Sunset Sessions: Fort Denison!

Although I have been living in Sydney 6 months, I am constantly being a tourist in my own city. Looking for any opportunity to do something crazy or different. And Fort Denison is a great example of this.

On the train ride home, I was reading the Newspaper about Sunset Sessions at Fort Denison: every Friday and Sunday until the rest of the summer, Fort Denison would hold Sunset Sessions where you could Water Taxi out to the Fort and sit around enjoying cocktails and food while watching the sunset over the Harbour and listening to a Jazz band play. How could I resist?!

So I got 3 of my girlfriends together, put our sundresses on and had a great time!

Fort Denison was used in the early days of settlement in Sydney as jail for the convict population. During the mid 19th century a Fort was built on the island to protect Sydney Harbour. There is so much history on the Fort, and the best part was that we got to walk around and read all about - with wine in hand!

Stockton: Tin City, Sand Dunes and Shipwrecks!

Miles (or Kilometers!) of Sand Dunes, as far as the eye can see...

The closest to what I imagine a dessert to look like with hills of sand but then all of the sudden beautiful beach (a mirage?! nope just ocean).

This place seemed like it would only exist in a movie. But instead it is real, Stockton is a great beach town with amazing sand dunes and much history. Some friends and I went out to the sand dunes to do a bit of 4-wheel driving as well as a bit of sun baking and swimming off Port Stephens.

But the added reason for the adventure was the Signa, an amazing shipwreck that is only accessible from the sand. The Signa was a 53,000 ton Norwegian coal ship that was beached during a major storm in 1974 and the wreck has become an icon and landmark for the local area. It has completely rusted over, but still has this majestic look.

The other amazing thing about the sand dunes is Tin City, a virtual city in the middle of the dunes of 10 or so tin houses.These tin houses were actually built during the great depression of the 1930s. During World War II the houses were torn down so the land could be used for an Army camp, but were again rebuilt after the war was over. Just in case it looks familiar.... Tin City was used for several scenes in the 1979 movie Mad Max. Being a child of the 80s I seem to have missed this gem, but apparently it is the claim to fame!

Such a cool place so neatly tucked away among the dunes.