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Hiking in Manly

Because of the early night, everyone was up pretty early, feeling refreshed and excited for the day ahead. The temperature dropped to 28 degrees, which felt absolutely perfect after the sizzling first day we had, which ended up being a great way to climatise ourselves to Australia. 

After a breakfast in the apartment and an hour of admiring the view, we headed out and walked the short walk to circular quay, I suppose the Grand Central Station of Sydney - with a twist. One of my favourite things about the city is the tube stations we have in London are replaced by Wharfs, the Oyster card becomes the opal card, and people ‘tap on and tap off’ ferry’s and boats to get around Sydney and it’s surrounding areas and bays. No wonder this place is so much happier, whilst there is still a metro system, you have the delightful option of boats to get where you need to be. Much less stressful, cooler and certainly more picturesque!


After a quick iced coffee stop we hopped on a 20 minute ferry to Manly, a beachside district of Sydney across the harbour. We walked 10km up and along cliffs and beaches and through rainforests. Normally I’d be the first to complain about such strenuous activity, particularly in the blistering heat, but I surprised myself (and probably my parents and sister) by genuinely enjoying every minute. I practically bounded the entire way. 


Everything just feels so good here, it’s so hard to be unhappy. At the end of our days trek, of which I saw some of the most beautiful scenes, we stumbled across a quaint restaurant on the harbour at The Spit called …, which ended up being the most perfect dinner spot. I had calamari by the bucketload, followed by muscles, all whilst watching the sunset over the cliffs we had just stumbled across. As the evening drew in, we caught a bus back to the City, and had another early night as tiredness set in once again.





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