Down Under: Manly On Sea

Those of you that have travelled as part of a holiday will recognise this. Sometimes, your timings are so far out of kilter, you end up eating the oddest of combinations at the oddest of times.

We had transferred from Sydney City Centre to the more relaxed outer reaches of the metropolitan area, the coastal suburb of Manly. I have to say Manly is a delightful place to stay. It is vibrant and laidback at the same time; is that actually possible? Well, it is in my humble opinion. It also has a smattering of some intimate little restaurants. It is only a short ferry ride from the city but, honestly, it was like arriving on a different planet.

Shortly after arrival we went in search of a bite to eat. It was that time, eleven in the morning, too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. In that case, brunch was the order of the day. The restaurant, Hemingway’s, had some breakfast things left over. We, therefore, decided not to have brunch, but breakfast followed by lunch. What’s the difference? I hear you object.

Here goes! We had a couple of pastries washed down with coffee for breakfast, I think there might even have been some orange juice on offer! The waitress cleared away our detritus before resetting the table for lunch! We both elected to have a pasta dish for our main meal of the day. Was it too early for a beer? Of course not, it was lunchtime. So, there we were, not even midday and we had had both breakfast and lunch. Maybe it might catch on if we open a restaurant where you can have all three meals of the day in one sitting: breakfast, lunch and dinner. I wonder if it could catch on? Don’t see why not, three meals in one visit, so time efficient! Of course, afternoon tea and supper would be served separately!

There is no doubt about it, Sydney boasts some of the best ocean beaches in the world. Jane and I decided to take ourselves for a stroll along the coastal path towards the North Head of the harbour entrance. You must do it one day. We passed saltwater swimming pools on the way but the enduring memory is of Sydneysiders, as they like to be called, enjoying themselves at play.

We continued on before climbing up to the summit of the Head, part of which was closed off to the public for fear of fire. Understandable, me thinks, given what was going on in the wooded countryside not that far away. We dropped down from the harbour bastion and joined a rather lovely harbourside walk. Of course, it is the Pacific Ocean beaches that grab the headlines, Manly and Bondi among them, but you ignore the harbour facing strands at your peril. Nearly all of them command impressive skyline views of the city. Unforgettable.

It was at this point that our half-an-hour stroll to the North Head began to take on monstrous proportions. We just kept going and going. Delightful bays gave way to even more delightful bays. Just look at some of these names: Federation Point, Fairlight Beach, North Harbour, Wellings Reserve, Forty Basket Beach, Dobroyd Head, Crater Cove, Grotto Point, Castle Rock and Clontarf Beach and Reserve.

It was at the last place we stopped for a welcome snack and cold drink. How very “Home and Away” did this seem? It was here that we had the wonderful experience of meeting a family of labradors: one black, one chocolate and one golden. To see them playing in the surf was inspiring. I wonder if anybody had told them about sharks?

It wasn’t long after this that we turned tail and headed back to Manly. To tell you the truth we did wait at a bus stop to see what happened. After thirty minutes of nothing we moved on. Sod’s law, a bus passed us after only a few minutes more. When we eventually got back into Manly a well-deserved shower was followed up with one or two well-deserved beers. The day had consisted of over 40,000 steps.

One aside. You know when you are trying to frame a photograph right and someone comes along and offers to take the picture for you? Well, this happened during our walk. A woman, from Yorkshire I think, stepped up and took the most awful pictures Jane had ever seen. How on earth can you get them so wrong in this day and age? Might as well have been a blind man take it!

Darling Harbour and the HMB Endeavour

Whilst in Sydney we took a trip to the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour. To my mind, the main attraction was a full-sized replica of Captain Cook’s famous ship, HMB Endeavour. When you look at some of the legendary ships upon which Britain’s naval domination was built, Endeavour would probably be mentioned in that select group.

When you look at her history, though, you find out that she was a North Sea collier, plying her trade between London and Newcastle. She was purchased by the Navy, converted to a naval ship and sent on her way under the command of Lieutenant James Cook RN, he only later reached the heady height of Captain before meeting a rather gruesome end at the hands of some Hawaiian cannibals!

To say that the accommodation was cosy was the biggest understatement you could possibly get. Once below decks, where it was impossible to stand up straight unless you were under three-foot tall, the only way to find your way around was to get down on all fours. It makes it truly remarkable what Cook and his crew discovered and achieved. What a leader he must have been.

I do remember seeing this remarkable replica in port at Whitby, Cook’s hometown, in 2003. Afterwards, as we exited a museum in Scarborough, we witnessed the plucky little ship bucketing her way south along the Yorkshire coast. Going on board in Sydney filled me with admiration at the skill and bravery of the modern day crew to bring her to the New South Wales city. Amazing.

When I visited the museum’s website it was greatly rewarding to learn that this plucky little ship sometimes goes on voyages up and down the Australian coast. Wouldn’t that be a magnificent thing to witness. Wouldn’t it be even more magnificent to actually sail on her. I need to find out if such excursions are available for the next time I visit Sydney.

One of the guides presented us with a bag asking what we thought was contained within? I had no doubt as to what it was, having been on many an adventure with Nelson’s navy through the voyages of Captains Kydd and Hornblower, it was the infamous “Cat of Nine Tails,” a rather scary piece of leather sewn into nine knotted strands with one notion in mind, the infliction of punishment to such an extreme, it sometimes left backs open to the rib bones. Mind you, I am not quite sure how often it was employed on the Endeavour as there was, literally, not enough room to swing a cat!

By the way, for the eagle-eyed among you who spotted this doddery old fool had misspelt the ship’s title? No I haven’t. Shame on you! I think everyone recognises HMS as His Majesty’s Ship; well, HMB stands for His Majesty’s Bark. There you go. It appears that a bark is a scaled down ship with three masts.

Another ship one can hop aboard at the museum is the former World War Two cruiser, HMAS Vampire. Given this ship is the best part of 200 years younger than Endeavour it was still a little bijou, even the officer quarters not offering up enough room to swing a cat.

As we made our way back to Manly on one of the modern, swish harbour ferries, I reflected that a life on the ocean wave was probably not conforming with this person’s particular romantic view of a life at sea! What a journey to and from work the ferry from Manly to Circular Quay provided, there can’t be many better commutes in the world.

Thailand 2025!

A little taster for you from our recent trip to the Thai north.

We stayed in the nation’s second city, Chiang Mai, literal translation is City New, although it is now around 700 years old.

We took an incredible excursion, organised by our hotel and, indeed, conducted by hotel staff which took in Thailand’s highest mountain. We also visited the stupendous Twin Royal Pagodas at Phra Mahathat Naphamethamidon. These inspiring structures were constructed to commemorate the then King and Queen’s 60th birthdays in the late 1980s.

As well as the impressive pagodas there are some real stunning gardens. If I were a spiritual sort of a person, I can imagine this tribute providing believers with a spiritual inspiration. I will cover this further as we start to cover this year’s trip in more detail.