17th August 2012
After a great walking tour with Peek Tours, both Mark and I fancied a trip out to one of the beaches that Sydney has to offer. And that my friends, is Manly Beach!
Not only it was the 2 of us but a rather stunning girl who decided to be our companion for the day making us a good looking threesome! Well, the jury’s out on Mark. We met Vicky at our hostel along with her friend Claire over cards the previous evening resulting in a calling of names. The less said about that, the better.
So as we left Wharf 3 from Sydney Harbour direct to Manly by ferry, we were greeted with stunning views of the Harbour in this clear day. Both Mark and I complained how our memory cards on our cameras were getting clogged up with Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge but that didn’t stop us taking a heck of a lot more. It’s so beautiful goddamit…even more beautiful than me I have to admit.
There was a lot of banter on the boat there and I’m pretty sure Vicky probably thought it wasn’t a food idea to come with us both. But the banter died away as we stared across the clear blue sea.
As we docked, we stumbled out and stared in dismay a the changing weather above us. What was clear blue skies now turned cloudy. I hoped it wasn’t going to interfere with my plans to be Manly on Manly Beach.
Running down to the beach before the clouds could suspect anything, I initiated phase 1. Stripping down to my swimwear and flexing my muscles. Of course, the wind had got up and the only people on the beach were huddled together in hoodies and jumpers and stared in admiration at the totally hot and Manly British guy who dared to defy the cold.
Then I started phase 2. Running at the sea ala bay watch style. I’m no David Hasselhoff but I’m pretty sure I could have made Pamela Anderson swoon for me for my style of running.
Phase 3. Dive into the totally freezing sea. It’s winter ok?! And I loved it. I swam for a good 10 minutes and waved at the unmanly Mark who huddled with Vicky. Nyah Nyah! That’ll teach him to say that I wasn’t manly at the walking tour yesterday!
So what did I do to celebrate for my newfound manliness? Grabbing some fish and chips of course. It’s always a British tradition to grab some fish n chips at the beach and then wolf it down along with the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted so far on my travels. Oh yeah, my moustache has been shorn away! The reason I did that was I kept getting mistaken for being French. Excuse me, that’s the last nationality I would like to be compared to!
Moving quickly after realising the clouds were about to threaten rain, we decided to do a part of a coastal walk on the east side of the beach. This allowed us to overlook the beach itself and also stumbling upon some pretty sweet words about the rocks and the sea…
But as the sky darkened and the rain started coming down, we knew we had to back to our hostel soon to get ready and go on one of the best night’s out I’ve ever had on travels…so good…that I ended up hungover in the morning….
I love Manly beach! It’s definitely my favorite. And I cannot believe you went swimming in winter – you’re crazy!