Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 361

Green Sydney

Australia's best-known city may be home to two of the world's most famous landmarks
- the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge - but it has much to offer away from
the crowds drawn to these icons, and with an ambitious city-wide sustainability plan
aimed for 2030, a lot of the attractions are distinctly green.

493 Swim in a coastal pool
Along with world-famous beaches like Bondi,
Sydney's other coastal institutions are its
pools. There are seventy of them lining the
harbour and the suburban shores, ranging from
glamorous see-and-be-seen lidos to Olympic-
size pools. Often the pool itself is the attraction,
such as Bronte, carved into the cliffs and so
close to the Pacific that you can jump over the
edge and into the ocean that laps at the pool's
side. Wylies, meanwhile, is covered in algae
and filled with tiny fish so that it is somewhat
like swimming in an aquarium. And if you're
feeling brave, there's Mahon - known as “the
impossible pool” because of the intensity of the
waves that crash over the side from the open
ocean. To dip your toe in a few of them, you can
walk the cliffs from Bondi's famous Icebergs

pool to Bronte in about an hour and a half.
Whichever pool you try along the way, it's the
best way to enjoy swimming at Sydney's shores
- without any worry about the sharks.

Need to know All of Sydney's and New South
Wales' coastal pools can be found at W www.
nswoceanbaths.info. For maps and information
on the walk from Bondi to Bronte see W www.
waverley.nsw.gov.au/council/parks/parks/coastwalk.
asp.

494 Have some bonza tucker
With the perfect climate for farming, the Hunter
Valley and other world-renowned wine areas a
few hours away, and of course the vast Pacific
Ocean to one side, Sydney has all the conditions
for fantastic food, whatever your budget. There
are nine branches of the whole-food chain Iku,
which serves biodynamic,
organic and vegetarian food,
such as mushroom, leek and
thyme pie or spicy vegetable,
tofu and lime-leaf laksa.
For a more special occasion,
try New South Wales' only
climate-neutral restaurant,
Billy Kwong's ( W www.
kyliekwong.org; T +61 (0) 293
323 300), where you can dine
on organic dishes like seared
calamari, rocket and Asian
herb salad or Sichuan pepper
beef with pickled cucumber
and watercress. Slow Food
fans should saunter over
to Peasants' Feast ( W www.
peasantsfeast.com.au; T +61

Putting in the lengths at the
ocean-filled Bronte baths