Sydney has a wonderful incentive to get people outside on Sundays – through the Opal system, public transportation fees are capped at just under $2 US for the day. Once you’ve got that limit, you can ride as much as you want for free. So after a surprisingly delicious breakfast at a Yelp recommendation that turned out to be a food court restaurant, we capitalized on the transit discount by taking the ferry to one of its farthest destinations in Sydney Harbor – the community of Manly.

Ferries have long been an important component in Sydney’s transportation system given the expanse of harbor, and the main ferry terminal in the central business district – Circular Quay – is always bustling with yellow and green ferries coming in and out. Ferries are also a great way to experience Sydney and the route out from the wharf gives a close-up water view of the Sydney Opera House, which to be honest, looks stunning from just about any angle.

We wanted to explore Manly more than we could do just on foot, so bikes seemed to be the order of the day. Manly is best known for its beaches but we wanted to venture up to the North Head that marks one side of Sydney’s harbor entrance. The views were indeed sweeping but we hadn’t counted on the small yet persistent flies that gathered whenever we stopped. Nor had we realized how unsettling it would be to ride bicycles in a left-side-of-the-road environment.

As we took in the harbor views, we witnessed the progress of a tall ship making its way out of the harbor. Later we met our Bird of the Day (a magpie, none too pleased with us) at a roadside cafe that sold excellent gourmet popsicles.

After exploring North Head’s trails and views, we had to visit at least one beach. The day had become quite lovely and Manly was buzzing with people eager to experience the beach life. Aussies really do love their beaches!

A short hiking trail above Shelly Beach afforded views of the northern coastline, which stretches on as far as the eye can see alternating beaches with vegetated areas dotted with houses. Shelly Beach itself is enclosed in a cove and offers patches of shade under the palm trees. We poked our toes in the water, which was… we’ll go with “bracing”. We could see why the few people actually swimming were in wetsuits!

Back in downtown Manly, we had a late lunch at the 4 Pines Brewery restaurant and sampled some of their offerings. They make a delightful ginger beer too, which is reportedly the best in Australia.

Our return trip by ferry to Sydney was at sunset and featured light and clouds mixing in the late afternoon sun. After a transfer at Circular Quay we took another ferry under the bridge to Pyrmont Bay.

Along the way we glimpsed another group following our path from the day before.