New Year Down Under

Manly, New South Wales, Australia
Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Hello again! We are now in Manley and for those of you saying 'Where?' It is a suburb of Sydney. We flew into Sydney yesterday and it must be the way to arrive, by plane and during the day. It does give a wonderful view of Sydney's magnificent setting, sprawled around its deep water harbour with all it's inlets and coves. It is surprisingly green and houses cling to the hillsides with sea views to die for. We are staying in Manley, which is set on a peninsula, with Sydney Harbour on one side and the Ocean on the other. The ocean bay is renowned for its surfing and there has been plenty of that going on today. The beaches have been packed from early morning. There have been picnics and BBQs and a general Aussie outdoor celebration.
We are here for a week, staying in an apartment, 50 yds from the beach. It is gorgeous and we will be very comfortable undoubtedly. Manley is buzzy and a great place to experience life in Australia. We love it and it is only 30 mins by ferry to Circular Quay. We plan to go over tomorrow and begin our exploration of the city itself.
Obviously, the cricket will raise it's ugly head once more. We'll have to go, not even a tout will want our tickets at this stage.
I'm writing this approaching Midnight on New Years Eve. You know we are getting old as we have chosen to stay in Manley, instead of joining the thousands in the city itself. In truth, mainly because once there at 6.30pm (last ferry in) there is no way back unless you walk, swim or are lucky enough to fight off the hoards for a taxi, or wait for the early morning ferry. However, we are very happy, having had a great meal at an award winning fish restaurant called 'Garfish' and then stayed to watch the Manley fireworks at 9pm from the wharf. They were pretty spectacular in themselves. The 9pm fireworks on the harbour were visible over the headland and we have now wandered home and settled back in our armchairs with a glass of something sparkly to see in the New Year and watch the main show on TV. By the way the TV buildup here is as pathetic as at home.
It is now 3 mins to midnight and I'd better finish by wishing you all a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2014 from Down Under! Enjoy yourselves wherever you are and we look forward to seeing you again in the New Year.

PS. Half past midnight. Just fabulous, quite unlike anything I've ever seen. Something to think about - fifteen minutes of spectacleRead more