The first day in Australia was quite the whirlwind....Little did I know upon waking, day two was going to be another exciting day down under! I woke up bright and early to an empty house as my housing family works for a Christian group in Sydney called Hillsong, and they were away on their "holiday". Eager to start of the day, I drove back into Sydney to meet up with my friends, Ginny and Dave. We decided to head to the coast and embark on the "coastal walk", which is about a three mile walk between Bondi and Coogee Beach. I have spent many a vacations at the beach in my lifetime, so I had pretty average expectations for the trek. Well, was I in for a surprise when I literally wore my camera battery out because I wanted to capture all of the amazing scenery that ensued! We walked along five different beaches separated by beautiful rocks and cliffs. The most picturesque part was beneath a cove in an area called "the baths". We took stairs to the bottom, and once there you could swim in water surrounded by rocks and view all kinds of wildlife! That was my first lesson in underestimating something in Australia!
We then shopped around Bondi for a bit, but could not delay as we had a cricket game to attend! I have been to plenty of sporting events, but I was excited because cricket was a new sport to experience! We were all confused about the rules until a few locals noted our struggle and decided to help us out and give us the cliff notes! After much discussion, we concluded it is similar to baseball...haha.
Our next landmark of the evening was the Opera House Bar! After a short fiasco of trying to run down an out of service bus, we hailed a cab to take us there. Once again, the views were incredible! We made the clutch decision to get "take-out" dinner from the bar, and sat outside with the Opera House to our backs, and the Harbour Bridge in front of us across the bay. Again, we all could not believe how blessed we were to be able to experience these views! We hung out for a few hours and then called it a night!
The next day, I figured I should probably play some golf...since I AM here for golf...right?....riiight! Ginny, Dave, and I played a course called Bonnie Doon. The course was in great shape, but that did not help the strong winds! At times we had to aim on the other side of the green because the wind was so strong! After we played, we had lunch at a nice cafe in Surry Hills. Interestingly I have found myself to be quite the coffee drinker here throughout the day even because it is so tasty!
Then, life or death moment #.....haha just kidding.. but seriously, I had to make a two hour drive to Hunter Vally for my next location of residence with my host family. Hunter Vally is one of the oldest area for vineyards. With over 150 vineyards it draws comparison to Napa Vally. Driving up to my house I had the biggest smile on my face - it was sick! It was a modern style house overlooking vineyards and also the golf course that I will be playing on! I chatted with my "host parents" Helen and Graham for a while before having DUCK for dinner. Luckily my dad had been expanding my palate at home recently so I was prepared to try it for the first time! It was great!
Tomorrow I am golfing with Helen and Graham, and am excited for what the day has in store! Hole-in-ones and more duck please! ; )
Lacey Agnew
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