What Shall We Do In Manly?

Well, we're probably not going to be STAYING in Manly, but we will probably still spend a lot of time there. So, I've been doing research about what we might want to do while we're there. Well, you know....besides eat ice-cream at Royal Copenhagen. (Free toppings, people!)

First of all, I finally found out the name of the shopping area we kept going to. It's called the Corso. The beach we went to is called simply....Manly Beach. I still don't know the name of the park where we walked. I guess we'll figure that out eventually. Here are some clues: 1. It's behind or beyond Oceanworld. 2. It has a sign about Fairy Penguins--asking you not to use flash photography. 3. There is a sign explaining the history of the name Manly.

Okay. Anyway. Here are places I might want to go to in 2009.

1. North Head Manly. This is where the haunted Quarantine Station is. It sounds fun--well, in a very dark kind of way. The only problem is I'm not sure how to get there. So far, I can't find encouraging news about public transportation. It says the walk is 3 km from the wharf. That's a long way to go alone in the dark--after being with ghosts.

Oh! Major side note here. When I was about six, my family went to Disney World in Florida. We went into the haunted house and I was absolutely terrified. I remember thinking it was all totally real. I had no idea that it was pretend. At the end, you see ghosts sitting in the car with you. And then this wicked deep voice says something like "We'll always be with you!" I pretty much thought my world was ending. The term "special effects" was not in my vocabulary yet. And then later, my parents and sister wanted to go on again. I thought they were completely cruel and insane. Why the hell do we need to return to the haunted house. The damn ghosts we met in the first place were still with us! Here I was trying to figure out how the hell we get rid of these ghosts, and my family wanted to go back for more.

And now I want to go to a REAL haunted place. Hopefully not alone though. Which one of you will come with me????

2. Little Manly Point-This place sounds pretty okay. Well, I like it because they say it has toilets. I'm a big fan of toilets. I wish I was a pee-in-the-woods girl, but I'm not. It's also about a km away from the wharf. Short walks are always nice--especially when Jack is in the picture.

3. Fairlight Beach in Manly-This one is also about a km away from the wharf. I heard it's known for lovely little tide pools. Tide Pools are lovely? Did someone miss the memo on the Blue Ringed Octopus? Hello? If any of us go in a tide pool, I'm going to sit there holding my CPR instructions.

4. Spit Bridge to Manly walk- This sounds very intriguing. It starts somewhere in Sydney and then you end up in Manly.

The walk is a bit long. 3-4 hours. Jack would not be a happy camper so it's probably something I have to do alone while Tim babysits. I am a bit worried that I'll get too hot. I have an intolerance to heat lately. Maybe I'll do it very early in the morning. Leave the hotel before six and that way I can be back by around 10.

I'm wondering how hard it is to do this walk. Will I need to carry a map? Is it easy to get lost? Is there some kind of path you follow? Should I do it alone, or kidnap an Australian and make them come with me?


5. Dee Why-When we get tired of the Corso, we can come here. It has cafe and shops too.

6. Manly Arts and Crafts Market-This sounds fun. I prefer FOOD markets, but this sounds good too.

7. Manly Waterworks If Jack is tall enough by February, he'll love this. He's totally into water slides. I had vague memories of seeing water slides in Manly and asked Jack about it. He remembered seeing it, but said it was closed. That was in December. Maybe it's opened only on weekends? Okay, just checked the website. It's open only on weekends. That makes sense.