Day 93 – The north beaches

Today Jacquie had kindly taken the day off work and hired a car to show us round the northern beaches.

First stop was a coffee in Dee Why, the breach round the headland from Manly. The caffeine was a welcome wake up as I was feeling weary from being woken up at dawn by the resident bird population.

Heading further north we visited both sides of Palm Beach. On the sheltered side we saw a scene from Home and Away being filmed. It was a relaxed affair and the cast mixed freely among the crowds without need for security or barriers. Crossing over to the coastal side we saw lighthouse made famous in the credits, the beach featured in the series and, for those that know, Alf’s surf shack.

Heading back south we explored the hills along the coastal road and stopped off at a few small beaches. One, called Whale beach, is famous for whale sightings but sadly we saw nothing. All of the beaches we visited easily warrant a good days sunbathing and swimming. I was beginning to see the attraction of the area.

Lunch was a take out affair with a difference – pies. Since being in New Zealand and Australia I’ve become addicted and this shop happened to be an award winning one. The delicious Chicken and Asparagus and Steak pies we devoured after we’d driven and walked to a headland that gives great views to the north and south.

Final stop was back just past Manly at North Head. This is the northern part of the entrance to Sydney harbour. I’d not realised the scale of the harbour before, with its huge ocean entrance that then winds into the inner harbour. Although I couldn’t see the inner harbour I got a great view of the skyline and a glimpse of the top of the bridge.

The plan for the evening was to get some meat and beers in for a BBQ down at the beach. Unfortunately by late afternoon the weather had other ideas and rolled some thunder and rain in on us. The venue was changed to be back at the flat. Spent the evening getting stuffed on meat and drinking beer whilst meeting Jacquie’s friends.

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