Pauline's birthday arrived and the day dawned with a clear blue sky and after opening her presents and cards we headed off into the city to catch the bus to Spit Bridge and partake in a 8km walk to Manly along the cliff top walk.
Sounds simple, we were to picnic on the way, have an evening meal in Manly and catch the ferry back to Sydney to catch the city skyline when it was dark.
Oh..... how plans can go wrong. Firstly we missed the bus to Manly by only a few minutes and the next one was a 45 minute wait. Ben seemed a little miffed and went into "father mode", i.e. shouldering all the disappointment for the whole group. I recognise this because I have operated in this mode. It proves that genetic behaviours always surface, sorry about that Ben. He did act in a decisive manner and basically made us get into a taxi and demanded the driver take us to Spit Bridge. A slightly tense start, but the day, which started with a little tension, would only get much better.
Spit Bridge, in all its splendour.
We had our picnic and sunbathed, plus we ended up paddling and swimming in the warm waters of the bay.
No sharks were seen, but I did touch an octopus when putting my feet down after swimming. Yes it was Anna, definitely not seaweed !!
This was not the only wildlife were were to encounter at close quarters, but more, in detail, later.We all had a nice rest, wished Pauline more birthday wishes and decided to press on with the walk.
As the walk progressed the blister on my little toe started to cause a bit of discomfort, but I switched to some flip flops and this proved to be a good move, in that I could now walk without the searing pain I had kept hidden from my co- walkers.
Ben and Anna, plus Pauline, have an obsession about eating fruit when you walk. Strange, I know!
The cliff side forest has small clearings now and then which allow the resident reptiles to heat up their bodies. We encountered a two foot Dragon Lizard. To help me to manoeuvre him into position I asked Ben to throw me his apple core. His throw was reminiscent of Quentin Crisp throwing a baseball. It missed my outstretched hands and landed between my feet. At that moment a metre long Dragon Lizard dashed out of the undergrowth and snatched the apple core from under my legs. Needless to say I avoid this full frontal attack and with the deftness of a principle boy dancer at The Royal Ballet, managed to keep my feet and take a photo all in one graceful movement, well that's how I remember it.
Notice the neck of the beast, bright red, sure sign of an aggressive attack mode !!!
The walk after this was uneventful and took in some terrific views over the headland and out into the Pacific.
Ancient rocks with Aboriginal carvings were in evidence and animals and insects could be seen in these carvings from thousands of years ago.
It was teatime as we entered Manly and as I've previously said, the town does have a buzz about it. We found a good restaurant with a good mixed menu and after a great meal we had a little walk around and headed for the ferry back to Sydney.
The sight of Sydney, with all is lights twinkling, was without doubt one of the highlights of our trip and its always good to ride on the Manly Ferry!!
Great time and a great birthday, happy birthday Pauline.
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