Bronte, Bondi and Balloobaed

I spent all of New Year's Day afternoon on Bronte Beach. I may be an albino, with an out of shape body and little ability to thrash in the water, but I confess to being a beach bum; I love it. The sea was rough, but shallow and for all my fear of getting out of my depth, I had a really good time.

Dinner time too I spent at Bronte, buying a grilled seafood combo takeaway and eating in the picnic area by the beach. Afterwards I was tempted into walking the beach walk to Bondi Beach. Again it was all it was cracked up to be, a beautiful stroll. As I rounded a headland to view Bondi though, the rainclouds opened. I took shelter in Bondi Hotel, had a pint, won the price of the pint on the pokies and got the bus to Bondi Junction.

The girls had been out all night and all day, going to the Tea Gardens in the Junction to ring in the Irish New Year (11 am that morning). Any excuse. Now 11 pm I thought I'd poke my head in to see if they were still around. They were. Their stamina puts me to shame. Vowing to only have one, I stayed until 2 or so, chatting up Limerick lasses and any girl I could get my metaphorical hands on.

Taxis were hard to come by, so I nipped into an Indian for a curry. Lamb Korma is always nice and this definitely was, though I can still taste it. Finished I walked out to more rain, but thinking it might ease up, I began walking home. It didn't. It got very, very much worse. I nearly drowned. In the end I took shelter in a phonebox until a passing cab took pity on me.

All set for New Zealand now. I fly out at 4.30 and I have my Magic Bus ticket and hotel for the first two nights booked. It will be good!