Day 2: Collaroy to Bondi

It was a freezing night in the beach house style YHA at Collaroy! On the upside, it gave me an early start to the day as I was keen to get moving quickly.

I walked down to the beachfront and the familiar stretch along Long Reef, the LR flag hanging listlessly against a grey background and the headlands I’d passed the previous day. 

Up on the headland I admired another storm out to sea, engulfing a large ship on the horizon, and hoped that it wouldn't head my way.

Turning south I continued down to Dee Why and contemplated walking through the dunes to the lagoon. The beachfront seemed a more welcoming option with a few early fisherman out, so I headed that way. Shoes off to cross the lagoon – it was refreshing to have the sand between my toes, although I hoped the condition of the lagoon's water had improved over the last 10 years!

Back in 2001, the Manly Daily reported that the NSW Scientific Committee classified the area as an endangered ecological area, and made it a top conservation priority of the State's threatened species list. The lagoon had been heavily impacted by "urbanisation of the catchment area, building site sediment, stormwater pollution from residential and commercial areas, weed invasion and sewerage overflows". I spotted a few birds in the area, so it appeared the situation had improved.

At the end of the beach, I went up the stairs near the rockpool to the top of Dee Why Head. It was a beautiful walk through the bush and I was surprised at how big the reserve was. Hunger was setting in by this point, so I quickly passed Curl Curl and the amateur swimming club, then only paused briefly to observe the surfers out at Freshwater.

1903 By Mills & Pile. Contributed by National Library of Australia [nla.map-lfsp1411-e-cd]

A shortcut through the streets took me to North Steyne and the pine avenue of Manly. 

 The 2.5hrs of walking had worked up quite an appetite and I enjoyed a big breaky at Hemmingways. It’s a great café with the walls lined with old books, and I picked up a copy of Hemmingway’s first novel, Fiesta, to accompany my meal.

Refuelled with 2 flat whites, it was time to keep exploring. I took the footpath around to Shelly Beach, then up through the scrub towards the military remnants on North Head. From 1828, North Head was used to quarantine passengers on ships arriving in the colony. The military presence on North Head began in the mid-1930s with the red gravel parade ground completed in 1938. North Head was heavily fortified during WWII, and afterwards, became the Army School of Artillery until 1998. I always get a bit lost at North Head, and after finding the Parade Ground, wandered on various tracks until I was back on the scenic drive down to the Corso at Manly.

Atlas of the Suburbs of Sydney, ca 1885-1890 - Manly (Historical Atlas of Sydney)

The Narrabeen, one of 4 "Freshwater" class ferries servicing Manly, was just pulling into the jetty as I arrived at the Promenade. The plan was to continue across to South Head – unfortunately, there’s no direct connection to Watson’s bay, so, looking forward to another break, I jumped aboard and admired the harbour as we crossed over the Circular Quay. A quick hello to the buskers lining the wharf, I weaved around the busy office workers to the next pier, and the younger, more sleek, Louise Savage that was to take me to Watson’s Bay. 

In contrast to the scrub on North Head, South Head is quite open, with large fig trees marking the pathway. 

A yacht race was in progress near middle harbour and the boats created stark silhouettes in the monochrome scene. 

I was soon at the stripy Hornby lighthouse looking back over to North Head where I had walked a few hours previously.

The remainder of the afternoon followed the towering cliffs alongside the Gap, Vaucluse and North Bondi in an incredible warm afternoon light.

I was looking forward to a rest by the time I arrived at the iconic Bondi Beach, and was glad Billy was meeting me at the Beach Burrito Company at the north (and closer) end of the beach. We chomped down on a couple of tasty burritos, washed down with a few cold Mexican beers and I retold the story of the day.

I still hadn’t booked any accommodation, and made the snap decision to look up lastminute.com after wanting to avoid another cold hostel night. Taking a leap of faith, I agreed to the unnamed hotel offer, and cheered for joy as the Swiss Grand was revealed! Heartened by the knowledge of a comfy night ahead, we headed up to Gertrude and Alice’s to peruse their bookshelves (one of the best collections of second hand and new books at a café in Sydney!), then at closing, headed to Ben & Jerry's for icecream - given our upcoming trip is to Vermont, the home of B&J's we thought it would be worth sampling the Australian version for comparison!