I met two co-workers at Circular Quay Ferry Station early Saturday morning intent upon carrying through on the plans to hike along the coast line of neighboring Manly beach that we had devised the night prior. With an eye towards full disclosure here, the idea was hatched over a Vietnamese meal and a few too many Kirin's which in hindsight played a key role in having everyone foolishly agree to meet at 8 am. I arrived a bit early toting a headache and a burning desire to return to the pillow surprised to find the other two troopers already on line to purchase ferry tickets. We were all a bit glassy and we lumbered towards the far side of the vessel when the ferry arrived. We ended up parking ourselves on a long bench affixed on the starboard side of the vessel next to a noisy group of Chinese tourists. As we took off, the blue sky, beautiful landscape and salty air worked wonders to buoy our hung-over spirits and I started to rekindle the prior night's excitement about the 10 kilometer hike. Doing her best to rob me of this anticipation was a Chinese mother of what looked to be a two-year old girl that sat directly to my right. Despite doing my best to ignore it, I couldn't help but be horrified that the little girl tottered upon the edge rail that the woman had perched her on. What's worse is that this woman seemed more concerned with getting the child to smile for a photo on the edge than she did about ensuring that her baby remained dry. I turned to find the other two fixated on the situation as well and we all watched intently hoping that the boat would be able to smoothly navigate any wake we encountered. Now if you had asked me at the time, I'd have bet dollars to donuts that the rug-rat was destined for the chop. Couple that thought with knowing full well that this woman was much better qualified to give a violin lesson than to make a deep sea rescue, and I hope you'll understand why I felt the need to remove my wallet and camera from my pockets, shift my weight distribution such that it'd be a smooth dive over the rail in pursuit and wait for impending disaster. Thankfully, after about 20 minutes we chugged into Manly wharf without incident. I don't know whether that baby was secretly pear shaped or whether she possessed some sort of freak core stability or something, but I kid you not that 99 journey's out of 100 we're overboard. As we prepared to disembark, I tucked away my possessions, breathed a sigh of relief and passed a stern look to the Chinese woman that couldn't possibly have been lost in translation.
The ride took every bit of thirty minutes and we all agreed that we'd fuel up at a sandwich shop just around the corner from the docks. Afterwards we set out towards the start of the hike marked by the first of many arrows we'd locate along the trail that periodically offered the distance to the final destination, a landmark called 'The Spit Bridge.' This first arrow read 10.3 kilometers and so with stomach full of sub par Australian sandwich-stuffs, we lowered our shoulders and set out. The first leg of the trip was predominately flat and, if I might say, we moved along at a pretty good clip. I was hiking with two people from the office, one of whom is a runner knee-deep in training for an upcoming half marathon, the other an Irish woman one year removed from having backpacked all across South America, and so needless to say dawdling was not going to be tolerated.
As we neared the halfway point, the path climbed steeply as we slipped through the cut-out of bush-like surroundings. At the top of the plateau we were rewarded with some of the most amazing views of large bluffs bookending sections of Sydney harbor and a whole mess of boats enjoying the pristine winter weather. I took many pictures and when I return home I'll back fill this entry with a few...(I've inexcusably left the camera's usb cord at home which should explain why you've only been able to work with mental images of Sydney thus far). The trip down was less scenic, but no less enjoyable. We moved down along large rock faces and through forest type terrain only to emerge onto white sandy beaches equipped with a rising tide which ended up soaking my jeans from the knee down. We worked our way across the beach towards a park in which we sat for a small respite and enjoyed the incredibly overpriced bottles of water we purchased from a small cart vendor. After about 5 minutes we pressed onward along the trail towards small waterfalls that bifurcated large sections of the rock face. The trickling water fell onto the uneven shale path which made footing a bit challenging, but it certainly added a great deal to the experience. It was all so remarkable...and I thought to myself that I'd surely walk this trail every weekend if this place was within arm's reach.
After about 2 and a half hours, we reached The Spit Bridge which turned out to be an old drawbridge that doubles as one of the main veins feeding the freeway to downtown Sydney. The three of us walked carefully along the narrow sidewalk the bridge offered and at the end stumbled upon what looked to be a perfect pub in which to hydrate named "The Bar." It was my kind of place. The joint had high wooden stools, mirrors covering the wall behind the bar and, from what I imagine, a reputation for having been the preferred post-gig drink spot for "The Band" when they were in town. The place had a nautical theme, it was reasonably priced and we were joined by several other small tables occupied by people that had just completed the same trek. We ordered a round of beers and the customary shared appetizer when in the company of this crowd. Each time we have gone drinking, inevitably the same two snacks get ordered: a plate of chips (American translation: french fries) and a plate of potato wedges (American translation: potato wedges). In Australia, the chips are not customarily accompanied by any sauce product, and the wedges come equipped with a sour cream/sweet chili mixture that is actually quite good. It was all well needed after the workout and we sat stuffing our faces and swapping stories of home. After about an hour we were fully convinced that the carbo-load session had completely negated any health benefits we had reaped from the hike and so we called it quits, flagged down a taxi and headed back into center city.
If you're reading this, I thank you kindly for your patience and understanding. I'll do my best to get further updates posted before we're wheels up here in a few days.
