Having left the city for a few days I headed to at Maroubra just south of Sydney. However, I wasn’t staying in a hostel this time but instead giving couchsurfing a go for the first time.
For those unfamiliar with Couchsurfing, I basically I ask a forum full of volunteer hosts whether I can stay at their home free of charge for several nights. The idea is you make friends, gain connections all over the world and return the favour to fellow travellers when you get home. For this first try at couchsurfing, I stayed with Benny and his lovely housemates at the time; Beau and Pete who shared a nice little flat just of the main street.
After the busy Sydney city centre I was happy to get a little further out and opted for Maroubra where there is an amazing little beach and a salt water pool and not a lot else. A few very expensive cafes dotted along the front are really the only other attraction so if your happy to just enjoy some beach time and a fancy coffee this is your place.
If you’re looking for a little more then you have to head out of Maroubra. I discovered this after having wandered around for an hour or two on my first day but thankfully there is a good bus network passing through and very cheap tickets so my second day couchsurfing in Maroubra I headed to Bondi beach just up the coast. I did have to swap buses at Bondi junction which is shopping central so I wandered around for a while but only window shopping for me. It was a very sunny day so I spent some time down at the beach and even went for a swim but the waves were a little fierce for swimming once the wind picked up. The surfers seemed to enjoy it though!
After two nights spend with Benny, Beau and Pete I said my goodbyes and continued on my travels having had a very interesting and memorable first experience of couchsurfing and having also enjoyed a much quieter base for exploring.
Where do you like to base you exploring from? Do you need to be in the hub of it all or are you happiest travelling in from somewhere further out?