Manly

February 10th 2008

We’ve now moved away from the hustle and bustle of city life, sailing back down the harbour past the Opera House for the last time and into the Suburb of Manly. Manly is a really laid back beach town right by the entrance of Port Jackson with a great surf beach on the ocean side of the town and quiet little harbours on the inside. We were able to anchor off our own private beach in Store Bay which is just a short dinghy ride to the main town and a beautiful anchorage.

We were shocked to find out that we couldn’t anchor too close to shore because it’s a penguin breeding area! I would never have believed that there were penguins in Sydney however we can confirm that we had many sightings of them around the boat and they were just like the ones we saw in the Galapagos Islands. Manly is really popular with Backpackers and tourist who give it a great relaxed holiday feel especially when the sun is out and the bars and beaches are full. We really enjoyed relaxing on the beach playing paddle ball while the braver ones tackled the waves to go surfing.Hiking almost 20 km along the coastal scenic walkway into middle harbor we passed through housing estates one minute and beautiful national parks and beaches the next. It was hard to believe we were so close to the city and civilization, which is probably why the wealthiest of Sydney’s residents choose to live here.

On the 26th of January we celebrated Australia day by wearing our Flip Flops and going to the beach for a sausage sizzle and surfing. The lifeguards were all out competing in their rowing boats racing through the heavy surf and tides around a marker about a mile off shore and then back to the beach without getting flipped by the huge waves in the process. They’re a tough group of people and after seeing that we feel a lot more confident going for a swim! The anchorage increased from three boats to a hundred and everyone was partying and having a lot of fun. The Australians definitely know how to make the most of a public holiday and luckily the sun stayed out all day.

Being in Sydney has been a fantastic experience and we’ve really loved every minute of it. It’s a city that really needs to be seen from the water and being on the boat has allowed us so much freedom, something I don’t think you’d feel staying on land. We’re really going to miss it but our feet are starting to itch and we’re longing for the wind in our sails again. We plan to sail slowly up the coast stopping as much as we can along the way to enjoy the smaller towns and harbours. We’ll spend some time in Brisbane and then Hop up the islands off the Barrier reef to the Whitsunday’s where I first learnt to sail almost seven years ago.