Eastern Beaches

The area to the east of Sydney is regarded by many residents and the majority of sun-seeking visitors as the best part of the city’s outdoor attractions and the ultimate destination, and waterside dwellings here fetch astronomical prices compared with the rest of Australia. With good reason. The eastern beach suburbs are not just blessed with beautiful people, addictive shopping, classy bars and restaurants and the hippest cafés in town. From Bondi to Coogee each small suburb has access to its own beach, and the 8-km walk that connects them all is a popular route for tourists, walkers and runners.

Bondi

The best-known beach in all of Australia is a great place to start. Bondi – from an Aboriginal word meaning ‘water breaking over rocks’ – became a public beach in 1882 and there are still glimpses of its heritage. The Bondi Pavilion, now a venue for music and other festivals, sits comfortably on the promenade, and the Icebergs pool, now attached to the swanky bar and restaurant of the same name, dates back to 1929, when it was established to allow the lifesavers a chance to stay fit during the chilly winter months. Today Icebergs, the bar, is where the prettiest and most famous go to eat, drink and gaze at the view, and the pool is still there if you fancy a dip. Head south and you can follow the sea path straight to Tamarama.

Tamarama

Small but perfectly formed, Tamarama is affectionately known by the locals as Glamarama, thanks to the abundance of beautiful people who manage to squeeze themselves onto the tiny patch of sand every weekend. Originally the site of Sydney’s first amusement park in 1887, ‘Tama’ now helps host the annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibits, but other than that it is just a nice beach for sunbathing. Unless you seriously know what you are doing, swimming is not recommended. There are rips aplenty, so stay on dry land and people-watch instead. Following the coastal road round the headland, you come to Bronte.

Bronte

Bronte’s life-saving club was established in 1903 – they claim it is the oldest in the world – and is still going strong on what is one of the most popular beaches in the eastern suburbs. Every December the Bondi to Bronte swim brings out the most experienced swimmers from the suburbs and beyond. And even if you are not up to the challenge, it is a site not to be missed.

In recent years Bronte has added some serious cachet to its reputation thanks to the likes of late Hollywood star Heath Ledger and director Baz Luhrmann owning properties here. For the ordinary folk, the strip of cafés and restaurants above the beach are a main attraction.

Clovelly

Leaving Bronte and heading further south, the sprawling and stunning Waverley Cemetery interrupts the beaches, before you turn a corner and are greeted with Clovelly. Originally called ­Little Coogee, after its bigger brother beach further along the coast, Clovelly was renamed in 1913. Yet another life-saving club was established in 1906, although Clovelly soon earned its tag as ‘Sydney’s safest beach’. Because of the shape of Clovelly, where it stretches deeply towards the shoreline, the beach itself is a shallow and tranquil lagoon.

Today, because of this, it is popular with families and local residents. An added incentive to visit is the large car park directly above the beach, and if you are keen to venture further out into deeper waters, the snorkelling is top notch.

Coogee

Continuing on your walk will take you past tiny Gordon’s Bay, which one or two swimmers might monopolise on a hot day, but it is wiser to carry on the 10-minute walk to Coogee.

Apparently taken from an Aboriginal word meaning ‘stinking seaweed’, today Coogee is much sweeter. It is one of the more tightly populated areas, with houses dating back to the 1930s, but Coogee itself has been a popular seaside resort since the early 1900s, when an electric tram connected the area to the city.

Surfing is not allowed at Coogee, but the beach itself is a popular spot for local festivals and competitions, thanks to the area of grassy parkland behind it.

Coogee has made the news a few times in history. Once in 1935 when a captured tiger shark regurgitated a human arm, and again in 2003 when visitors reported seeing an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Today people still visit the site hoping for a glimpse of her.

At the northern end of the headland stands a high bronze sculpture, com­memorating the local residents who perished in the 2002 Bali bombings.