Woke up in the middle of the night with the old guy snoring like crazy, could not fall back asleep, so I went to the toilets. When I came back , I woke up the guy (scaring him to death) and asked him if he could try to sleep on his side, he grunted but did it!! (VICTORY!) After that we were able to sleep (he had managed to wake 3 of us up).
Woke up properly around 9.30am, shower then breakfast and we decided what to do with our day, and chose to go to Manly. Today all the transports are caped at $2.50, so for that price we took: bus, train and ferry both ways!
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| Love the view from the plateform of Circular Quay train station |
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| ferry ride itinerary |
We took the ferry at Circular Quay, the ferry passes right by the Opera House! We also saw for the 1st time Sydney's skyline, this is quite a thing! We crossed the entire bay of Sydney to reach Manly. Manly is on the other side of the bay, with one side in the bay the other facing the Pacific ocean.
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| Leaving Circular Quay |
passing along the Opera House
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| panoramic view of central Sydney |
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| Opening of the Bay towards the Ocean |
In Manly, we had lunch in a park and then headed for the main beach (facing the ocean). Wow, it was crowded! I guess this is what you get for going to the beach on a Sunday... Because we are facing the ocean, the water is quite turbulent and as a matter of fact, there are only 2 small areas for people to swim in, the rest of the water is banned or for surfers...
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| Lovely small ferry terminal of Manly |
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| picnic in the park |
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| 1st sight of Manly beach |
left - surfers area / right - (parked like animals) swimmers area
We found a spot, not too far from the water, but facing the "forbidden" section. We rrested for a while, soaking up the sun, reading and listening to some music. We went in the water one after the other (to keep an eye on the bags). You can't really swim, but we enjoyed the waves, it was really good. The water was a bit cold at 1st, but with the heat, it was welcomed!
soaking up the sun!
Around 4pm, we decided to go for a walk. The view was stunning and the flora on the ocean side reminded me of the south of France and the "Garrigue", but once on the other side (the one facing the bay), vegetation was very lush, a bit like a tropical forest.
last look at Manly Beach
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| meet and greet with the locals! |
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| starting our walk around Manly |
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| couple selfie with the Pacific Ocean |
"Guarrigue" scenery
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| lush scenery |
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| crossing Collins Beach and its waterfall |
Collins Beach is located on the Bay side of Manly, thus flat water and lovely quiet area
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| secured swimming area (against sharks??) |
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| new exotic birds! |
We arrived back in Manly harbour and had dinner before boarding the next ferry. D. had fish&chips (because according to him, you can't go on a Sunday to the beach without having a Fish&Chips...) and I had some Quesadillas from a Mexican place.
The ferry boat is quite interesting, you can stir it from both directions (no front or back), which is really handy to go from one pier to the next, but because of that both times I miscalculated where to sit for the view...
On the way back, the sun was low and setting over Sydney and the opera. The view was priceless!!! And I manage to get great photos!
Golden Hour on the Opera House and Harbour Bridge
Back at the hostel, another shower was needed and bed. (we are sunburned....)
Walked 9,2 km today
Slept in a mixed dorm (full of smelly guys), in Glebe Point YHA, in Sydney
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