Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk

The Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk is Sydney at its most Sydney: a free path of about six kilometres along the cliffs of the eastern suburbs, linking a chain of famous beaches with ocean pools, sandstone headlands and big Pacific views. Most people walk it south from Bondi, starting at Bondi Icebergs, the ocean pool and club at the southern end of the beach, where waves break over the edge of the lap lanes. From there the path climbs around the headland past wind-sculpted rock to Tamarama, a small, steep surf beach in a gully, and on to Bronte, with its grassy park, picnic shelters and the Bronte Baths ocean pool. Beyond Bronte the path passes the clifftop Waverley Cemetery, one of the most beautifully sited cemeteries in the world, where poets and sporting heroes lie with an ocean view, then descends to Clovelly, a long narrow inlet with calm water that is popular with snorkellers. Gordons Bay, a rocky cove with an underwater nature trail, comes next, and finally the walk drops into Coogee, a broad beach with ocean pools, including Wylie's Baths and the women-only McIver's Ladies Baths, and plenty of places to eat. The path is mostly paved, with boardwalks and many stairs; it is not suitable for wheelchairs and is hard work with a pram. Allow two to three hours with stops, more if you swim. There is little shade, so go early in the morning or later in the afternoon in summer, wear a hat and sunscreen, and carry water. Buses connect both ends to the city, and Bondi Junction station is a short bus ride from Bondi Beach.

The coast here has been a place of gathering for thousands of years. The cliffs hold rock engravings made by the Aboriginal people of the area, including a well-known engraving site on the headland at North Bondi, and the walk passes through the Country of the Bidjigal, Birrabirragal and Gadigal people. The ocean pools are a later Sydney tradition: from the nineteenth century, councils and swimming clubs carved and walled baths into the rock shelves so that people could swim in the sea without the surf, and Sydney now has dozens of them. Bondi Icebergs, Bronte Baths, Clovelly and the Coogee pools are some of the most photographed, and they are free or charge a small entry fee. Bring swimmers and use them.

When to go: late spring, when the jacarandas are flowering inland and the water is warming up, is a lovely time, and autumn is often the best of all, with settled weather and fewer crowds. In summer the beaches are packed on weekends, the sun is fierce, and the walk is best before ten in the morning. In winter, from late May into spring, migrating humpback whales pass along this coast and can sometimes be seen from the headlands; the main season ends around the start of November. The annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibition, when it is held, lines the Bondi-to-Tamarama stretch with large works in spring and brings big crowds. Heavy seas occasionally damage or close parts of the path, especially around Bondi and Bronte, and councils post detours when they do; check before you go after a storm.

Doing it well: start at Bondi with breakfast and a look at the surf, walk south with the sun behind you in the morning, and plan your stops — a swim at Bronte or Clovelly, a pause at Waverley Cemetery, a snorkel at Gordons Bay if the water is clear. Finish in Coogee with lunch and a dip, then take the bus back to the city. If six kilometres is too much, the Bondi to Bronte section, about two and a half kilometres, has many of the highlights and takes about an hour. Swim between the flags on patrolled beaches, watch for rips, and never stand on wet rock shelves facing the ocean, where waves can surge without warning.