It’s a gorgeous day today – we picked right for our beach excursion! We do a quick shower and coffee, then off to the ferries we go and grab the 8:40 slow ferry to Manly. Located only 7 miles from Sydney, Manly is the gateway to the scenic Northern Beaches. The beaches stretch from Queenscliff to Manly Beach to Shelly Beach – all pristine – lined with Norfolk Island pine trees (the symbolic feature of Manly) and most with great surf too.
We’ve scoped out a bike rental place located close to the beach, and head there to start our day. Unfortunately, they aren’t open until 10:00 so we’ve got a little down time. But we wander around on the beach promenade, locate our lunch destination, and then make a circuit back to the bike store, which has opened a little early.
We hire 2 bikes (only $15 for 2 hours – because we have a coupon!—what a surprise) and strike out to the beach. The ride down the promenade is lovely – it is a gorgeous day! Sunny, perfect temperature, not too much breeze. The promenade itself is broad with a separate pedestrian area, so we don’t have to worry so much about walkers…
…well, we’d like to believe that – but as the ride progresses they’re still on the bikeway and not paying attention…earth to people! Oh well, what can you do?
We follow the promenade to it’s end at Queenscliff Beach, then turn left and ride along the Manly Lagoon and through Keirle Park. It’s lovely and green (no pix, sorry, these are hybrid bikes, which means I’ve got gears and hand brakes – have you ever tried holding a camera in one hand while trying to brake? Don’t! Trust me!). There are TONS of people out – and it’s a Wednesday – and by people I mean mom’s and their kids. Very few men to be seen at all – and as the day progresses we are starting to call them the Pram Patrol – they are everywhere with their kids. Running, walking, exercising with all the prams lined up on the side so they can tend to the kid if they need to. It’s amazing. And now that we think about it, when we were watching the morning commute on the ferries, it was heavily weighted toward men – like maybe 80%? Interesting seeing that it is so blasted pricey to live here!
But I digress. So, back to the bike ride. We circle back, and head the other way on the promenade, passing the interesting houses lining the street side of the beach. There is old and new and tear downs and refurbished looking single homes and – mostly – condos or apartments. It’s interesting the mix of styles – the newer stuff looks almost Danish modern. The older stuff – pure colonial brickwork. All enhanced by the view through the pines to the beach. Bet these things are a pretty penny!
We continue North along the beach, until we get to Shelly Beach. It’s up at the top of a steep hill – and we can see it’s going even higher up. Nah, we’re wimping. We want exercise, but we’re not here to kill ourselves today – we’d rather enjoy the day. So, we take off toward the main harbor and cycle around the paths there for a bit. We’d love to do the Manly scenic walk – but “walk” is the operative term there – no bikes allowed. Darn. Some other time!
Back to the beach, we meander down the promenade a bit, checking out the ever crowded beach and the surfing going on.
We stop for a breather and to fill up our water bottles at the “save the environment, refill your bottles” water fountain. We leave the bikes right next to the very tall seawall….when…WHOMP…Ed’s bike goes tumbling over and down the wall onto the beach. Ay yi yi! I’m too stunned to get a pix of the bike down there, but I do get my wits about me and take a picture of the indentation it made once it landed – pretty deep – and of course Ed at the scene of the crime (after he’s cleaned off the bike and made sure it’s not broken or bent – phew!)!
Wine is good, beer is good, view is awesome – and when the plates come….OMG…totally awesome. Big piece of meat (it’s rump steak, perfectly done and tender as butter) with a yummy mushroom sauce, nice size salad, and Ed said the chips were really good (I demurred, I’ve had enough carbs to last a lifetime). Perfect mid-day meal!
It’s still too early to head back to Sydney, so we sort of wander aimlessly..passing cute beach bars, like the Hemingway (ah, Cuba memories! Yuly – this one is for you!!!) where the slogan is “come on in, it’s mad”….
…. and back onto the harbor where we stop at Four Pines, the only local brewery in Manly. We’ve missed the brewery tour, which starts at 12:30. Darn! You get a free taster, but we don’t know how much it is, and quite frankly, the brewery is one big room that we are looking at while we have a beer and wine! The tour group just stands there, never moving, just listening while being served their tastings. Ah well. It was a nice place to waste time before the ferry at least!
At the terminal, as we wait for the ferry, we wander through Aldi’s and manage to pick up some cheap peanut snacks. At least there is someplace where we can shop reasonable. Yeah, I know, I’m harping on it, but seriously, when we start to complain about costs, all we need to do is remember Australia with $19 burgers and $28 fish and chips (and also remember that the conversion rate is now 1AU dollar to $1.05 US dollars). Get my drift?
So – anyway – back on the ferry, we spend a nice half hour ride messing with our phones and free wi-fi. And get the best picture of the Opera House on the whole trip…think this one might be a wall picture!
Back aboard, we get ready to sail to Tasmania! Fingers crossed for a smooth Tasman sea heading south!
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