Lesley did not have such a great night's sleep but I woke fairly early and edited and uploaded photos until she was ready to get up. We had breakfast, made a picnic lunch and took buses via Circular Quay to Bondi Beach. At the Quay we were stopped by a young man who claimed to be gathering data for the government and asked us if we would spend a few minutes answering a few questions. We agreed but some of the questions were bizarre and the interviewers behaviour became equally odd then he walked off and left us to interview another couple.
We assumed it was a spoof of some sort and as we headed towards our bus we were approached by another person who told us, as an April Fool joke, they were a media company poking fun at street interviewers and data gatherers. They apologised for any offence and asked if they could be allowed to use any of the footage in a programme going out later in the year called, 'Legally Brown' and we agreed.
The bus to Bondi travelled along Oxford Street, through Paddington and passed lots of late19th - early 20th century buildings, past Centenary Park, dated 1886, a public school founded in 1859 and eventually we could see the sea as the bus headed towards the beach.
We had not come to surf but out of curiosity to see the famous beach and walk along it. We strolled through the surf, the water was much colder than in the tropical north at about 22C, but we traversed the length of the beach with no fear of stingers. The wind was in the wrong direction and they only have 'bluies' in the area whose sting is not as fearsome as those of the North where nets protect swimmers and bottles of vinegar are left at the approaches to small beaches in case someone is stung.
As we walked, lifeguard training exercise occurred with a trainee taking a life saving board out into the surf to rescue an unconscious 'dummy' surfer. The whole event was filmed from several points including the beach, water and overhead by a model gyro copter fitted with a camera. Apparently, the trainee did well and was congratulated by everyone involved.
We picniced on some rocks overlooking the beach then took a bus back into town to walk the Harbour Bridge. There are separate paths for walkers and cyclists, the views from the bridge are really very good and a welcome breeze helps to keep one cool.
We stood in the middle, legs straddling the left and right halves of the bridge, took photos then completed the walk and took a train back from Milsons Point to the Town Hall where we caught a bus back to the apartment.
Arriving back earlier than expected we enjoyed another glorious and colourful sunset, uploaded more photos then went out to China Town to get some takeaway food. We were spoilt for choice but eventually settled on a really tasty whole baked fish with sweet and sour sauce and rice and pork and duck with vegetables and noodles and some crispy seafood rolls.
Tomorrow is our last full day in Australia and we intend to visit the local market for a couple more souvenirs and then go to the maritime museum where they have a full sized replica of Cook's ship the Endeavour. In the evening we are booked on a dinner cruise in the harbour and will need to have packed as we have an early start on Thursday.
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