Sunday, October 27, 2013

… to Manly …

… to spend some time with Bev and Alan, friends from the Grand World Voyage.

We caught the 10:00 am ferry to Manly, which turns out to be a double-ended ship, with bows at both ends. Here is our ferry arriving in Circular Quay, along with HDR painting photos of the iconic Harbor Bridge and Sydney Opera House.

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It was another beautiful morning, clear and sunny, about 70 degrees. The trip to Manly went through Sydney Harbor, almost to the mouth of the harbor, and took about 30 minutes.

Bev and Alan met us at the Ferry Terminal, and we took a short walk to Manly Beach, on the Tasmanian Sea. We stopped at a beachside café for coffee and tea, and to catch up on the past 18 months.

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Alan took us for a leisurely drive up the eastern coast for about 40 kilometers, stopping at various beaches along the coastal roads, including Freshwater, North Curl Curl, Dee Why, Collaroy, Barren Head Reserve and Palm. We stopped for a photo at Barren Head Reserve.

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We had a delicious lunch of fish and chips at the Boathouse Palm Beach Café, a charming restaurant at North Palm Beach. We started the meal with a toast to our friends, Lee and Troy Harden, who were there in spirit with us.

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Bandicoots are an endangered species of small mammal in Australia, and we were intrigued to see the following signs. Especially interesting was the statistic that only 6 bandicoots were roadkilled in 2012, vs. 12 so far in 2013.

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Bev and Alan dropped us at the Manly Ferry Terminal for the trip back across the harbor. What a lovely day!

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