The Best Ways to Get Out and Enjoy Sydney This Week
Lobster rolls, free festivals, harbour beaches. Get amongst it.
This post is sponsored by our partners, Pretty Shady.
Lap up those balmy November temperatures, it's high time we really took advantage of Sydney's unbelievably ideal weather right now and jumped right into this week's epic itinerary. From all the lobster rolls you could eat to beloved Dutch denim pop-ups, seaside sorbet to an entirely free outdoor festival at the Opera House, the week's looking pretty promising for Sydneysiders. Let's swim, play and eat our way through, with a little retail therapy at the close. Just remember to be a total legend and whack on some sunscreen before you head out; check out Pretty Shady for their go-to skin savers.
SWIM: CAMP COVE, WATSONS BAY
Let's start the summer early by paying a visit to one of Sydney's go-to harbour beaches, Camp Cove in Watsons Bay. Parking at the easternmost edge of the Eastern Suburbs can be a bit of a drag in Summer, but if you pray to your parking angel you’ll find somewhere eventually. It’s worth the frustration, as this laidback beach is sprawling enough to have a buzzing social vibe (there somehow always seems to be a lot of staggeringly good-looking people here). Pitch your umbrella, pick out your best and brightest bucket hat and lather up with SPF30+. There’s a little kiosk selling snacks and sorbet in coconut shells, and the general lack of waves means you can bob in the water and have mad chats to your buds. Perfect.
Cliff St, Watsons Bay
PLAY: HOMEGROUND FESTIVAL
After a successful debut last April, Homeground music and dance festival makes a triumphant return this weekend. Featuring as part of Corroboree Sydney, the free two-day event will take place once again along the boardwalk of the Opera House, kicking off with a modern day corroboree bringing together the welcome traditions of the Aboriginal, Moari and Fijian peoples. Set over two days across the Opera House's openair forecourt (so hats and sunscreen y'all), Homeground will see Dan Sultan headlining the Saturday evening, as well as Canadian folk-rock duo Digging Roots, 18-year-old self-taught guitarist Chris Tamwoy and more — with all the pop-up bars and eateries you could ask for, naturally.
Saturday, November 22 November - Sunday, November 23 November; Sydney Opera House; FREE.
EAT/DRINK: BURGER LIQUOR LOBSTER
If you hadn't planned on eating lobster rolls all summer, think again. The exotic-yet-bargain-priced burger is taking on yet another incarnation with the opening of Burger Liquor Lobster. The chief drawcard is its seafood menu: lobster rolls, prawn rolls, crab burgers and popcorn lobster, all for $15 a piece. Popping up for the summer in both Paddington’s The London Hotel and Manly Wharf Hotel, the eatery and bar takes the space previously occupied by Chur.
Manly Wharf Hotel, ((02) 9977 1266; East Esplanade, Manly) and upstairs at The London Hotel ((02) 9331 3200; 85 Underwood Street, Paddington). Opening hours are midday till late, seven days a week.
SHOP: DENHAM, THE ROCKS
Nerding out over denim is something only connoisseurs of wine or coffee could really understand. Region, preparation, final style; jeans aren't just flaps of fabric you squeeze into every day. But we don't all mull so deeply over selvedge, chain stitching and five point pockets — leaving that instead to a man called Denham. Having opened just a few months ago on George Street in collaboration with Hilton Seskin (owner of Topshop and Glue), the country's only dedicated Denham store is carving a niche for serious and not-so-invested denim fans in Australia.
77½ George Street, The Rocks; (02) 8252 9702
By the Concrete Playground team.
