This morning is going to be another warm (hot) day but it is our day to explore the north side of Sydney. The really nice thing about the campsite we are staying at is that it so close to the metro station so getting a train to get to Cirque Quay (Circular Quay) was very easy. The city metro has a $20 ticket that allows you to travel on any of the city metro systems (buses, trams, trains, ferries) for the entire day so we figured this was our best option. (However, it was pointed out to us that this is considered expensive in Australia since in Melbourne the same ticket costs less than $10.) Still a good deal for us.
Outside the metro station is a sign (and lane for stopping cars) called the “Kiss and Ride” lane (no kidding). At one time when someone went to work the spouse would give a kiss at the door and push the worker out for the day. Now it is more complicated (or the worker is getting spoiled) the spouse drives the worker to the metro station, kisses and pushes - all done in a quick period of time since you are not allowed to park – only kiss and ride.
Also at the metro station of North Ryde, the train is about 3 floors down below ground. There are escalators to ride or (hang on) an elevator. We discovered at the end of this day that the elevator was really appreciated.
Now the fridge in the van is running on battery and I am not sure how long it will last in this heat and without running the van to recharge the recreation battery so am a bit concerned. But what can I do, oh right start the van and let it idle for awhile to recharge and hope that works. In future I will be sure to ask if there is a power converter available so it can be plugged in. it does not last 2 days even when the engine idles but at least it almost made it and everything stayed cool. Ok enough about the domestic stuff.
Breakfast today was done at the camp kitchen which is a short walk from where we are camping. I guess it is a assumed that if you have a van you want to cook in it and do not need easy access to the kitchen. But we are finding that the best place to meet and visit with fellow travelers is at the kitchen and today was no exception. We met a couple of young girls who are from Sweden touring. We enjoyed talking to them about their travels and adventures. Also there was an Australian lady who was just taking a break and come to Sydney to camp for a couple of days. She is from the Blue Mountain area. We met several couples also and spent some time just discussing where and when they were going.
We hit the train to get to the ferries at Circular Quay and lucked out with a very short wait. The train takes about 30 minutes to get downtown so it is hard to judge times. However, I have to admit the trains here run very efficiently and on time so if you lived here I am sure you could easily learn the time schedules for your area and seldom need a car. At the quay we stopped long enough to buy a 1 ½ litre of water to take with us and really glad we did.
Ok we are on the ferry heading out through the Sydney Harbor for Manly Bay. The views from the harbour of the bridge and the Opera House are very impressive. However, it is very breezy so we are seeing a lot of sailboats running around. In the harbour is a small island with a lighthouse on it and I suspect some fortifications. As your travel through the harbour oceanward you pass an inlet used by the Navy and all sorts of small bays with sandy beaches and houses crawling up the slopes around the bay.
We were fortunate to get a seat in the bow of the boat on the second level with an unobstructed view forward (except when some pushy people want to stand on your toes to be in front of you). I have many pictures of the 30 minute harbour ride but really was just a transit system to get to Manly Bay.
Manly Bay is beautiful and seems to have beaches all along the bay and when you cross over the neck of land you find Manly Beach which if open to the ocean. Wes had researched and read up about the Manly Scenic Walkway. When we checked at the information center it was recommended that we take the bus to Spit Bridge at the end of the walkway and walk back to Manly. The Scenic Walkway is 10 km but we added a walk out to a lighthouse lookout adding an additional km so by the time we walked back we had walked 11 km just on the Walkway. The Grotto Point lighthouse was a disappointment although it did afford a very nice view of the harbour and ocean entry to the harbour.
The shoreline was really interesting with lots of high level views of bays, beaches and boats. We also found a lizard on the trail. The first time we spotted one we were excited and reached for the camera in a hurry worried it would take off before we got the picture. It was not long before we realized this lizard was not moving fast and in fact had lots of family around so after a short time I had taken enough pictures. 
The brochure told us that it would be a 3 to 4 hour hike and we completed it in 3 hours even with the extra kilometre. However, we really were not prepared for the heat with the climbing (really good quality path mind you) and with only 1 ½ litres of water we were both a bit dehydrated. We had used lots of sunscreen so no sunburns even though we were in hot sunny weather much of the day.
We got back to Manly and decided (after a lunch) that even with sore feet, a swim at Manly beach would revive us. It is a short walk across the land to other side of Manly (ocean side rather than the bay off the harbour side). However, we learned that there were strong winds and big waves today so it became a sit and watch the people in the water (mostly surfers) and relax. It was not long before we had to head back to catch the ferry back into Sydney.
We got back to Sydney both feeling really tired. I think that we were still a bit dehydrated and also a bit of too much sun today. We both wore hats and sunscreen but we were both really just ready to head home and forget about the tour of the Opera House we had planned. So back to camp we traipsed. I could not wait to get into a shower and get refreshed.
After a good dinner and a bit of relaxation we decided that tonight is the last time to get any night pictures of the Opera House, the Bridge and Sydney skyline, so we decided to head back into the city on the Metro to do so. We were able to get some pictures and walked a bit more but again both feeling tired so it was really a in and back out. Good think we got to sit on the train.
By the time we got back to the camper it was 10:30 and we both were very ready for bed. Tomorrow we head on to the Blue Mountains – as soon as Wes has time to sit down and research where we re going.
No comments:
Post a Comment