Through His Eyes: Sydney’s Eastern Beaches

I have seen them throughout the years. Idyllic. Crowded. Teeming with life. I have come of age along their shores; their song echoing memories of distant summers with stories etched in sand. I have connected with their jagged rocks and pristine blues. A source of inspiration for my writing, Sydney’s eastern beaches, I have claimed them to be mine.

Until he visited from another state.

It wasn’t the hurried photo shoots in the rain of beaches that dot the landscape from Watson’s Bay to Maroubra. Or the seas that turned angry with foam or the wind lashing across our faces that wild October day. I showed him my part of the world only to see it reflected in his eyes.

I drove him along the coast stopping at every beach and iconic landmark. I watched him photograph the seascape while I secretly photographed him capturing the sights.

The sharp cliffs of the Gap were no longer a geographical formation he studied on a map. Tamarama, with its treacherous surf was dubbed an intimate stretch of sand. Coogee’s Wedding Cake Island turned into a quaint spot. Even the much-hyped Bondi Beach coloured with excitement when he identified it from a television show. My familiar summer playground suddenly wore a shade of new.

When we parted ways at the train station, his camera laden with photographs, his Sydney visit punctuated with local flavour, little he knew at the time that we had exchanged memories.

~ ~ ~

This post has been entered into the Grantourismo Homeaway Holiday-Rentals travel blogging competition for October on the theme of Local Travel.