View from McMahons Point
One hour and three buses later I arrived at Collaroy Beach. As the last bus that I used was a L88 (limited stop) it took me a half a mile further than the actual start point, so I had a short walk back. The temperatures were mid 20's C and there was blue sky with a light breeze so it was perfect walking conditions. I started up my Garmin gps so that it would record a breadcrumb trail of my route. The walk starts at Anzac Avenue that takes you to the Fisherman's Beach where you hang a right and walk along by Long Reef Golf club.
Looking north from Fisherman's Beach.
You walk up to a lookout out at Long Reef and as you approach it you start to see views of Dee Why beach across the golf course to your right.
From the lookout you can look south and see the Manly heads in the far distance (Manly is our destination).
As you walk passed the golf course, the path is easy and downhill.
You switch onto a boardwalk to get to Long Reef Beach. Time to take your footwear off for a very pleasant beach walk and paddle.
The beach becomes Dee Why beach and the surfing conditions look good. You do have to wade across the shallow river that goes into Dee Why lagoon. The book does not mention this and maybe the river does not exist at certain times of the tide.
At the southern end of the beach I decided to take advantage of the many cafes and stop for lunch. A cajun chicken salad washed down with a James Boags lager was really very enjoyable.
After lunch you continue south and soon reach the rock baths were there is a seawater swimming pool and from here I watched some of the surfers having fun.
You now need to follow a coastal bush path. The path is quite narrow and rocky and involves a fair ascent so I am not sure that I would call it easy, but perfectly manageable by anyone who is reasonably fit. You walk up to the Dee Why Head where you can look back towards Long Reef.
The path threads its way between the coastline and some expensive looking residences for the well heeled of NSW. You also get some good cliff views.
Eventually Curl Curl beach comes into view.
It is paddling time again and Curl Curl is a lovely beach.
The surf looks fascinating but is difficult to photograph. I took some movie to capture the full effect but have not included it here. A great photograph was let slip when about fifty youngsters all in blue were running up the beach towards me. However, they were schoolgirls in their pe kit and taking a photo could be misconstrued so that was one action shot I did not take. Whilst standing videoing the surf, I was caught out by an extra large wave and the bottom part of my shorts got a good soaking.
At the end of Curl Curl beach there is another rock baths and here you take another coastal cliff path (this time it is a proper pathway)over the headland. You soon drop back down to sea level to reach Freshwater Beach.
After crossing Freshwater Beach there is a sharp ascent up a zig-zag pathway over Queenscliff. Over the crest you arrive at Bridge Street and descend to the bridge that takes you over the entrance to Manly lagoon. Just over the bridge you can get onto the promenade that takes you the full length (1.25 kms) of Manly Beach to The Corso. The sun was now sinking in the west and the cloud that had been just inland all day was starting to cast a shadow over Manly Beach.
Once you reach the Corso there are plenty of cafes where you can satisfy your appetite but I decided to just walk the few hundred metres across this spit of land to the ferry terminal. Here I caught the 4:15pm ferry to Circular Quay.
Then another short ferry trip back to McMahons Point and I was home. It had been a truly excellent and enjoyable walk. I'm glad I did it and will always remember it.
If you have Google Earth and want to see my route click here
Peewit
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