Fish & Dips

I have to apologize for being so lazy and not updating my blog lately. It's not that I haven't been going out and doing stuff, it's just that I am too lazy to post right after I have done something. So let me take you a few weeks back...

One gorgeous weekend it was finally a little warmer and we decided to hit the beaches. Not for swimming. Just to hang. So we took the train to Circular Quay, the gateway to all that is cool. From there you can just get on any of the six ferry wharfs and see where adventure takes you, if you are feeling spontaneous. You may end up in Darling Harbor, the Taronga Zoo, Rose Bay.... the list goes on.

But we had come with one destination in mind: Manly Beach. So an absolutely beautiful, 20 minute ferry-ride later, we arrived at the Manly Beach wharf.

To get to the beach you must first walk through the ultra hip, cool, and decidedly surfer-esque promenade. It's a bit like Italy in a way...lots of restaurant hosts and peddlers tempting passer-bys with 'specials' and 'deals.'


Staying focused, we navigated through the crowd and arrived at the gorgeous Manly Beach. Lots of people had decided to take advantage of the warmer-than-average weather and were congregated on the beach. And the surfers were in the water with their wetsuits. I went to the water's edge to feel the water: it was freezing.
Glacier-water like. No swimming yet.

No sooner had I thought this than something flesh-colored speeds by me. SPLASH! Sean is in the water. Apparently he was of the mind that this was perfect swimming temperature and had stripped down to his shorts and run right in. Power to him.

After this, to prevent Sean from getting hypothermia, we walked along the beach and up a bluff on a very picturesque path. Along the way we passed the Manly Beach bath, one of many outdoor, natural pools built into the sides of the rock around beaches here. Apparently, many swimmers here agreed with Sean and thought it would be a lovely day for a dip. In Speedos. Alrighty then.

This path led us onto a brief bush walk. A bush walk is pretty much a hike along a nature path - up cliffs, through the woods - and there are many to be found around Sydney. This one was particularly steep and required some scrambling up rock. Once up though we found ourselves at the top of the bluff overlooking the beach. Absolutely beautiful.

During the past few weeks we have done many-a-bush walk. One weekend we took the ferry from Circular Quay to Watson's Bay, a picturesque little bay host to Gap Bluff, part of Sydney Harbour National Park. When we arrived at the wharf in Watson's Bay we were immediately overwhelmed by the delicious smell of seafood. Sure enough, as we stepped off the wharf we found ourselves in front of the famous Watson's Bay Doyles Fish & Chips restaurant.
People were dining outside and as we walked by we could not keep our mouths from watering. The dishes looked absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, like everything else here the prices were a bit horrendous so we decided to save a trip to the restaurant for a special occasion in the future.

So we tore ourselves away from the restaurant and continued on to Gap Bluff.




This walk was, if possible, even more picturesque than the Manly Beach bush walk. From the top you could see miles and miles of beautiful ocean looking to one side,
to the other side you could see the skyline of Sydney, accompanied by the Harbour bridge. As we hiked along the cliff we came to a lookout from which you could see the Macquarie Lighthouse, Australia's famous first lighthouse. What a great hike! And there was still the ferry ride past the opera house and bridge on the way home to look forward to.