The interweb said that the fast ferry was not running, but to our delight it was waiting for us at the terminal. We walked right up to the dock, boarded and we were off five minutes later. The opal cards we purchased at the airport worked perfectly. The ferry was crowded, but we got two great seats together when a couple rearranged the way they were sitting. After working up a sweat walking through the park, we were quickly cooled down by the wind off of the water. The harbor was choppy and we saw boats of every size and kind. On the small side we saw teeny tiny one person sailboats and one person power boats. On the big side we saw huge passenger ferries, huge sailboats and super yachts. Manly is located on a spit of land with beaches on both sides. The harborside beach was placid and calm but the Pacific side was rolling and had a constant haze of mist coming off the ocean. We walked along the path to the south towards Shelly Beach. There was a tidal pool that the kids were swimming in and we saw shops and cafe tables. There were folks swimming in the ocean and schools of snorkelers supporting themselves with pool noodles. Big waves occasionally splashed over the seawall. We sat on benches and leaned over the railing soaking in all that Manly had to offer. We started heading back around 5 PM and walked along the pedestrian mall. We stopped at a drugstore for a cold drink and then made our way back to the wharf. The line for the ferry stretched all the way out to the street but we are not the type to stand in line without being confident that this is the line we want to be in. So we bypassed all these people and headed in to the interior of the wharf. It is a good thing that we did because almost no one was in line for the fast ferry. We were just about to board and they closed the doors in front of us. No problem as another ferry was just 15 minutes away and we were now the first people in line. The wind was not so bad on the way back and we saw boats everywhere. We took the train back to the apartment and had some of the chicken we bought the day prior.
Our ride awaits
Speed boat on steroids
The view from the Quay
Climb up, you urban mountaineers
The largest steel span in the world
Love the water
A big sleek yacht
These sail boats look small even next to a small ski boat
We have arrived at the Manly Warf
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Great Crested Tern
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Little Black Cormorant
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Pied Cormorant new bird #3
Have paddle board... will walk it to the water
This fake bird got me every time it was silhouetted in the sky
We walked around the harbor side beach and had our lunch here
A hibiscus bush in full bloom
A raft that held multiple families. We saw then take the kayak back to the beach to get more folks to join them
For some reason these branches were all braced with cables
There is a small colony of little blue penguins on Manly but we did not see any
Many of the Manly buildings had deco highlights. The side window was all stained glass.
Manly puns abound
The swimmers are to swim between the flags. We saw them putting up dangerous current signs when the rip tides formed.
The swimmers are bunched up in the near and in the far left. This is where the flags were set up
I half expected a big wave to splash these folks
We did see a few higher waves send a big splash up over the seawall
An ocean going sailboat captured by the sculpture
Snorkeling with swim noodles
The path was quite narrow out to Shelly Beach
This tyke has a motorized device to pull him through the water
A big osprey
Tiny crabs eating the lichen
They were hanging on for dear life when the waves washed over them
A fun sculpture with hooks for people to hang their gear off of
Heading back along the pedestrian mall
A bit cheeky, but it is informative
Big balls in the trees
Our Fast Ferry
The slow ferry holds 400 people at least
This shows how windy it was even for this professional level sailboat
Out to the sea
Light House at the mouth of the harbor
These one man power boats were so small and they were bouncing hard on the choppy water
Back in the city
The Opera House has so many looks depending on the light and the angles
Our trip to Manly is over
We took the train back to the apartment, 12,500 steps for the day
A grand old building looking beautiful
Pete the Rainbow Lorikeet is singing to us from our balcony
It has been 206 days since we began our Migration
