How would you like commuting to work via ferry every day? Some lucky Sydneysiders choose to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and move out to Manly, only a 20-minute ferry ride away from the CBD. My friend Marieke, who I know from my time back in Perth ten years ago, is one of them. Thanks to her and her boyfriend Scott, I enjoyed quite a bit of time in the laid-back beach suburb while I was in Sydney on a work assignment.
The ferry to Manly leaves from Circular Quay, nestled in between two iconic Sydney sites: The Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Thus, leaving Circular Quay rewards the ferry passengers with stunning views of these sites as well as the entire Sydney skyline, before passing the little islands along the shorelines of the northern beaches and the city. Manly wharf features many restaurants and “the office” – a stretch of grass along the seafront, which is popular for after-work drinks before dusk. Afterwards, the patrol officers make sure to put an end to drinking in public. The 4 Pines Brewery is a great spot for a night out (with Karaoke if you’re lucky!) just opposite the wharf.
Marieke and her boyfriend Scott are a very outdoorsy couple – we also went to the Blue Mountains together. On an unusually sunny and warm day in May, we decided to make the most of my day in Manly by cramming three activities in one day: The Spit to Manly Hike, a swim to Shelley Beach and the local Food & Wine Festival.
Spit to Manly Hike
Another utterly beautiful coastal hike in Sydney, the Spit to Manly hike (or Manly to Spit hike, depending on the direction of the route), is a 10 km path along the shoreline. Coming towards Spit Bridge on the bus, the views over the lush and green northern beaches, as they call the suburbs north of Sydney, are truly spectacular. Little boat harbours perfect the picturesque scenery.
To strengthen ourselves for the hike. Marieke and I stopped at The Sandy Bear café, also overlooking the scenic boat harbour, to enjoy a cup of coffee and a delicious piece of carrot cake. The hike follows the coastal path through forests, along coves and winds its way up to spectacular viewpoints. I almost stepped on a little snake when descending the stairs within the last third of the hike, which really surprised Marieke because she’d never seen a snake on that hike before. I was startled but it just proves that you always have to keep your eyes open when you’re walking about in Australia – even in the cities.
Swim to Shelley Beach
After all that hiking, we felt it was time for a dip in the ocean. Marieke is an amazing swimmer and I was a bit wary about the 750 m swim from Manly to Shelley Beach, especially considering that I have never actually swam in the ocean for this long before (and I’m a bit of a pansy). But great things never come from comfort zones as one saying goes, and aside from the swim, I was promised to see a lot of fish and sea creatures on the way, so I just couldn’t resist.
The water was cold so we got a move on quick and sooner than I expected, we were in the midst of a reef featuring loads of colourful fish. I literally just had to poke my head under water to watch the ocean unfold beneath me. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even use a snorkel but just my swimming goggles as I was spotting a Blue Groper. At some point I was in the midst of a brightly coloured school of fish. As we continued to swim a little further out, we even saw little Dusky Whaler sharks as well as a ray covered in sand, amazingly well spotted by Scott. I was quite proud of myself when I got out of the sea at Shelley Beach after and we walked back to Manly Beach to get ready for some Food & Wine.
The Food & Wine festival
On a sunny day like this, the annual Food & Wine Festival in Manly was literally bursting at the seams. Many little white stalls were lined up along the seafront of Manly Beach with long queues of people enjoying the sunshine, the happy vibes and the live music, which featured in a handful of locations. After walking from stall to stall whilst enjoying some local wines as well as a mouth-watering raclette toasty, we returned home to grab a bottle from Marieke’s and Scott’s home wine depot and joined the many groups of friends and families at “The Office” to enjoy the end of this perfect day.
