Wednesday 20 February 2008

Manly Beach






Today we took the ferry to Manly Beach. I think Sydney Harbor is the nicest harbor I have ever seen. The ferry allows you to really appreciate the size of it!


We arrived at Manly Cove and I saw my first shark net. I think it is primarily there to protect swimmers from jellyfish (especially the deadly Box Jellyfish we read about at the aquarium). The picture of the beach shows a bit of the shark net. It is held up by wooden pylons.
Stephen and I crossed over to the beach side (it is a bit like Mission Bay and Mission Beach in that there is a narrow isthmus separating the harbor from the ocean). We went for a swim and then attempted to do a bit of bodysurfing. The sand was really soft and fine. The shallow water was turquoise and it was not as cold as the ocean in California. We could have stayed in all day, but we had to keep checking to make sure our backpack was still on the beach. Later, as we were drying off on the sand, the lifeguard announced that several Blue Bottle jellyfish were drifting in towards the shore. These are not deadly like the Box Jellyfish, but I think their stings can be fairly painful. We opted not to go back into the water. I took a photo of one that had washed up onto the shore.
Since we couldn't go back in the ocean, we decided to follow the Manly Scenic Trail that starts on the harborside. It was very scenic with lots of rocky coves and clear water. There were also massive spiders in webs in the trees along one particular part of the walkway. I have never seen spiders so big. We saw one wrapping up a huge butterfly. If you lived in one of the beautiful homes along the harbor you would have to knock down spider webs all the time - or at least be careful not to walk into them.
We went for a swim in one of the rocky coves on the way back. Too bad we didn't have our snorkelling gear with us!
It was a great day out. We caught the end of a sailboat race on the ferry ride back....

4 comments:

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Unknown said...

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Wanda said...

Yikes, I thought those spiders were kites. That is crazy