Nielsen Park and Parsley Bay 👌🏼🌳🏖⛵️☀️

Living near Rushcutters Bay and having already been to Double Bay and Rose Bay, it was time to take the plunge and walk further around the coastline of Sydney’s eastern suburbs. I really wanted to see Nielsen Park after hearing so many good reports. I’m afraid to say we got the bus rather than walking (quite a jaunt from Rose Bay especially in the heat 🙈). Even from when we got off the bus, there was still a bit of a dander. In saying that, it’s a really pleasant walk through lovely Aussie suburbia. There are many amazing houses and properties en route and you really do see how the other half live (it baffles me how anyone can ever afford to live here 😳). However, seeing these awesome abodes with their glistening swimming pools is like torture when you’re being baked alive and are craving for a nice cool dip!

Arriving at Nielsen Park (part of Sydney Harbour National Park) it really doesn’t disappoint. It is a really lovely little beach that is a refreshing change from the busier and more popular eastern suburb beaches. The sea has an area that is protected with shark nets so you can swim without that fear of hearing the Jaws music when putting your head under the water 🦈😱. There is also a cafe for some refreshments or if you are prepared, there are areas for picnicking. If you are after a more secluded beach experience with beautiful waters then this is the place for you. It is quite family orientated and no dogs are permitted.

Having seen Nielsen Park and lapped it up with a flat white, we decided to keep walking until we found another beach area, Parsley Bay, both of which are in the suburb of Vaucluse. We just happened to find it on Google maps and only took 25 minutes to get to. It’s easy to miss the turn off for this beach, after walking back and forth and consulting our map, we luckily found the sign down a little street. It really does add to the sense of adventure of finding somewhere new and unexplored (by us anyway).

At the end of the street you stumble upon a really impressive bridge. Not a massive bridge but it has a lot of character. When you walk across the bridge and turn, you discover the beach. The first sighting really is breathtaking and you would totally forget that you are in Sydney. Absolutely stunning!

Having spent some time walking around and taking in the area (there’s also a little bush trail that takes about 20 minutes 👌🏼), it was time to get some lunch. We decided to head to Watson’s Bay for some fish and chips. Easily accessible by bus from here and only takes about 10 minutes. Having lunch would have made me more than happy, however, as we arrived in Watson’s Bay, we were pleasantly surprised to discover there was a cider festival 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼. As we 💚 cider, we were in our element. You could taste about 15 different ciders when you purchased some tokens. We opted for 6 ciders each (60ml taste!). The cloudy ciders were our favourites. They were really delicious and the atmosphere was very relaxed and happy, that sunshine on a Sunday feeling 😉. I would definitely recommend for next year. Finally we had our fish and chips from the famous Doyle’s and really didn’t disappoint. The end to a perfect day 🙏🏼.