NAKAWALOCKDOWN: ON FOOT EDITION

So Sydney's still grappling with the rules of its hard-ish lockdown: basically, you must work/study from home UNLESS you can't PROVIDED you get some workout/wellness in everyday BUT the gyms and sports will remain closed HOWEVER you can go out for a walk/run IF you stay within 5 kilometers of your home AS LONG AS I before E EXCEPT after C.  Basically.

But s'all good, as lockdown led the fam to discover a bunch a cool places and paths that were (legal) walking distance from our neighborhood, had great Sydney views, and made for suitable escape routes in the event of a zombie apocalypse/toilet paper dystopia future.

Our compliance check-ins:

Tunks Park via Flat Rock Creek

Distance from Home/Fitbit Minutes: Hell, yeah! Maybe a 10 km walking loop and a 30-storey ascent from shore to the scenic bridge above.  

Social Distancing if Everyone Gets the Same Idea and Goes There at the Same Time: Compliant. The park's big, while the bush walk trail is narrow at parts but mostly wide enough to accommodate more than one out-of-shape widebody walking in the opposite direction.     

Toilet Paper Availability: A modest public restroom at the foot of the park. Hold it in the rest of the way.

Wendy's Secret Garden

Distance from Home/Fitbit Minutes: About 5 km round-trip, with a long, gradual uphill return.    

Social Distancing if Everyone Gets the Same Idea and Goes There at the Same Time: Despite (or maybe because of) the "Secret" in its name, Wendy's remains a popular oft-visited spot, tucked just behind the North Sydney CBD and Luna Amusement Park. Your health walk will photobomb a lot of live Instagrammers is what I'm saying.  

Toilet Paper Availability: You're never that far from some stores and shops. However, you -- like everyone else -- won't know if any of them will be open on any given lockdown day.  Hold it in.

Tunks Park onward to the Jean-Luc Trail Run

Distance from Home/Fitbit Minutes: Getting to Tunk's Park is already a 2+ km walk, then tack on another 3+ km just to circumnavigate the hilly, awesomely named Jean-Luc Trail Run.

Social Distancing if Everyone Gets the Same Idea and Goes There at the Same Time: Not too busy, as the trail appears to be more of a functional short-cut of locals rather than a recreational path for out-of-towners.  To that point...     

Toilet Paper Availability: The end of the trail leads into a posh neighborhood that gives a Get Off My Landscaped Lawn kind of vibe so, no, I wouldn't advise knocking on anyone's door and asking if you can use their bathroom.  Hold it in.

Coal Loader onto Balls Head Reserve onto Berry's Bay Lookout

Distance from Home/Fitbit Minutes: A leisurely 3+ km downhill walk to the area, consider cheating supporting the economy by taking the train back up.

Social Distancing if Everyone Gets the Same Idea and Goes There at the Same Time: Well, both the Coal Loader and the parks overlooking the Berrys and Balls Head bays are re-purposed industrial sites designed to comfortably accommodate a lot a people and are actually quite interesting places to learn about but if you accidentally unsafesearch those names tho   

Toilet Paper Availability:  Didn't notice.  Hold it in.

Berry Island Reserve

Distance from Home/Fitbit Minutes:  Same as above.  You'd think we'd be fitter by now. 

Social Distancing if Everyone Gets the Same Idea and Goes There at the Same Time:  The picnic/mini-beach area that fronted the rest of the reserve was packed the day we were there, but if you can Walking Dead Whisperers your way past the horde, you'll have a quiet, scenic, slow-zombie walk the rest of the way.  

Toilet Paper Availability:  By now, with the state roaring towards vaccination targets and itching to lift lockdown, more but still not that many local shops are open for business and bathroom usage. Hold it in a little longer

Long Reef

80% vax levels reached! Can now legally pack more than four people in a car and travel over 20 kilometers and check out a famous headland's bathroom facilities!  

Look out below! We don't have to hold it in anymore!