CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

February 10, 2023 — Hello and good morning on another beautiful day in Sydney, Australia! I woke up with a plan to head to the wharf in Circular Quay and just get on whatever ferry struck my fancy to head to the beach. Turned out, the ferry that I wanted that morning was heading to Manly Beach.

Manly Beach has frequent ferry service, making departures every twenty minutes from the wharf. Two regular ferries operated by the city go to Manly — one takes 30 minutes to cross the harbour and the other takes 22 minutes. The ferry to Manly is generally really busy, though I think on this morning, everyone was going to Manly for the day. I can’t really blame them; it was really hot out.

I had to get an Opal card before I got on the ferry because when I tapped through — or, rather, tried to tap through — on my credit card, it just wouldn’t do it. (My credit card has been acting screwy while I’m abroad; it really likes when I insert it.) Luckily, I just had to head back down a few wharfs and into the convenience store. I bought my Opal card for $20AUD which gave me $20 of travel value pre-loaded. You can top up your Opal card at stations or register it online and top up in the app.

I finally made it through the gate with my spanking new Opal card and then was held up further when the boat that I was planning to get was full. Alas, the perils of going to the beach on a beautiful day. Like I said, though, ferries depart every twenty minutes and it wasn’t a very long wait until the next departure. Two ferries depart at one time: one takes 22 minutes and one takes 30 minutes. The faster ferry, according to the transport worker, was going to be departing late while the other would be departing on time. I’m sure the faster one got into dock at Manly ahead of the slower, but there just really wasn’t a huge amount of difference between them (or so I figured at the time). I got on the 30-minute service and found a seat up top.

I moved down to the main level and outside to the starboard (right) side of the ferry when I decided that the view just wasn’t that good and there were too many people on the upper level. Down on the main level, standing to starboard, I saw the Opera House as we passed, standing tall and stalwart. I could not have been in a better spot. Just look at that view!

The views of the harbour are fantastic no matter which ferry you take. If you want to see the Opera House, then you would, of course, want to take a ferry that drives past it. However, it is certainly not necessary (though it might be very fun) to do a separate, paid cruise around the harbour in order to get the views of the harbour that you are looking for.

I forgot how much I love being on a boat. It’s funny, but this trip on the ferry reminded me. Feeling the water churning and moving beneath you, wind in your face, and sun on your shoulders…it’s one of the best feelings on Earth, and it makes me so blissfully happy being out there. This ferry trip resolved one decision for me, and I’ve decided that I’m going to book a sail around the Whitsunday Islands when I make it up to Airlie Beach. And I’m hoping for one that is a little hands-on.

When we disembarked at Manly, I made my way toward the beach, but I kept getting sidetracked because of the numerous amount of shops they had! I brought two swimsuits with me on my trip, but I figured on picking up one or two more along the way since both of mine have seen better days. Manly had tons of potential for finding new ones. Unfortunately, I’m enormously picky and didn’t have a lot of luck, but I still think it’s a great place to look. I was also trying to find a tank top since it has been so incredibly hot (not complaining, though!) and I only brought t-shirts. I found a couple contenders, but nothing really knocked it out of the park, and I wandered the rest of the way down to the beach. If you’re looking for beachside shopping, though, Manly is a great place to be!

The whole reason I had to stop in the first place was for sunscreen because even though I rarely put any on at home, Australia is definitely a different animal. I needed reef safe and under 100mL, which I finally managed to find in Nivea (even though it’s SPF 50, which I thought at the time was a little overkill).

At the beach, I looked out on the rolling waves and crystalline blue water…and noticed the signs stuck in the sand: no swimming, shark sighted in area. Well, shoot. I debated just plunking on the sand anyway, working on a tan, but there isn’t much point if you can’t cool down when the sun gets too hot. Instead, I wandered back up the rows of shops and got a slice of pizza for $5 at one of the vendors. Then I made my way to the bus stop and waited for the bus to another of the northern beaches, Dee Why. This was one of the recommended beaches from my tour yesterday.

The bus took about thirty minutes as it wound up through little beach neighbourhoods along the coast. I got off the bus one stop before Google Maps told me to, and it was a great decision because I got to walk down to the beach without backtracking. Thankfully, there were flags out for swimming at Dee Why, and some really great waves. (That means you also have to watch the current, but it also means some great fun!) I plunked my stuff in the sand and got into the ocean. I can happily report that it’s much warmer than the last swim I took!

Before I came to Australia by myself — and Hawaii, too — I was concerned about leaving my stuff on the beach while I swam, but each beach I’ve been to has enough people around, whether individuals or couples or families, that I’ve felt comfortable enough to leave my things on the beach.

After about an hour or so at Dee Why, I was feeling pretty good about my amount of time in the sun and in the water, so I headed to wash the sand off and thought about heading up to another beach. I could have caught a bus, but I noticed signs as I was walking for a trail to Collaroy Beach. It was 2.5km and took me through residential neighbourhoods as I followed the bike/passenger path with beautiful peeks at the ocean beyond.

When I finally made it to Collaroy — which is a lot less touristy and much more deserted in general — I was absolutely exhausted. I found the bathrooms and a place to fill up my water bottle, contemplated swimming, and then saw the signs indicating polluted water (therefore, no swimming allowed) and decided I’d better not. I also didn’t want to have to wait to dry before taking the bus back to Sydney.

I treated myself with an overpriced ice cream bar and waited for the bus to come. The B1 runs every five minutes with service to and from Sydney, connecting with the northern beaches and suburbs of the city. It’s an awesome service, and I got on the bus in Collaroy and stayed on until Wynyard Station in Sydney, which was about an hour journey. It was so nice to sit and relax after having a pretty active day. It was also a super-cool ride because we got to go on the Harbour Bridge!

When I got off the bus, I (as usual) got turned around for a couple minutes before I figured out which direction I needed to walk, and I finally got on the L back to Haymarket and my hostel. I’d decided on the bus that I would go out to Newtown (another one of my local guide’s recommendations from yesterday) for dinner. The places they recommended in Newtown were mostly burger joints and, while I’m sure they would have been delicious, I was looking for something a little different. I decided to just walk and follow my heart.

That took a while. I walked for about an hour and got turned around and had to figure out how to get back where I’d come from and my feet were crying and then finally I stumbled across one of the best meals I’ve had so far.

In Newtown, there’s a little place called 3 Olives Greek Restaurant. It was absolutely packed when I walked by the first time, and I’ve been taking that as a really good sign for places that I might like to eat at. Plus, as a single person, it’s way easier to get a table. I sat down at a lovely little table for one, lit by twinkle lights and the fading sun.

I ordered a glass of wine and the meat platter, which came with such a great sampling of so many things that sounded good on the menu. First up: entrees that included Greek salad, warm pita bread, three dips (taramosalata, tzatziki, and melizana), grilled haloumi, tiropitakia, and dolmades. It was the dolmades that really sold me on this one, because I wanted them but didn’t want to have both an appetizer and a main meal. Then came the meat platter. Oh, my goodness. Kleftiko lamb, which was the best lamb I have ever had in my life. It just fell apart and melted in my mouth with the best flavour. Plus, chicken souvlakia, kefethes, continental sausages, all paired with golden potato chips.

I can honestly say that it’s the best meal I’ve had since I got here and it’s got me so very excited to go to Greece later this year.

Full and happy, I got back on the bus to head to the hostel and curl up for the night. What an excellent day.

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