L90

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In an atypical example of masterous forward planning, I've arranged a bit of holiday just when the World Cup is on. Trouble is, both England and the Aussies aren't up to much, so to escape the misery, I took a trip up to the Northern Beaches. CityRail have just introduced new tickets which give you unlimited travel on trains, buses and ferries - dead handy when you want to go all the way up to Palm Beach. From Wynyard it's about an hour on the L90, which, with the rain tipping down, did look like being a bit of a mistake. Luckily, things had calmed down by the time we got to Mosman and by the time I hit the beach the weather was as perfect as you could wish for.

Anyone who watches Home and Away will know what the place looks like: miles of sand and waves and dunes. It's basically a long spit of land with a sheltered bay on one side and the beach on the other. The very end is a round, rocky area which gives the beach the look of a palm tree and hence it's name. The poor weather meant I had the place to myself, apart from a couple of surfers and their camera woman. Unbelievably soft sand to walk through - it took the best part of 30 minutes to walk to the northern end of the beach. Then you can hop over the dunes and down to the bay side, one of the nicest spots I've ever had the pleasure of stumbling upon.

Had a sit in the sun for a while drinking it in in the fashion the Old Dears would approve of. Fancied fish and chips. Couldn't find any fish and chips. Slightly disappointed, I was accosted by a very nice elderly golfer who had had a shocking round but was philosophical enough to realise it was better than the alternative, which, as she pointed out, was being dead.

Hopped back on the bus and zigzagged back south. Hopped on another bus and headed for Manly for another wander along a beach. The more you watch people surf the more you realise it's all about delaying the invertible failure to come. The slightly wild weather meant there were some pretty serious waves knocking about, most of which were too good for the punters out there trying to master them. I was seriously tempted to sign up for a lesson at a surf school I walked by, and, in hindsight, I should have. It wouldn't've taken much effort to buy some swimmers and jumped in for a couple of hours. I need to be a bit more impulsive and go for things in the future. Instead I walked south to Cabbage Tree Bay and on to Shelly Beach. You get a wonderful view back towards Manly, seeing the beach from the opposite direction, which comes as a bit of a surprise. You also get to see the coast stretching out to the north, so it's well worth the trip.

Wandered back to the ferry terminal in time for a cup of coffee before catching the 3.45pm back to Sydney. It's still as great a trip as ever and always will be. Could have done with a few more waves though. Had a quick look round the Museum of Contemporary Art before meeting the girl and heading back west. Might well do the same sort of thing on Friday, but out to the Eastern Suburbs instead. Who know, might even have a surf.

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Photos

Home and Away.
Loads of Poms taking photos. Flamming Mongrels.

Manly
It was getting late, so this isn't a great photo, but you get the idea about how you end up looking back at the Manly from Shelly Beach.