Discovering Australia: Bondi to Coogee Walk

When we researched our trip to Australia, one of the experiences that popped up was the Bondi to Coogee walk. We are big walkers, and a lot of our vacations are spent walking around various cities we visit. We had heard of the famous Bondi Beach, and this walk was a top priority for us to do. Yesterday we had walked in the city. Today we would walk the coast.

Fortunately we had a beautiful day for our walk. The day was sunny and warm, so warm I wished on more than one occasion that I had brought shorts to wear. Before our trip I had check out the weather, and it didn’t seem like it was going to be that warm, but this day was. Sydney had definitely turned warm.

Getting to Bondi Beach is not as simple as some other locations. The subway does not go all the way out to the beach. It will take you in that direction. At its final stop, there are buses waiting to take you out to the beach. They park inside the station so it is easy to make your way onto the bus. It’s pretty obvious when you do arrive at the beach.

Our first order of business was finding some sunscreen as we found ourselves unprepared. The street that runs along the edge of the beach offers a number of shops as well as restaurants. There is also another street running away from the beach which leads to the downtown area. We walked up there just to check it out. Again there were plenty of restaurants as well as some souvenir shops.

Having covered ourselves in sunscreen, it was time to hit the famous Bondi Beach. The beach area is quite large, and despite the fact it was midweek in early spring, there were quite a few people out on the beach. Surfing was a popular activity and fun to watch. There is a lifeguard station that seems well manned to watch over those engaged with the water activities.

Ready to begin our adventure, we walked to the end of the beach and began the 6 km. walk. The trail is obvious, and near Bondi fairly crowded. One of the first things we encountered was a swimming pool right on the edge of the beach. In fact the waves would sometimes crash over the edge of the pool. It’s called the Bondi Icebergs Pool and is apparently open to the public year round. That was something we thought was a bit unique, but we would discover other pools near the ocean on the walk. At the beginning of the trail, Bondi is visible for quite some time, and everyone is taking pictures. Finally you walk around a point, and it disappears from view.

The trail moves in and out around the various coves and bays. Soon after you leave the Bondi section, you will see a small rocky bay named Mackenzies and some interesting rock formations near the trail.

The Bondi to Coogee trail continues on to the Tamarama Point, which is a fairly rocky area, and then to Tamarama Park. This is a small sandy beach. Following on just a little ways will bring you to Bronte Beach which is a larger beach and an area where you will again find surfers working the waves. This is also a good rest stop with bathrooms and refreshments available. For some this is as far as they walk, but there is certainly more to see.

When you leave Bronte Beach, the trail becomes less crowded as you walk up a hill. Soon you will come to the Waverley Cemetery. This cemetery comes right out to the edge of the cliff. The cemetery is old and crowded with monument style graves. The sad thing to see is the way many of the grave sites are falling apart. After a number of generations have passed the graves become neglected. It makes me realize how insignificant I am in the grand scheme of things. In just a few generations my name will most likely be forgotten. A trail leads into the cemetery if you want to explore there or you can bypass it and travel a boardwalk below the cemetery. The boardwalk was built in 2009 and completed the walk at that time.

Leaving the cemetery behind the trail comes around a point and you come to Clovelly and its lawn bowling club. There are benches by the court area, and it’s a good place to relax for a bit and watch lawn bowling taking place by the sea. This is certainly a unique part of the Bondi to Coogee walk

Past the lawn bowling, the Bondi to Coogee trail continues along the water which goes quite deep into the Clovelly Beach area. This is a fairly protected beach which also has a swimming pool next to the water. The beach is pretty large with quite a few sunbathers.

Now comes the most difficult part of the walk. As you come into Gordon Bay it’s easy to think you might try to avoid the stairs ahead. There is initially a fairly wide rocky area, but the area narrows. and there is nowhere to go. The stairs go up the cliff and then after a flat walk, down the other side. My wife counted 58 steps up. Not sure how many go down the other side. Since these steps come toward the end of the walk, it’s a slow go, but we managed. On the other side is a small beach area which has a few fishing boats on it.

The end is now in sight. The trail goes into Dunningham Reserve which is a nice green area, and Coogee Beach eventually comes into view. It’s downhill now until you get into the beach area. This beach is more like Bondi in terms of services. There are some nice restaurants in the area, but we just found some ice cream and a place to sit and rest our tired feet.

While Coogee is the stated end of the walk, the trail does continue beyond the beach. We followed it a little bit, but we were pretty worn out and didn’t go too far. We came back to the beach area to catch the bus and head back to the subway. The bus trip was probably 20 minutes back, but it was comfortable.

You can walk the trail either way, and many people prefer to walk from Coogee to Bondi as the final leg to Bondi has those spectacular views of the beach. Also the stairs would then come earlier in the walk before you have run out of energy. Either way the walk offers amazing views and is a great way to spend the day in Sydney.

Comments are always welcome. Let me know your thoughts and experiences.

Credits: The photos Layers Beside the Trail and The Stairs Up were taken by Silvette Lee

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