Our Sydney staycation

The Christmas and New Year period feels like it’s fast becoming a fading memory of copious amounts of delicious food, wine, champers and catchups with family and friends from near and far. I think our holiday season this year was one of the best ever, perhaps made more special by the fact we stayed in Sydney and did the tourist thing, discovering more amazing places on our own doorstep instead of hightailing it elsewhere in search of adventure. Here are some highlights of our Sydney staycation:

Sydney’s Little Bay

The beach

Little Bay is officially my new favourite beach. Located in Sydney’s southeastern suburbs (think below Maroubra) it has a hideaway factor with few visitors and no roads directly surrounding it. You access Little Bay via a short walk through a golf course and down a steep staircase, where there’s conveniently a new looking bathroom and shower facility. The beach itself is actually a sheltered bay surrounded by dramatic cliffs and rock formations, with white sand and crystal clear, calm water. You definitely feel far removed from civilisation while swimming here.

The eats

A chance discovery and new favourite post-beach pitstop is Croquembouche Patisserie, a French-run patisserie and cafe in the unassuming location of Botany Road, Botany. We stopped here after swimming at Little Bay and were surpised to discover coffee and sweets rivalling the best of those found in cooler locales, with macarons to rival Zumbo’s. Highly recommended is the jaffa macaron and the luscious salted caramel variety. The coffee’s good too.

The daytrip

We decided to check out the Grand Pacific Drive, a picturesque stretch of road weaving south through the Royal National Park leading to a stunning ocean vista at Stanwell Tops. The road then hugs a curve of coastline enroute to the surfing villages between Sydney’s south and Wollongong, like Thirroul and Bulli (cue holiday house envy), and eventually ends in Nowra. To say it was beautiful was an understatement – think blue sky, sunshine and sparkly sea. Future staycation possibilities are endless… but the daytrip in particular gave us a newfound appreciation of living back in Australia, and the family fun that is ‘the roadtrip’ – our holiday style of choice at the next opportunity!