Hiking Near Manly & Northern Beaches, Sydney (Photo Gallery)
Manly Beach is a beach in Sydney that is best known for its surfing. However, I have zero interest to try surfing, thanks to having less than stellar coordination. Haha. But the surrounding area has some wonderful walking/hiking trails that offer outstanding views of the ocean and city…and the northern beaches are a bit calmer. (Right up my alley!)
Side note: Manly Beach actually got its name because the guy who discovered it hundreds of years ago thought the indigenous people living there were indeed, quite “manly” and confident. And thus, he named the area “Manly Cove.”
We had gone for our little hike in Manly last Sunday with friends, because you only pay a total of $2.50 all day for public transport on Sundays in Sydney with your Opal card, no matter how many different forms you use during the day! Pretty nifty! So, we took the public ferry from Circular Quay (Opera House area) to Manly Beach. The ferry offers lovely views of the area too (pictured above).
It was quite warm when we arrived at about 10 in the morning (warm enough I was regretting not bringing a swimsuit, actually!)…and for the duration of our hike. But once we looped back to Manly Beach to catch the ferry I needed a jacket and a hat, haha. The weather in Sydney is crazy!
So, this post will just be a collection of the photos we took that day…as this was just a nice day out in nature and no tours or history lessons at this time! (And no, I didn’t see a single snake, but I did see the world’s tiniest spider – which didn’t appear to be deadly! Haha.)
I’ll offer brief descriptions of each photo, just click on the ones you’re interested in. Enjoy!
I’m off to see “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Sydney Opera House tonight! And then will be touring the inside of the Opera House on Saturday – I’m quite excited! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! What’s your plan for it? Let me know in the comments!
These photos are sooooo dreamy! I can’t get over how blue the sky is and like you said, the secenery is so different to look at! Quite beautiful. Those cockatoos are adorable!! They’re interesting to see out in the wild like that. That flower too. It looks like something from the ocean floor. How exciting that you’re touring and seeing an opera!! Very glam lol.
enchantingelegance.net
Aw, thank you, Amanda! It was really something! And I still haven’t gotten used to seeing cockatoos in the wild…I get so excited every time! Haha. And it totally does look like that flower belongs on the ocean floor. 🙂
I never saw such a flower, dear Lindsey! I like the descriptions below pictures! Fantastic views, indeed! And the tiniest spider, ugh – not that I fear them, but we never know, the smallest can be the most harmful! Manly beach is amazing, and the name history too! And the price for Sunday transportation! I get why you wrote heart attack, I would also be that way if my husband did that! Lovely stories and pictures! Hope you have a nice week!
DenisesPlanet.com
Isn’t it a crazy looking flower? Haha. And thank you so much, Denise! I’m glad you enjoyed the captions! Haha…that is true! The tiniest can also be the deadliest. Fortunately, we did all survive the day. 🙂 Haha and glad I’m not the only one who was freaked out by him sitting like that. 🙂 Hope you have a nice week too!
Thanks for your comment, I’m so pleased to have found your blog because I love finding other bloggers in Sydney (there don’t seem to be too many). I hope you’re enjoying living here. Manly is very beautiful, I don’t go there often because it’s far from where I live. But I did go to Palm Beach last month and it was amazing. Also just got back from a weekend on the central coast and we did a beautiful walk which looked very similar. You have some fantastic pictures! Also very interested by the name Manly, never knew that before.
Aw, thank you! I’m so glad I found your blog too…it is strange how few bloggers there seem to be in Sydney. And I am really enjoying living here so far – thank you! And Palm Beach looks amazing! That one is quite a ways away from me (Manly & Bondi are a bit closer). Haha, and the only reason I knew about the name Manly was because my husband was making comments about how it must be a “manly” beach and that’s why they named it that. I thought he was just being silly…but turned out, after I did some reading, he was right! Haha.
Hah… I wonder why every beach is not Womanly beach as they are all so beautiful! 😉
But seriously love all the pictures.
I tried surfing once and it is hard and the board is heavy, something I had not anticipated. 😀
How was the opera?
Hahaha?! Right? They should! And thank you so much, Richa! I wouldn’t have thought the board was all that heavy either! I was learning today too at the beach that beginners should actually start out with bigger boards…so, I’m sure they’re even heavier. And the Opera House was AMAZING! I loved the play! Thank you for asking. 🙂
Wow! So many lovely sights! Have fun at the opera! 🙂
Thank you so much, Laurie! It was a blast! 🙂
Wow, it looks so beautiful!!! I actually really love surfing (you really should try since you’re in Australia!) and I’ve alwyas wanted to surf there. Did you read about the great barrier reef today?? SO SAD! but hopefully you’ll get to see part of it while you’re in australia!
also your weekend plans sound amazing!
Lee – leethrifts.com
That’s awesome, Lee! Eek! I don’t know…we’ll see. The surf shops just opened up this weekend! I would need some lessons before I hit the waves, though. Haha. And I did see that article! Fortunately, it sounds like that scientist had overexaggerated that whole deal…not that the reef isn’t in some serious trouble, though. I was actually starting to plan my trip to go snorkeling in the reef! It’s looking like maybe November. 🙂