Manly Beach

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It's over a week ago since we arrived here & it seems to have flown by.......& it's amazing how my initial impression of this place has well exceeded my expectations. I'll paint the picture for you. You see we arrived here from the mountains to the very impressive Sydney skyline & harbour & then to an idyllic beach town with a bustling atmosphere......so we were very excited......but it was with depression that we checked into the party-house of a hostel that we now call "home". We even tried ringing elsewhere last minute to avoid the inevitable. On first sight of the hostel I was already planning my hostelworld review.....ie....dirty carpets, filthy dorms, unfriendly check-in staff. Oh it was a battle to find a spot on the floor to throw down the bags in the 6-bed dorm & if you kicked something out of the way you were afraid to find what lay beneath. Thankfully we've come a long way since then.

Hasty I was. Turns out that we're sharing with 4 other fellas.....who at times would put you off ever having kids if these "boys" are anything to go by!! But mainly they are well behaved & it's amazing the effect of brandishing a hurley at 5am can have....or in some cases giving them a feel for the wood too if threats don't do the trick!! It is the ultimate in party-houses I think......I'll be sitting there with my fruit-salad for breakfast & there will always be a few wandering about with a liquid breakfast & it's not tea or coffee!! Livers everywhere beware!! Anyway after a day or 2 we came to be good friends with our new roommates & did a criss cringle amongst us. It really kindled the Christmas spirit in us & after we spruced up the room with tinsel & Christmas stockings, robbed the Christmas tree from the common room.....well it was nearly like home. We had Christmas tunes pumping, day, night & in the early hours.....yeah even when we were trying to sleep.....but it was all in good spirit.

We took the ferry across to the big smoke at the weekend for a night out on the town & it was so beautiful to see Sydney Harbour Bridge at night & the Opera House. They dazzle! Nite-clubs stay open till all hours but I was hanging at about 4.....afraid I'm not cut-out for these all-nighters at all!! So a bit of leg & a taxi was hailed!!

Manly Beach is a busy backpacker spot. There are a few beaches around the area but it's Manly that gets the tourists in droves. Most of our days have been spent on the beach, with trips to the swimming pool for me & the gym for Grace to battle the Christmas over-indulgences.

Christmas day was celebrated in traditional Australian style. Midnight mass was had too so our religious needs were fulfilled also. Because we weren't having the turkey & ham feast as we would at home, we said we'd treat outselves so Grace, Emma & myself went to the the local Thai restaurant to have our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. And it was delicious! On Christmas morning we exchanged our gifts & bopped around in our tiny room to "jingle bells" & the like as I savaged the contents of my Christmas stocking before Santa had even left the building. The wilting Christmas tree smell was a welcome change to the smell of stale beer too.

Despite the overcast weather we headed to a different beach called Shelly Beach & set up camp there with a big gang form the hostel. I was manning the BBQ for myself, Grace & Emma based on my previous experience.....I'm quite the pro now...hehehe......we had delicious prawn & chicken skewers & tasty tender beef medallions.....we like to do things in style. Delicious!! So we spent the day on the beach playing volleyball, football.....what was meant to be rugby (but was more like a brawl for the lads....) & chatting, drinking until late......a dip in the sea of course was had. We even managed to keep our camp-fire going after the police warning so it was nice & cosy but unfortunately we'd eaten all the marshmallows for breakfast so had to munch on crisps instead.

Now it's the end of my time in Manly......2 weeks later & I don't know where the time has gone. We haven't spent this amount of time in any one place in a long time but it has flown cause we've been on the go nearly every night. Christmas & New Year rolled into one long drinking festival in our hostel/ bedroom......not us but the lads.....It's been fun but I couldn't do this long term...can't wait to sleep properly for successive nights again. For New Year's we went to a place called Cremorne Point opposite Sydney Harbour Bridge & the Opera House......it was a fantastic vantage point for seeing the fireworks.......we left at about 2pm which was relatively late compared to some people & it was an absolutely glorious day......however I would have been happier in my bed that day cause my sinuses were on operation "freeflow"....but it was worth the wait!! Absolutely beautiful fireworks display....was worth the dribbly nose & drunken louts in the baking sun......

While our hostel wasn't the cleanest of places going there was a good gang in it that really made the Christmas for us. Gladf we stayed in Manly & not Bondi ....beach is lovely....volleyball courts, 50m pool, not overrun with your neighbours & fellow Irishmen.....& 2 Copenhagens ice-cream parlours. Grace very kindly got me vouchers for Copenhagens & a big box of Ferrero Rocche for Christmas so my nutritional needs were well looked after. We went to Plam Beach on one of the days too....aka Summer Bay...only about 45 mins away in car....we were the lucky ones though......cause about 6 other people from the hostel came & they all bailed into the back of a removals lorry....pitch black oven more like!! On the side of the truck it said "Love Moving People"....don't think they literally meant people....rather their belongings.....not to be recommended anyway...at least not in the Australian summer!! Palm beach is nice & much quieter than Manly beach. Visited the surf-club....no sign of Alf knocking about.....must be out fishing. Another time.

We did some sight-seeing around Sydney. When we first arrived on the bus it was amazing to see the Opera House & Sydney Harbour Bridge in "real life"-very impressive. It's a nice city to walk around but ever so hard to restrain yourself from buying all around you....especially when all the sales are on. These are the real challenges a backpacker has to contend with....-not shopping!! The only shopping allowed is for goods...(ie food) that don't make a bulge in your bag.....just a bulge somewhere else! So we saw the sights...St. Mary's Cathedarl is beautiful...think that's the name, then went on a very slow ferris wheel that gives you a view around the city, & visited Darlilng Harbour. We've turned into very bad tourists....some local s were disgusted when we told them that we hadn't been spending every waking hour in the city. Oh & nearly forgot the Botannical Gardens & of course the Opera House. Enjoyed the city.....it was nice though to go "home" to the beach at the end of the day.

So that's Manly. It's strange cause I feel that I'm on the final leg of the journey now even though there is still another 6 months to go.....probably cause we've been looking to Christmas for so long & now that's done & dusted. Australia has flown by. So it's an overnight bus for us to Melbourne from here but I'm now armed with a new improved ipod so hopefully the trip will fly by. Christmas & New Year were great.....this time next year I'll be home freezing my ass off like the rest of you so it was nice to experience it the Australian way & enjoy it. Thanks for all the emails & greetings......didn't feel too far from home.

Love Alison 😊

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