The 'Burbs

I've spent the last week exploring various suburbs in the far reaches of Sydney. First staying with my first-cousin once-removed, Barbara, in Bangor, from where I saw Woronora, Cronulla, and Como, and then staying with family friends in Middle Cove, and seeing Willoughby, Chatswood, and Palm Beach.

First stop, Bangor, via Sutherland. Barbara's place was hugely different from the CBD and surrounding areas of Sydney. This was true suburbia: houses with garages, and perfect lawns, and probably a swimming pool each (there was one where I was staying at). It was peaceful in a different way to the countryside of Forster.

Phil, Barbara's husband, is one of the nicest people I've stayed with, and probably one who I connected most with so far this holiday. Not in his generosity, but in his love of music, and films, and comedy, and food - he was a genuine bloke and we shared similar tastes. The first full day I had there (Wednesday 13th), he took me on a drive to Cronulla, a town that was home to riots that took place in 2005 between racially charged Australians and Lebanese migrants. Everything's died down since then, and the greatest tension between such people is mainly restricted to what goes on in the AFL (rugby). Cronulla itself is a very beautiful town. The beaches stretch for miles, and the shopping plazas were buzzing with people grabbing a quick coffee, or enjoying the local seafood, or taking a break from the surf. Bondi certainly has a great beach, but Cronulla had about it a more electric atmosphere, which would have been interesting to see at night.

After Cronulla we drove up to Como, an Italian-influenced town set on a beautiful stretch of the Georges River. This was tranquil. Houses on the banks of the river all had slipways, but there wasn't a stir of life save for a few people crossing what used to be a railway bridge. It was dead calm, and absolutely stunning.

Over the next few days I explored the area around Bangor further. I took out Phil's old bike (aka the deathtrap from Hell), a sturdy frame with a horrible braking and gears system, to Woronora and the neighbourhood there. Again, it was peaceful, and very beautiful. I particularly like Woronora Bridge. Like many roads throughout Sydney, it's not bicycle friendly, and you have to go on a walkway underneath, but the architecture was cool. The roads on the otherside were less so. I seriously had problems with the bike, so much so that I almost took myself out in front of three cars.

Another day I decided to walk to Sutherland station (because walking is cheaper than the bus), before catching the train to Cronulla. It was my intention to swim...but winter is fast approaching, and it was too cold in the afternoon for me to want to get wet. If I hadn't missed the first train having to wait half an hour for the next, I might have changed my mind though...

Saturday 16th I returned to Edgecliff to swap over some clothes before making my way to meet some family friends (who we know because my Dad worked with Andrew, their Dad, back in '95). Aaaand I might have walked from Edgecliff to Middle Cove (look it up on Google Maps) to save some money. It was a good walk, and helped me get to know the streets and routes around. I'll always enjoy walking over the Harbour Bridge too.

Eventually arrived at Middle Cove, and met Sally, Andrew's wife at the front. Later I'd meet the "children": Fiona, 13; James, 18, and his girlfriend Jess; Megan, 20; and Catherine, 22. Wow how people get older. That's not to say I remember what everyone was like back in 1995 or 2000 or whenever we last saw them, but I remember what they looked like, and what can I say other than people change. Like I've changed.

They lived in a fantastic secluded part of Sydney. They were just short of the branches of Sydney Harbour, which you couldn't see for the thick forestry all around. There wasn't even a pavement to reach the house - it was all perfect for driving, and well out of the way of everywhere. Nice and quiet.

Sunday we had a day out to Palm Beach, which is MILES away. The beach was quite nice though, and the water was insanely warm. I think back to those punishing summers on the Isle of Wight with it's freezing water, and then here in far north Sydney where you could almost bathe in the ocean. Well, not quite bathe, but it was nice and warm. The waves were a bit much though, and there was a very strong current, which was slightly unsettling (there are all sorts of horror stories about rip currents here). And we had fish and chips for lunch. Classic food.

In the evening I went out with James to a (local?) sports club to play 5-a-side with his team, who were a man down. We lost 3-2, and the majority of the opposition were arrogant ****s, but it didn't bother me. It was fun just running around and getting stuck into sports.

Afterwards we went back to one of James' friend's house for barbecued kebabs, and humous, and that sort of delicious food. They lived on Hazelbank Rd, the road next to our old house, and apparently another of his friends there went to NSDS (my school), though being 2 years younger, I would never have seen him...

In my time in north Sydney, I walked to Chatswood, a shopping haunt from '95, where there's a Toys'R'Us we used to visit lovingly. I also walked around a local nature reserve that stuck out into Sugarloaf Bay. Apparently wallabies, echidnas, and all sorts of creatures lived there, but I didn't see any. Australia has some wild wildlife though. Some of the plants were crazy, and everything's a lush, beautiful green.

I also Star Trek, which actually was quite good. Why couldn't the Star Wars movies (the latest 3) have some of that quality and decent character development?

Anyway, I'm now back in Edgecliff, composing myself for a couple of days, and washing as much of my laundry as possible. I'm preparing myself for something different, and you'll hear all about that in due course.