Burning at Bondi

We got the train and bus to Bondi Beach this morning around 10:15. It was a quick journey, around half an hour. We set up camp on the beautiful white sand and covered ourselves in suncream, before lying down to sunbathe. I think I fell asleep because I woke up thinking I was in bed at the hostel. After a while we decided to go in the sea. The sea was a beautiful blue colour and very clear.  It also had quite big waves. The sea was freezing. We were very slow to get in to deeper water, partly because it was shallow for a long time and partly because we're wimps and it was cold. There wasn't very many people swimming. There was lots of people surfing.  Those who weren't surfing where just sort of standing, jumping the waves.

All of a sudden, a very large wave came right for us, breaking right on top of me. I went under the water, swallowing bucketfuls in the process and losing my footing. I got salt water all in my eyes and in my lungs and for a second I was convinced that was it; I was going to drown. After what seemed like a minute but was probably more like a second I managed to regain my footing and stand up, lifting my top half out of the water. I was coughing and my eyes were streaming and my nose running. It was not pleasant. But here I am to tell the tale.  We got out of the water after that and the next time we went in the sea stayed in the shallow waters.

Around half 4 it started getting cloudy so we decided to head home as we both had to shower and pack and eat. Getting back on the bus from the beach was like the hunger games. It was survival of the fittest. We didn't get anywhere near the first two buses. Eventually we got on one and got back to the hostel. We showered and ate and began packing. Tomorrow we are leaving Sydney, getting a 5:15am bus for a 13 hour journey to Byron Bay. Apparently the bus has WiFi so if any one wants to chat to keep me entertained, I'm free.

In the process of showering, we both noticed we had caught the sun. We were both quite red. Lauren especially so. My eyelids, amongst other areas, are burnt and are quite sore. My feet both have a particularly nice long thin patch of burn. We are both kind of glad we are going to be on the bus out of the sun tomorrow. Hopefully our bodies will recover a bit.

I've really enjoyed Sydney. We've done quite a bit and seen famous sights and learnt new things. We've spent time on the beach, in the mountains and in the city. It's been a very good start to the trip. I look forward to seeing what the rest of the east coast has to offer!