5/6 -half day in Sydney and my flight out

So throughout my time in Sydney I have been helped by the workers at the hostel I have been staying in. The Jolly Swagman backpacker hostel(never get tired of saying that outrageous name). They have been nice enough to allow me to prod them with questions about the city and just genuinely give me help or advice when I ask for it. Between the employees I have met there is Sam, Joe, Adrianna, and Ark(no idea if I’m spelling this right). Adrianna and Sam have definitely had to put up with me more than anyone this week and I am immensely grateful for their help. If I were ever to return to this hostel, I would be excited to see either of them if they were still there. Sam is a hilariously energetic Man with a knack for food and wine that brings his dog to work every day. No matter how hard I tried, that dog does not give a rats that I ever came through the door. Always quick witted, he was always an interesting person to talk to and get an option from when it came to just about anything. Adriana, a young woman from Portugal, studied physio at home and is trying to get all of her certifications for Australia. Apparently its harder than one would think to get all of the papers and classes transferred/converted so that one looks official in Australia. While Sam does not live on site and commutes to work every day, Adrianna shares a bedroom with some of the other local hostel workers. One of her bunk mates even made the cake that I spoke so highly of in a previous post. When Adrianna realized how unfortunate I had been with my bag getting lost, I think she took some pity on me and helped me plan some of my outings while in Sydney.

My last full day in Sydney was spent running around hitting some snags or speed bumps in the second half of the day. I got back to hostel and the staff thought it hilarious that my adventures had gone so good in the morning but had turned so very sour in the afternoon. Adriana gave me crap and said “you’re not allowed to plan anything anymore, it all just falls apart on you.” She then invited me to go surfing on my last morning at a beach in north Sydney called “manly”. The Irony is not lost on me I promise you. I haven’t surfed in my life outside of a surf lesson my dad bought for me when I was way younger. But I obviously said yes because.. surfing.. at a place called manly beach. Who could pass that up?  Not this fool. 

So I got up early. Got some free breakfast and Adrianna and I got on the train. Now she is new to surfing as well but had plans to buy a surfboard that day, so we only needed one for me. she helped me find one through another employee/friend that I could borrow for the day and picked it up while I was out trying to get poisoned by sea urchins. From one of the stations we walked to the central waterfront harbor to catch the 6:50 ferry to Manly. Possibly the coolest part about the ferry ride between central harbor and manly is the pathway takes you right past the opera house. I knew it was big but since I hadn’t taken the time on this trip to get up close to it, my admiration for the sheer size of it grew immensely once up close on the boat. 

As the ferry leaves the city the scenery changes. The large scale buildings and metropolitan atmosphere devolves into beachside houses and inlets with sailboats rocking in the gentler currents. The houses were beautiful and the private beaches they sat on made them shoot straight to the top on my list of “houses I would live in”.

The ferry ride is no more than a half hour and when we arrived in manly, it was perfectly serene. Quiet and clear for sure but with all the food options and tourist shops, i knew chaos would descend eventually. Manly is a cool place not just because it is manicured and ready for tourists, its cool because again there is a community of active members that gather to push each other. As we arrived at the beach you could see it stretching for maybe a mile to the left and maybe a quarter mile to my right. When facing down that quarter mile section you can see where the beach ends and a pathway begins to a rock beach another half mile down. As we were looking that way Adrianna and I noticed hundreds of people walking to the rock beach and then swimming back to the sand beach. Like a swim/run race event. We learned later that there was no event, this meetup happens every morning at 6, 7, and 8. So people come to run the circuit of swimming and running once or a few times through, then cycle out to get breakfast or enjoy coffee at one of the beach side cafes. I say again. One of the coolest active communities I have ever seen. 

We got to the beach early and the surf shop wasn’t open yet, so rather than us take turns on the one board we had, we decided to get a coffee and just relax until she could purchase a board and we could both go out. 

The streets in manly don’t have lights at most intersections as best I can tell. Every car stops at every pedestrian walkway if there is someone there, no questions asked. It is safe to walk around this beach and area completely barefoot. So that’s what I did. When the shop opened Adrianna was able to get the surfboard she wanted and a wetsuit as well, but rather than go out right away, we decided to walk to the rock beach we had seen the swimmers start from earlier. The surf shop was nice enough to hold all our gear while we walked so we wouldn’t navigate the party while carrying surf boards. As the sand beach begins to give way to rock outcroppings and tide pool like areas, the path still runs parallel for a great long while. Instead of just walking to an unknown destination we decided to explore the tide pools and the rocks instead. The waves running through the rocks created a maze of small alcoves and tiny waterways. While most of this area could be just walked across on top, it was more fun to make way down into the tiny sand inlets that gathered at the waters edge of these boulders. At waters edge seaweed and grass of different shades of green were caught in an endless tug of war with the tide. Further up I found a small section of sea grass that looked like it had purple budding flowers sprouting up each stalk. It was hard getting a picture with the glare off the water, but I think I may have gotten something. As we moved further we noticed there were many jump off points for the swimmers. Furthest away was a sand beach where they could merely walk in the water, the rock outcropping we had seen initially, and a seaside swimming pool. The pool was constructed and build directly into the rocks on the side of the water. Filled with seawater I assume it was for families keeping an eye on children. The waters in this area do have sharks as well, so maybe that played a part. To see this pool on the edge of spectacularly clear water was picturesque to say the least. Some modern sculptures had been erected in between the pool and the ocean also adding a certain amount of majesty to the scene. 

We had to be back at the hostel by 2and with all the adventuring and swimming we had eaten up a good portion of our surf time. We ran back to the surf shop and grabbed our gear and headed out The waves were very small and crashing infrequently which was a little unfortunate. As much as I wanted to surf and ride giants, its probably for the best that the ocean served me up some little ones to start on. I managed to catch a few waves and even felt confident just sitting on the board watching the ocean swell and pass while I waited for my chance to tame a wave. No sooner than we had started did we have to leave. To say that I was bummed about leaving manly is an understatement. I could spend a week there just surfing and exploring. While I thought that my favorite place was Bondi beach, I think manly beach takes the cake overall. 

Traveling back to the hostel with a second surfboard gave me the appearance of being a local surf bum. It was actually kind of nice to look a little like a local in a place I consider to be one of the most beautiful and friendly places I have ever been. Once we rushed back to the hostel, Adriana had to work and I had to pack. 2 hours and some change would go by before the airport shuttle picked me up. There really wasn’t much to do between the time I finished packing and the shuttles arrival, so I just read and talked to Adriana and some other guests. I was sad to put the hostel in the rear window of the hostel. As badly as my arrival in Sydney had been, It was completely turned around by the staff and some of the guests there. 

The problem with getting dropped off 4 hours before a flight, is cause there is not anything in the world that airports offer that will hold your attention for that long. I had a little bit of money left over and since I wasn’t gonna worry about changing such a small amount to NZ dollars, i hit the snacks hard. I mangled to find some WiFi and call home and then there was nothing else to do but board the plane to Gold Coast. My flight to NZ wasn’t direct, I had a overnight layover in Gold Coast. I would arrive there at 11+pm and then my flight out to Queens town NZ departed at 6:45. So not enough time to do much of anything in Gold Coast including get a room. I wasn’t quite sure what I was gonna do. 

Leaving Sydney I flew on a virgin Australia 787 airplane.... 787, now in the running for “most uncomfortable plane I have ever ridden on.” from stand point of auditory discomfort at least. What’s up virgin Australia? Did y’all skip on the sound insulation? Also, at a certain altitude I thought the cabin was supposed to be pressurized? Why am I still having to pop my ears at cruising altitude for the entire duration of the flight. Y’all may need to check the subtle integrity of whatever plane I was on. Outside of the crew being fantastic and the seat being.... an airplane seat. The only redeeming quality was how short the flight was. And the tuxedo t shirt I was rocking when I boarded. the baby sitting 2 rows behind me didn’t cry so that’s just a bonus. Also, if I’m complaining about ear pressure, I can only think that said child is  a mini terminator. if cabin pressure on my ears was bothering me enough to be this displeased, I hate to think what that little babe was going through but still stayed quiet.. 

I got to Gold Coast and luckily there was free WiFi. The nearest hostel was asking far too much for a room for the night and the airport staff kicked me out at a certain time. I managed to talk to the police officers and another employee that pointed me to a corner of the airport outside the building where others had camped before. In my little corner hovel, I threw up my tent got out all my sleep gear, set my alarm for when the airport opened and tried to sleep. Past the hum of the vending machines I was huddled near. There wasn’t really anything to disturb me. Then a storm rolled in. Then an angry night shift supervisor.. then quiet and the hum of the vending machines. And I was out..