From Manly to Spit Bridge in Search of Oasis: Sydney Part 3

After a long day bushwhacking, a boat ride to Manly sounded perfect.

Of course, we wanted to visit the beach and enjoy a lovely stroll along the coastline.

Manly is charming, its quaint streets reminded us of seaside towns from family holidays long ago in England.

There’s even a playful legend that when Captain Cook first laid eyes on the shore, he saw a group of Aboriginal people with spears and boomerangs, all standing on one leg. “Don’t they look manly?” he supposedly remarked  and so the name stuck.

Passing a sushi place with exquisite, inviting offerings, we simply had to stop for a nibble. If this is what sushi tastes like at home, if we can find it, we will certainly give it another shot, because this sampling was divine.

We had already clocked a fair number of steps since arriving in Sydney 36 hours earlier, but Helen was keen to keep our stride rate mooching along nicely. So, onward we went.

The stroll over the headland was, to be fair, glorious. The breeze occasionally softened the roasting heat the sun was dishing out, making the walk more enjoyable. The official time: four hours. We looked at each other—surely not? We knew we could box this off quicker than that.

Onward, past fabulously appointed houses boasting stunning views—beach, harbour, or sea and in some cases all three.

Up and down, around and over, sometimes under rocky overhangs, the pathway led us on, the nature is stunning.

One particular stretch brought us to the most idyllic golden sandy beach. It could have been straight out of a storybook, perhaps Treasure Island.

People were diving from anchored boats and swimming ashore while we looked on from high above. It’s probably one beach that even James would have indulged in lounging upon.

By the time we arrived at Spit Bridge, we’d covered another 10k. To say the legs were feeling it would be an understatement. With buses running late, our concern was time, we had to change and dash across the city to see a couple of fellas from Manchester.

Earlier in the week, Helen had made an out of the blue comment following which an opportunistic moment saw us acquire two tickets to see Oasis perform at the Accor Arena in the 2000 Olympic Stadium, an opportunity we simply couldn’t miss.

The 70,000-strong audience, plus two, enjoyed a good old blast from the past, even though we were half the world away and nobody left the arena looking back in anger!