My Sydney Recap

Where?

Possibly Australia’s most well-known city with the iconic curves of the opera house on the harbour. Situated on the coast of New South Wales, the state sandwiched between Queensland on the north side and Victoria on the south.

When?

I arrived in Sydney very late in the evening of the 30th August. Thanks to a very delayed Jetstar flight (classic) I made it to my new home after midnight on the 31st.

Accommodation and transport

I didn’t know how lucky I was when I secured a six week sublet for the exact dates I needed to be in Sydney. I was working a front of house job for the Sydney Fringe Festival, and this sublet was available for the exact dates of my contract. I lived in a share house in Coogee with three lovely girls, just a short walk from the beach. Moving to Sydney, a beachside accommodation was so important to me, as the coast was something I’d really missed living in Brisbane for the past four months. I wanted to integrate swimming into my daily routine and feel connected to nature, despite still living near the city.

Since moving to Sydney, I began to realise how difficult rentals are to secure, and how in demand Coogee is as a suburb. I felt so grateful that I’d managed to get something in advance of moving down, and so smoothly. I’d made a listing on flatmates and started to message people with rooms available, and was lucky enough to have someone reach out to me with their room.

To get around Sydney, there are buses, trams, and trains. Living in Coogee, I could walk to Randwick to catch trams, but also had a lot of bus routes that started at the beach. Getting to work was a breeze, and getting home was super fast once on the bus, but often I had to wait a while for it due to my shift finish times and often just missing the bus before. 

What did I do?

As mentioned, I came down to Sydney to work at the Fringe. This meant majority evening work, and I had a lot of daytimes free. This worked well for my beachside lifestyle, as I could spend time in the sunshine, swimming, reading on the sand, exploring, and then work a few hours in the evening. Work didn’t dominate my schedule or dictate my life, more fit around the laid-back, beachy life that I created.

I applied what I had learnt from my time in Brisbane and despite knowing I was based in Sydney for six weeks, I made the effort to keep my backpacker nature alive and prioritised exploring. I ventured to different suburbs – Bondi, Manly, Newtown – and swam at different beaches – Gordon’s Bay, Clovelly, Bronte – and made sure to do the things I wanted to, whilst I had the chance to. Of course, you can never do everything, but I’m pleased with how I managed my time and how much I was able to see.

My favourite place

I have so many favourites! In terms of beaches, I loved swimming in the Bronte bogey hole and at Gordon’s Bay. Both are quite protected, but the bogey hole also gets some decent waves, whilst Gordon’s is great for snorkelling. The sunrise I caught at Bronte was just stunning. So many delicious colours exploded in the sky, and I had such a fulfilling swim. Gordon’s Bay has rocks just perfect for catching the sun, and I spent a morning there on a hot day dipping into the water to cool down as needed.

I also really liked Manly, although I only got over there twice – it could get expensive on the fast ferry! But Shelly Beach was just lovely for a swim and I enjoyed an afternoon there during the Jazz festival, dancing with friends and exploring the markets. 

My favourite food

Speaking of Manly, I had a delicious treat over there at Little Shop of Waffles. On approach to the shop, I wasn’t certain, with my many dietaries, that I would be able to eat anything. What a pleasant surprise it was to discover I was wrong! There were vegan options and not too many nuts used, so it was easy enough for them to make me something suitable. I enjoyed a delicious bubble waffle with chocolate sorbet, strawberries, and biscoff sauce. I enjoyed it so much that although I stained my white shirt with sorbet, I was so happy that I didn’t even mind. 

My favourite memory

How blessed am I that I have so many to choose from? Seeing a friend for the first time in months and being handed a bunch of my favourite flowers, laughing until my muscles ached in Kiama, talking quietly and deeply over coffees in a cafe bookstore…

I also have to mention two incredible wildlife moments I had during my last two days in Sydney. I was watching the surfers at Bronte – I think surfing is just so fantastic and beautiful to watch – when I realised that behind the group, were dolphins, diving through the waves! It was such a lovely surprise and they were so playful. Their bodies dove in elegant arcs and less elegant flops, too. We saw their tails as they splashed headfirst into the sea. It was just magic. Later on, as we walked down the coast, we saw another huge pod of them dancing over the waves. It was one of those days where you feel the world saying you're in the right place, at the right time.

Made confident by this experience, when I walked down the coast from Coogee to Maroubra the following day, I was confident that I would see more. Now, I didn't see any dolphins that day, but as I sat on the rocks by Mahon Pool chatting to a friend, I lost the thread of conversation when I saw, so close to the shore, the glistening back of a humpback whale gliding through the waves. A huge splash threw clouds of white foam into the air and obscured where it had been, but moments later, it appeared again, tiny splashes of water pluming into the air. I spent an hour watching them swimming past and slapping their fins on the surface a little further away, nearer the horizon. They were mesmerising.

Sydney has been full of big happy moments, but also so many tiny joys as well. These have been so special to me and I am so grateful to have had this period of time in such a beautiful spot.

A new experience

As well as working at the Fringe, I worked at a couple of other events, including the Sydney marathon. Usually when I do the odd standalone events job, it’s something like ticket scanning or wristbanding. When I requested the shift for the marathon, I assumed I’d be handing out medals or bottles of water. As it turned out, I was wrong, as I was actually assisting the medical tent! 

I spent eight hours in the sunshine helping fatigued, heat-struck, and injured runners, by wheeling them from the finish line to the medical tent, or from the medical tent up and through the botanic gardens, and doing whatever else was needed to support the tent. Being on the finish line, next to the opera house, watching people achieve incredible milestones and bursting into tears and shouts, was incredible. What an amazing day to be part of. 

Something I’ll take with me

Similarly to my experience in Adelaide, where I lived and worked for 6/7 weeks, I built a little home in Sydney. I’m proud of it, and although I was so lucky to be heading off to further adventures, I was still sad. However, I know that if I want to, I can come back, and I can build that again for myself. I have people and places here to return to. What a joy and privilege that is.

Where to next?

After five months of employment, it was time to be a backpacker again. I was heading to the mountains…