Ferry to Manly

We took a ferry from Circular Quay across the beautiful Sydney Harbour to Manly where we saw a gorgeous sandy Pacific beach with waves rolling in and  plenty of surfers, water dragons posing in the sun, and beautiful coastal views.

The Gunners' Walk trail to North Head took us through what was once a School of Artillery where army gunners lived and trained to protect the harbour during WWII. The headland is now a sanctuary. This 10k (6+ miles) walk led to areas where one can view approaches to the harbour and the city of Sydney across the water. We saw pristine heathland, patches of rare bankdia scrub and a hanging swamp. With numerous side trails to view the coast and plenty of friendly people who engaged us, we spent hours exploring. We stopped at Bella Vista Cafe for a delicious late lunch before heading back down into Manly.

Manly is an attractive tourist destination with lots of eateries, shops and, of course, people. It is home to the Manly Freshwater World Surfing Reserve and in Feruary 2014 was host to the Hurley Australian Open of Surfing.

We ate tapas at a charming Italian place where the owner cooked, we sat on the terrace and met fellow diners, namely Kylie Egan who is a meteoroligist. Kylie recounted her adventures in Boise where she spent six weeks as a specialist in "Fire Weather." We had a fine conversation about wines from Adelaide, surfing and her adventures in the N.W. U.S.

Sunday, September 28th we climbed a pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (17 flights) and viewed both exhibits about the bridge construction...finally completed in 1932 and the 360 degree views. We visited the Museum of Contemporary Art and the The Rocks Discovery Museum.

I have not yet found a way to upload photos, so narrative is all for now.