Ross was up early for a ride. With 400 hectares of National Park right on his door step, the opportunity was apparently not to be missed.
The camp ground is in a perfect position on the Lane Cove National Park, with a train station with 10 minutes walk and Sydney city only 10 km away, and the only noise in the camp ground is nature.
Poo Poo Head needed his stitches out today which meant he was able to get submerged again. We found one of the last bulk billing clinics in Sydney not too far from the camp. The Doctor was a young (beautiful) Asian girl, which Poo Poo Head said reminded him of Mei Li. The Doctor for some reason wanted to hug Poo Poo Head, which almost freaked him out.
All was good on the war wound and it healing very well, the Doctor pulled out the stitches and put some tape on it for a few days just to be sure.
We headed back to camp to organize the day at Bondi Beach. The camp ranger told Barb parking is expensive and a premium; she advised against driving and recommened public transport. The local brand new subway station is only a short walk and with a change in Sydney and a bus the final leg we would be at Bondi lickidy split and no parking problems.
This sign is in a roadside parking area …. and, no neither Ross nor Barb have any idea what is going on with that. On first impression it seems an odd way to be encouraged to get a ride.
We wandered into the sparkling clean brand new subway station and descended into an deep and massive abyss on escalators. We jumped onto our brand new double decker train. All that glamour came to a crashing reality when we got to the main Sydney Townhall Station. What a dump. It was dirty, congested and if that’s what we put on for the Olympics, it was also an embarrassment.
The connecting train was an old clunker with no aircon which we took to Bondi Junction for the bus connection to Bondi Beach. Bondi Junction surely isn’t confused with Bondi Beach, it was a bit of a drive in the bus …. Standing up and crammed in like pilchards.
Once at Bondi Beach, we crossed the road to the water and sand and noticed vacant car spots everywhere, in fact there were car spots overlooking the beach and at $3.60 per hour it was robbery but certainly not what we were advised. Ross insisted all wasn’t lost, the train had novelty value, was only $20 for all of us all day and driving would not have been any quicker.
We also crossed the Sydney Harbour bridge on the train both ways which we will probably never do again. The double decker trains are a novelty as well, sitting in the bottom level has your head level with the platform.
We planned to stop at Kings Cross and the city on the way back, but decided we wanted to be as far as possible from public transport when Friday peak hour starts.
Once at Bondi Beach we had some lunch and wandered down to the beach ….. holly guacamole …. It’s was Friday lunchtime and there were people everywhere. The sand is really wide and most of the people were that far from the water they may as well have been in Alice Springs.
The Poo Poo Head was happy on the beach and happy to be able to get his face wet … or more is the point he was happy not having to worry about it 
The surf and water at Bondi Beach obviously plays second fiddle to just being seen at Bondi Beach. The beach was full of groups of young men, and the water according to Ross was so bloody cold it was like swimming at Antarctica. On the way out we noticed the life guard tower had the water temperature at 16 degrees. To put that in temperature into perspective, northern NSW and QLD surf is 23 degrees plus in Spring time.
Normally nothing will keep Ross out of the surf, he is a salt water and surf disciple; but Bondi Beach was just too cold even for the normally strong willed Ross. He managed to get chest deep, but claimed the cold water almost stopped his heart. The things that stood out were the beautiful water colour and clarity, and the cleanliness of the beach.
Barb got to see the scene of Bondi Rescue, a couple of the television star life guards and the most important prop, the lifeguard tower from where all the rescues are co-ordinated.
Barb and Poo Poo Head outside the iconic Bondi Beach pavilion
We will for sure be watching Bondi Rescue tonight, and there is not a shadow of doubt Barb will be commentating right through it like a Bondi Beach local.
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