Taking the Fairy to Manly

Breakfast is an essential starting point of every day.

Sydney has a terrific transportation system consisting of trains, buses, and ferries. The harbor here is very long with lots of coves where there are communities that have grown to form the greater Sydney metropolis. One of the best ways to visit these coves and to get the best views is by riding the ferries. They also have a singular stored value card that works on all the transports. Tap on and tap off and it deducts the proper charge based on distance and time of day. It has a maximum daily charge and weekly charge. We all bought the OPAL cards to use to get from the airport to the hotel and allowed us to explore Sydney.

So it’s Sunday and that means all transportation is $2.50 regardless of distance or time. I want to see the Harbor from one end to the other and can do so by taking two ferries. One to the east to Manly where the harbor meets the ocean, and one to the west to the river. But first……. We are on a mission to find AloeVera.

It seems that we are close to the sun as during our wonderful cruise and excursion yesterday, we all got a bit too much sun. None of us thought to wear sunscreen. Steve was particularly effected and had a nice red glow about him. after much checking around the convenience stores nearby, the hotel informed us that we would need to find a pharmacy. Fortunately there is supposed to be one near the Circular Quay Station.

All ferries in Sydney Harbor stop at Circular Quay. It is like Grand Central in New York as this is not only a destination but also a transfer point.

So off to Manly which is about a 30 minute boat ride to the ocean.

Of course we will see the bridge and the Opera House again. Never get tired of these views.

Travelling through the bay made me think alot about San Diego and San Fransisco. Watching all the boats brought back all the memories of our time cruising in California on Comfortably Numb. Absolutely beautiful day on the water with a breeze and about 75 degrees.

We we arrive at Manly the first thing we see sends Fran jubilantly waving and encouraging us to stop…….which we don’t.

Joan makes my Dad grin from ear to ear by stopping first off at the Information booth which despite my doubts was very informative and no sales.

And so we start our walk to the ocean that is only about a 1/8 mile. Of course it is wall to wall stores of touristy stuff and authentic Australian handmade items by the thousands. And a lot of restaurants.

When we get to the ocean the beach is crowded, there is excitement and joy everywhere, and there is an ocean swimming marathon going on. It was gorgeous.

There is a public walk that goes along the rocks bout the ocean to shell beach and as we walked along we realized that like driving, one must always walk on the left side. After avoiding several near collisions with walkers, joggers, and bicycles, we saw a sign posting to keep to the left.

Joan and Fran wanted to put their feet in the ocean and in so much as I hate sand, I stood on the walk and took pictures.

This path is memorable for many reasons. At the end there is supposed to be a terrific view of Sydney. Secondly as I am a bit tall and it was trimmed for an Aborigine, I was scrapped and poked until bleeding. Finally, this is where Steve had hit the wall and was done walking. His burned face despite the AloeVera was bothersome, the heat and humidity had us sweating, and his legs after climbing up to the top had sent the arning signs that we are done.

So we turned around and hunted for the most important next stop……….A Bar!