Dec 16 Manly

Today dawned clear without a cloud in the sky.  It promised to be hot -- 35C.  That's a day to go to the beach.  A quick walk to the Circular Quay, followed by a long wait for the ferry -- the schedules had changed for the summer so what transportnsw.info had told us was wrong. 

We took the ferry to Manly, which is a beach city on the northern side of Sydney Harbor.  The ferry travels within the harbor, putting you ashore right at the beginning of a pedestrian mall linked to the ocean beach, a walk of several hundred meters.  All sorts of shops along the way.

When you're in Sydney you can take the Captain Cook Harbor Cruise where they'll tell you all about the sights, but for a lot less you can take the ferry to Manly.  $15AU round trip, and all the sights are there.  First, the Opera House is there as you pull out of Circular Quay.

 The memorial mast of the HMAS Sydney, sunk in WWII, is at Bradley's Head (really).

 The ferry route cuts across the gate to the Tasman Sea (it can get a little bumpy in the harbor right here) and you can see the Hornby Lighthouse on the South Head.

 Lots of places to shop on the walk from the ferry pier to the beach.  This one was in the ferry terminal itself.  Christmas is coming.

 Krispy Kreme is here and celebrating the season.

 At the beach, lifesaving is taken seriously, although with the naming rights sold to DHL.

 Just like Deerfield Beach back in Florida, beach volleyball in action.

 And something different.  Beach tennis.  I don't know the rules but you have to hit it before it bounces, because it doesn't on sand.

 After leading the world in skin cancer, Australians are being more serious about it.  Although we walked along the beach for about 2 hours and didn't hear the Sun Sound.

 I wonder if the head gear is DHL approved.

 Lots of surfing taking place, and here you could rent a board.

 Coke with coffee?  Available at Coles grocery in Manly.  Cynthia did not try it out.  Nor did David.

 A classic car parked by Coles.  A Holden, a brand for General Motors, and this one looked to be decades old.  It even had louvered window shades on the sides and in back.  Although to be honest, this could be this year's model, but it looked much older.

 The ferry trip back was in mid-afternoon, and the fleet was out in force.

 Several races appeared to be underway.

 This guy cut across out bow just a little close -- enough to get a horn blast from our captain.

 The pride of the Royal Australian Navy, the L02 Canberra flagship of the fleet, and the L01 Adelaide.  Both are helicopter landing ships, with "ski ramps" for launching STOL aircraft.

 Back to Circular Quay.

 After dinner at Circular Quay we walked back up into the Rocks.  This picture is from Dawes Point, underneath the southern approach to the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  The skyline of Sydney with our hotel visible.

 If you want to climb the bridge (see yesterday's post) here's where you show up to start.

 As we were walking back towards the Quay, we were beset upon by a large gaggle of Santas.  It appeared that alcohol was involved.  We kept our distance and the group moved like a bowlful of jelly.