about anything else that sounds British and royal.   And the old is always off set by a touch of the new.

We Americans tend to think of homogeny as an overabundance of Mcdonalds, Walmart and rows of matching houses with faux marble columns on the porch.  But it comes in many forms and crosses country lines.  At least in Australia, it also means every city has its fair share of sunshine, thriving flora in the parks and some cheeky urban wildlife.

You can see the rest of my photos from the Gold Coast and Brisbane on flickr.

Gabe and I have spent the last few weeks playing host to our first round of motivated visitors.  I’ll blame my negligent blogging on the burdens of being a good host and tour guide (never mind pure simple laziness).  But having visitors also comes with it’s benefits, and not simply that they purchase you alcohol in exchange for a bed and shower.  It’s through the eyes of a visitor that you can, once again, see your city for the weird and wonderful place that it is.

In New York, it was always nice to have the excuse of a visitor to force you back to the Met again, or to show all the secret spots in Central Park that none of the other tourists knew about.  Even if it meant playing a real live Tetris game in the apartment in order to get the futon open.  And after a weekend spent introducing them to the local squirrels and eating way too much sushi, my love of the city was always renewed.  I hadn’t really expected the same thing to happen during these past few weeks, because unlike the grumbling New Yorker I had been, out here I’m still a newbie.

So I was super excited to have guests (you would be too if it took over 14 hours for any of your guests to get to you) but even more than usual, because I had a new city and new experiences to share with them.  Putting the amazing trips we took to the Reef and Uluru aside (since they have already been blogged about) our last few weeks have consisted of multiple beach trips, an afternoon on a sailboat, hikes along Sydney’s amazing shoreline, champagne brunches, wine soaked dinners and far too many Tim Tams in between.

We even spent a day in the Hunter Valley (or as Sydneysiders say “went up the Hunter”) one of Australia’s most famous wine regions.  Although I’m not one to get giddy about wine tastings or ever plan any portion of my vacation around them, the Hunter Valley is a beautiful area.  In addition to the wine tastings, which are open all day, free and plentiful, you can also find succulent olives, stinky cheese and no shortage of chocolate and gelato.  Great for the spirit even if it is bad for the waistline.

Guiding friends and family around Sydney, in addition to being a fantastic excuse for fun, has also helped me realize that I’m not such a newbie after all.  We know about the secret beaches tucked into the isolated areas of the shoreline, where to get the best fish and chips, where to shop if you actually want to buy something and where to go if you just want to fantasize about buying things.  And we also know about some of Sydney’s weirder traits.  We can tell our guests what birds are making which crazy comical sounds, show them where the fruit bats roost during the day, take them to the the Local where they can play a Pokey, and introduce them to the popular Aussie ice cream bar the “Golden Gaytime” (no, that’s not joke), and we can top it all off by watching one of Sydney’s surreal sunsets or inexplicable fireworks shows from our roof.

So having guests not only renewed my love of a city I didn’t even need a refreshed perspective of, but it also renewed my belief that everyone should visit this weird wonderful place.  There are simply too many places to experience, too many amazing things to see, and too many cultural oddities you’d never know about if you never set foot on the shores of this sunburnt country.  So, when are you booking those tickets?  We’ll have the air mattress and a pack of Tim Tams waiting for you.

On Saturday we took a recommendation from one of the well tanned Cobblers Beach goers and decided to head to a northern beach.  The general consensus of most Sydneysiders is that north is the way to go for the “nice” beaches.  They all seem pretty nice to me, but it is true that heading north gets you longer stretches of undisturbed sand, and beachside cliffs that aren’t built up with condos.  Even though it took one train and two buses to get there, Dee Why beach was worth the trip.  Yes, it’s called Dee Why, but that is not at all unusual when you consider the names of so many other things Australian.  It must mean something and it sure is easy to remember.

The lengthy stretch of sand was occupied by many sunbathers, surfers and even a rowing competition, but there was still plenty of room for us.  But what I enjoyed the most was not relaxing on the sand, or even watching the shirtless rowing teams, but walking through the tide pools that were just a few steps away from the rock pool full of boisterous children.  You wouldn’t think that on such an active beach, accessible tide pools would be teaming with life, but these were so full of countless clams, snails, crabs, urchins, anemones, fish and seaweeds of various shapes and sizes that it was practically an aquarium.

Today we went to Balmoral Beach, a beautiful family friendly beach in a posh part of the northern Sydney harbor.  We arrived early for our stand up paddle surfing lesson.  I first saw a paddle surfer in Hawaii, gliding gently through calm waters under a beautiful sunset.  Since I’ve always had what I call a healthy fear of water, this meditative form of surfing seemed like the perfect one for me.  It is somehow both easier and harder than it looks.

Paddling forward, turning and even standing up on the board is fairly easy, but within a few minutes you find your knees wobbling and feet cramping under the stress of constantly micro-adjusting against every twitch the board makes in the wind and waves.  You discover after a few dunks into the water (which was a very friendly temperature today) that you don’t actually need to do this.  Flotation devices are very good and staying afloat and human beings are actually quite good at balancing on two feet.  After all, we do it every day.

I now have odd cramps in my ankles, a bit of rash from belly crawling onto the board, my sinuses have been cleaned out a few times with fresh ocean water and I have one or two crispy spots where the sunscreen wore a little thin, but I do plan to go back and see if I can master a few more waves.

Among the many benefits of living in a city like Sydney, is the relaxed attitude that makes nude beaches not only easily accessible, but also insanely popular.  Even though we arrived fairly early at the lovely little cove that contains Cobblers Beach, the clean crescent of sand and even the flat portion of cliff above, was already occupied by a long line sunbathers, happily freed of all their clothing.  We were lucky to get a comfy little portion of beach before the afternoon got even warmer and there was more flesh than sand.  If the idea of being at all close to a nude stranger makes you uncomfortable, then this certainly isn’t the beach for you.  It’s all nude, all ages, all shapes and sizes, very popular and very friendly.

Before you even think to ask, no, I did not spend the day sans clothing.  My bathing suit parts have never seen the sunlight, and considering my sensitivity to sun in general, I’m not sure they ever should.  I also happen to think my bikinis (what the Aussies call a swimming cozzie) are pretty cute, so I prefer to wear them.  But if nudity was a private club that required a member’s invitation to set foot inside the front door, then Gabe is my entry ticket.  I was, however, happy to exercise the option of changing out of my swimsuit without the necessity of an overused beach bathroom, or an ineffective towel shield.  Very convenient.

Cobblers Beach is on one of the many peninsulas in Sydney that has been left as a nature reserve, and is a short, tree-lined walk away from the nearest parking lot, so it’s surrounded by nothing but trees and rocks.  Like all Sydney beaches, the sand is squeaky soft, and the water is blue and sparkling.  But of all the beaches I have had occasion to visit so far, I’ve enjoyed this one the most.  Even though it was a definite hot spot on this unseasonably warm spring Sunday, it was worlds away from the touristy buzz of Manly or Bondi.  And the type of people who seem to be drawn to choose a nude beach over the many other options in Sydney, are not only (clearly) uninhibited, but also very friendly.  In fact a great many of them seemed to know each other, and were either meeting friends on the beach or catching up in passing.  Judging from the many people who’s only tan lines were in the fold under their butt cheeks, I figured there were lots of regulars.

The legally nude zone also includes the portion of water within the cove, which made this area equally popular with boaters.  Several boats were anchored just a short swim away from the beach, where their passengers lay nude on the deck.  But being isolated on their own boats made them no less gregarious.  They were shuttling their dinghy’s (and I don’t mean that as a metaphor) to each others boats, and by the end of the afternoon there was the beginnings of a nudist colony on the deck of one of the larger vessels.

The accessibility to boats also made it possible for the tiny boat selling refreshments, to get close enough to the beach for his customers to only have to wade knee deep to place an order.  And the cooperative nature of the people on the beach became even more evident,as they grabbed the tow line to help him steer to the shore, and each patiently took turns holding it to keep the boat straight, as the person in front of them placed their order.  The cappuccinos, made fresh on the boat as it bobbed in the tide next to the growing line of nude customers, were excellent.  If the man who runs the refreshment boat has no competition, then he’s not only a shrewd businessman, but must be a master at making cappuccinos on dry land.  And just in case you were wondering, he did not take advantage of his brief visit to the beach to serve coffee naked.  Although, I’m sure no one would have found it strange.

After I got over the initial strangeness one would understandably feel when suddenly surrounded by naked strangers, I actually found it very comfortable.  There is something about being around people clearly free of inhibitions and judgments that peels away all the ones you might have arrived with.  I now know that, with the exception of a few gentlemen who looked like they were still wearing speedos when they had in fact been removed, the Aussies are a fairly clean-shaven bunch, regardless of sex or age.  I’m much more familiar now with a few trends in piercing that I seem to have missed.  Ouch.  And I will probably never be uncomfortable in a bathing suit (a.k.a. cozzie) ever again.

The only thing I would have asked of this beach, was a slight increase in the temperature of the water.  Anything a few degrees above the icy temperature that must have been somewhere between a meat locker and gelato, would have been nice.  But I was still very happy that I took a dip.  And in keeping with the theme of the beach, all it took was Gabe and I venturing into the water to encourage several other people to try it as well.  According to some of the well tanned regulars, the water is actually quite nice in the summer.  I will definitely come back, and maybe next time I wont bother with the cozzie.