The weather has turned beautiful again,

and it is time to start getting to know parts of Sydney that are outside, and that are outside the downtown core. Today we head to Watsons Bay, a 15-minute ferry ride on a fast catamaran ferry. It is on the south side of the harbour and is the last ferry stop still inside the harbour.

Watsons Bay is a quaint town, where the waterfront homes command spectacular views back to Sydney, and no doubt command equally spectacular prices in this overheated real estate market where the average price for a house is just under A$500,000. If the rundown Victorian terrace homes in Paddington are truly going for about a mill, these homes will be going for much, much more.

From the bay, we walk around the shore, climbing from sea level as we go up to the South Head and Hornby Lighthouse. As we go, we pass the local nude beach, but it is high tide and there is no beach right now. We get to the top of the head, to an excellent view of North Head, the end of land on the north side of the harbour. The sea is rough today, (we feel sorry for the ferry passengers who aren’t on a catamaran – we barely felt the swell, but watch the Manly ferry pitch to and fro) and standing up here you can see and hear the power of the ocean as it crashes onto the rocks way down below. We were told that the swells were so high that surfers were able to surf inside the harbour, although we see none today.