In my second week studying abroad in Sydney, I continued to travel throughout the city, making my way up to Manly Beach on Saturday, Surry Hills on Friday, and even making my way back to The Rocks on Sunday to enjoy Australia Day. Australia Day in The Rocks was filled with large crowds of people hopping from pub to pub, trickling through the street markets and getting blasted by the heat. Though my time spent at The Rocks for Australia Day was extremely fun, the most memorable experience I had this week and arguably this entire abroad experience was being invited on a chartered boat experience on Friday. With a handful of friends, the captain of the boat took us out from Darling Harbour and took us around the harbour of Sydney, steering the boat close to the beautiful parks, cliffs, and beaches on the way. Though these viewpoints brought out the absolute beauty of Sydney that I could not have experienced without this boat outing, the final destination was the highlight. Shark Beach, which is sandwiched between Watson’s Bay and Rose Bay, seemed to be a nook of a beach upon our arrival. The beach, despite having a smaller beachside, demanded a multitude of locals, with very few tourists making their way there, as per usual according to our boat captain. The beach had a large netting surrounding the beach, which we initially thought was due to its name, Shark Beach, but was then informed it was mainly to keep boats out from the shore. As we were on a boat, we stationed the boat roughly 100 feet away from the netting, igniting us to jump off the boat, hang out on a floating raft, and take in the beautiful scenery surrounding us. The cliffs beside the shore were extremely beautiful and were filled with local fishermen, and the view from the shore was arguably the best view I have seen thus far. So, if someone were to want to go to a less mainstream beach located in Sydney, Shark Beach is one that I could not recommend any more.
