Manly and the Harbour Bridge

The weather cleared on Wednesday and I saw the sun for the first time since my arrival in Australia. To take advantage of the nice weather, I decided to take a ferry ride to the outer suburb of Manly that sits at the entrance of Sydney Harbour. I took the train to Circular Quay and boarded the large ferry boat bound for Manly. It is a popular trip recommended by all the guidebooks because it is a very scenic trip from the Quay through the Harbour. When the ferry departed everyone got their cameras out to snap a picture of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from the water. As the Opera House sunk into the distance, we got to enjoy views of the suburbs of Sydney that have built up on the Harbour. There are also a few parks preserving the natural limestone and scrub brush terrain. Manly is on the far side of the Harbour entrance, so we had to cross the entrance and the rolling waves from the open ocean. The scenery was beautiful and well worth the trip. We arrived in Manly in about thirty minutes.

Manly is a beach town with a large beach facing the ocean that is popular for sunbathing and surfing. I went to Manly for the ferry ride and I did not really have a plan for what to do in Manly. On my arrival I found the visitor's centre and they a brochure on scenic walks. I decided to walk to North Head Point which is at the entrance to the Harbour and looked scenic. Manly itself is definitely a beach town like any you would find in California. I walked out of the downtown area up through a housing area and then past a hospital. The peninsula where I was headed was once a military training area, but now it is a park area. I walked by the side of a road for most of the two kilometers and it was not very scenic. Once I arrived at North Head it was very different and had a spectacular vista of the Harbour and Sydney in the distance. There was a series of lookouts and I stopped at each one to take in the view and snap a few pictures. At the point, there was views looking along the limestone cliffs and other lookouts back towards the city. There was only a handful of people about so I largely had the place to myself and could enjoy the peace and view.

About noon I started back to Manly and thankfully the return trip was mostly downhill. Back in town I got myself a snack and took it out to the beach. There were no sunbathers, but there was still a fair number of people on the large boardwalk area and just walking on the beach. Out in the surf a couple dozen surfers braved the cold to enjoy the crashing waves. During the summer I'm sure the place is packed with people and is bustling. I returned to the wharf and caught an early afternoon ferry back to the Quay. The wind had picked which made the trip chilly so I stayed indoors at first. The increased wind aided sailboats and we passed a large group of sailboats that appeared to be having a race. As the Harbour Bridge and Opera House came into view the cameras emerged and everyone took pictures again. The central location of the ferry dock at Circular Quay is both very scenic and very convenient. After leaving the dock, I walked over to the Rocks.

The weather was still clear and partly sunny, so I decided to walk across the Harbour Bridge. There are steps in the Rocks up to the walkway that crosses the bridge. Large metal fences protect the walkway from the road and from the edge, but they still allow for walkers to enjoy the view. As I walked the sun partially came out from behind the clouds and hit the Opera House making it appear to glow. I stopped to take pictures, but the rumbles of the cars make the bridge vibrate that is noticeable when stopped and I did not want to stop for too long. The Harbour Bridge seems large from the ground, but walking it does not seem as long. The view from the bridge is wonderful and the whole Harbour is visible. I could see all the way to Manly and North Head where I had been that morning. It turned around once I reached the North end and walked back to the Rocks. I was tired and hungry from all the walking, so I stopped at a pizzeria in the Rocks for a pizza. Afterwards, I returned to the hostel to rest, write a journal, and then walked over to Chinatown to spend some time on the internet. It was a long day filled with many special sights.

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