On a more postive note from my last post, I spent a lovely sunny morning in Sylvania Waters alternately slathering on the sunblock and cowering in the shade of an umbrella. In the Sutherland Shire, the southernmost point of metropolitan Sydny, Sylvania Waters is about thirty minutes or so from the city. It’s nestled between two of the main entry points to The Shire: Tom Ugly’s bridge and the Captain Cook bridge, both of whom span the Georges River leading into Botany Bay. The rest of Sylvania overflows either side, but then you’re getting more into Sylvania Heights. Both parts of Sylvania are generally filled with the type of houses I wouldn’t be able to afford in my lifetime (think big residences and expensive real estate). It’s nice to drive around sticky-beaking though.
Of course, not all the houses are modern cement-block mansions. There’s a liberal dash of 1970s red brick (but not much fibro) as well, but they’re not as interesting. One main road winds right through the suburb – just when you thinking you’re hopelessly lost you end up underneath Tom Ugly’s bridge. A pretty good spot to be, actually. Park the car and stroll up to the highway and you’ve got your pick of interesting restaurants and yummy food to choose from… but that’s for another lunchtime story.
It’s called, Sylvania Waters, for a reason. As you drive around, you’ll notice that houses occasionally make way for boats. Naturally, in keeping with the fairly rich area, I’m not talking tinny runabouts. Most boats are the big double-story cruiser types that make my 15′ cuddy look and feel completely inadequate. I believe much of the land is either reclaimed wetlands or perhaps a peninsular that’s been blanketed with concrete and landscaped yards; it’s bays and coves turned into parking lots for cruisers.
It also happens to be the home of an athletics track where we spend a lot of time. Thankfully, for us (after a week of rain) the clouds cleared overhead to reveal beautifuly blue sky and hot sun. We’re not really used to the sunshine in Sydney this summer. It’s been very wet and cloudy here with only an intermittent week or two of summer weather. Back to the wet weather tomorrow, apparently, but that’s okay because I’ll be in an air-conditioned office safe from rain and humidity for most of the day.
