M O M E N T S I N M A N L Y

We spent a week in Manly and it was perfect, being a 30 minute ferry ride from Sydney's CBD it would be an amazing place to settle; you have the best of both worlds- a place near the ocean thats on the doorstep of a big city. The ferry ride is a far better commute then the London underground thats for sure!

L I F E S A B E A C H

I found that a lot of people who haven't been to Australia know very little about the place. But one name that nearly everyone has heard of is the infamous Bondi Beach. Only a hop,skip and a bus ride from Sydney's CBD is the once small beach community that is now thriving with life and one of the most sought after areas. Bondi offers the quintessential city-come-beach lifestyle, it's the extension of the city but in a bikini. And everyone, everywhere looks fabulous.

When the you need to evade the heat there's one bar that offers the best views around: Bondi Icebergs. The home of Bondi's swimming baths and social club. We spent a few afternoons there escaping the sun and sipping on alcoholic ginger beer whilst admiring the spectacular views from it's glass fronted balcony, looking over the swimming bath, the beach and the ocean.

Because Bondi is world renown you can guarantee that you won't ever be the only one on the beach. Tourists and Sydneysiders alike flock to Bondi for a bit of beach action. Fortunately it has such a wide beach so there's room for everyone, however if you want a bit more seclusion there are the local beaches only a short walk away; and Bondi, like so many other places in Australia has considered the out door life style and created the Bondi to Coogee coastal path, offering a great running or walking track with views to the destinations along the coast line.

W H I T E H E A V E N

Whitehaven Beach is widely recognised as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and is on the Whitsunday Island off the coast of Queensland. A few days after Christmas we took a trip there with Ocean Rafting. The inflatable speed vessel prides itself on an exhilarating, adventure ride to Whitehaven. As it took one of its many high speed turns I fell off my seat flying across to the other side of the boat and landing on fellow passengers legs. The outcome...a very bruised sore bum. We stopped twice to do some snorkelling in the turquoise waters of the Coral Sea, we saw some incredible fish and one particular fish that was a kaleidoscope of colour making it look like it belonged in the 80's! On our onward journey we got soaked in the rain but fortunately just after we reached the island the rain subsided leaving us with the beautiful blue sky we have become accustomed too. We took the scenic walk to Hill Inlet lookout point which over looks the pure white silica shifting sand; there are small deep natural channels that run up from the sea to the beach creating these shifting sand patterns. Hill Inlet sits at the northern end of the 7km Whitehaven beach. This post card perfect paradise island is uninhabited surrounded by forest, clear calm aquamarine sea with views of the surrounding islands. Not a bad place to be washed up for the day.

I L E F T M Y H E A R T I N N O O S A

Noosa is on the aptly named Sunshine Coast about 2 hours north of Brisbane. The Lonely Planet guidebook wasn't wrong when it said you may fall hard for this beach resort. We had booked just 5 days here, but as soon as we arrived we realised we didn't want to leave. Noosa is a picture perfect town, lazy days are spent soaking up the sun on the beautiful beach, afternoons shopping and sipping coffees on tree-lined Hastings Street, Dinner on the river or a night out at Noosa Junction. Couldn't ask for more from this chilled out seaside town.

B Y R O N B A Y I N A D A Y

Drove south of Gold Coast to Byron Bay crossing the Queensland/New South Wales border and jumping an hour forward without realising. Who knew that an hours drive would put us an hour in the future. We had high expectations for Byron Bay and unfortunately it didn't meet them. The area is known for it's laid-back new-age vibe but with swarms of backpackers it seemed like maybe we arrived a few years too late. It was a wonderful little town but was over crowded, stealing away the beauty of this hippy village. The accommodation prices are sky high so decided we wouldn't stay, so after a mooch around the shops, a visit to the beach and a coconut ice-cream we got back in the car and drove back to the Gold Coast arriving at the same time we left.

S U N D A Z E

When any Londoner thinks of November you conjure up ideas of dark evenings, grey days and cold mornings, it's the month where you say goodbye to autumn, hello to winter and start your christmas shopping. This year it is a different story for us. November in Australia means getting ready for summer, hot days and warm nights. Yes there's still the matter of christmas presents but this year we won't be panic shopping either.