Bondi to the Blue Mountains

Sydney's weather has been wall-to-wall sunshine since our arrival, giving us the impression that everyone lives a perpetual outdoor, 'Home and Away'-style, beach-based existence. The drizzly grey sky that greeted us this morning, then, was somewhat of a shock. Still, we decided to pay a quick visit to the infamous Bondi beach before leaving the city.

Undeterred by the poor weather, the Sydneysiders were still engaged in outdoor pursuits on the beach front, backed by the powerful waves that make the area such a draw for surfers.

Bondi beach

We took a far more leisurely approach of poached eggs on toast at the pavilion café, followed by a quick post-prandial stroll along the promenade. Bathers in the shark-proof enclosures were buffeted by the pounding sea that leapt the small protective walls, turning it into a wave pool, and I wondered just how much protection it offered if a passing shark managed to surf in on the same swell.

Shark-proof pool

The sunny weather couldn't be held at bay for long and by the time we had finished our walk, the sky was blue and the temperature soaring. Sadly our time in Sydney was at an end. Our Canberra-based friend offered to drive us to the iconic Blue Mountains on the way back to the nation's capital.

Only an hour or so out of Sydney, the Blue Mountains (so-called for their distant hazy appearance), for part of the Great Dividing Range. We stopped at Katoomba for views out over the vast national park, of Mount Solitary and the "Three Sisters".

Three Sisters

The vista was breathtaking - a natural beauty that is taken advantage of by 'Scenic World', where a cable car drops visitors down onto the forest floor, a near-vertical railway hauls them back up the side of the hill, and a skyway crosses Katoomba falls.

In amongst the awe-inspiring sights, which drew our gaze back repeatedly to the valley presided over by the Three Sisters, we managed to fit in some lunch. Craving green things, we both selected a salad of baby beet, spinach, walnuts, and goats cheese, which was pleasingly and simply dressed with balsamic vinegar.

Healthy lunch

The Blue Mountains were a slight detour from our journey into the "heart of the nation", so we wound our way back east to pick up the Hume Highway. This involved passing from New South Wales into the Australian Capital Territory, created solely as home to Canberra. The trip took roughly four hours on mostly clear, well-surfaced roads, passing eery sight of a giant dry Lake George - a reminder of the drought that Australia is suffering.

In Canberra, our friend introduced us to his house - ensconced in the suburban bliss of Woden. Here, we dined heartily around the family table on mushroom tart with a delicious potato and beetroot salad, with sorrel, rocket, and a maple syrup-based dressing. We enjoyed the familiar pleasure of chatting with friends, while we quaffed generous amounts of good Australian red wine.