46. Balmoral and Edwards Beaches

We were skint. Neither of us had been paid since arriving here and so when we had a day off together we had to find something to do that cost nothing. I had previously asked all the staff at work what there was to do in Sydney that didn’t cost any money and was constantly met with same answer; “go to the beach”.

It was a Sunday and the sun was shining and it was likely that Manly Beach and Bondi Beach would be packed so we had a look at the map and decided to go to Edwards and Balmoral Beaches. They are located 10 minutes down the hill from where Military Rd becomes Spit Rd in North Mosman and the two beaches are separated by a rocky outcrop that juts out into the ocean forming a fantastic viewing point.

15 minutes on the bus saw us at the top of the street that leads down to the 2 beaches. For any of you that have been in the West End of Glasgow this street can only be described as a larger, longer, steeper version of Gardener Street of near San Franciscan proportions. It took about 10 minutes to walk down the hill and what greeted us were two beautiful beaches that were surprisingly quiet.

Dividing Edwards and Balmoral beach was the aptly named Rocky Point which was littered with spacious grassy knolls and comfortable stone platforms that were being used by several sun-seekers to catch some rays. However, there were plenty trees up on the point providing natural shade so we decided to spend the afternoon there.

Lying in the sun reading our books made us feel like tourists again and when we got stuck into the little picnic it felt even more like a proper day out at the beach. After a few hours we headed back home but had the gravity defying hill to contest with first.

Actually it wasn’t too bad and before we knew it we were at the top. Besides it was a small price to pay to have found not one but two beautiful beaches, especially since they were so quite and peaceful. Personally, I felt that there was very little that the more famous local beaches had to offer over these two.