Manly

On February 27, we finally got blue skies in Sydney. We had heard that we should visit Manly, a town that is an easy 30 minute ferry ride away so we walked over towards the circular quay. Of course, with such a nice day, I couldn't resist taking more pictures of St. Mary's Cathedral. And this time, we actually went inside. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside but take my word for it, the architecture was amazing.

Finally blue skies for a nice reflection shot of the cathedral

St. Mary's doors

PJPII was hanging out by the cathedral

Paul couldn't very well do his usual so he gave PJPII a high five instead

A different view of the cathedral

As we continued towards the circular quay, we stopped by Il Porcellino.

Il Porcellino

Legend says that if donations are put into the box and you rub the nose of the boar, you will be endowed with good fortune. We found a $2 coin the other day so we decided that Paul should give it a try.

Paul rubbing the boar's nose and making a wish - he said he made two wishes since we donated $2

The wishes probably won't come true because he did this

We finally made it to the ferry.

The view of the city and opera house from the ferry

Along the ride, a cool lighthouse

We arrived in at the Manly Wharf (in Manly Cove) and then walked down the Corso (main street) and headed to Manly Beach. Manly Cove was named by Captain Arthur Phillip in 1788 for the 'confident and manly' behavior of the local Kay-ye-my Aboriginal people.

Approaching Manly Wharf (not the guy from Star Trek TNG)

Manly Beach

To the left is Manly Beach and to the right is ShellyBeach

Paul sees something but he didn't say something

We ran into a water dragon walking around the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve

Looking towards the Tasman Sea

We headed back to Sydney but stopped off to check out the view from Observatory Hill. We had such a great day!

Sydney Harbour Bridge with The Garrison Church in the foreground

And of course, couldn't resist a night shot of St. Mary's

Cape Reinga, sandboarding and the Ninety Mile Beach

On Thursday morning we got up early (with some sore heads) to visit Cape Reinga, where the waters of the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet. The bus ride up was long but we were thankful neither of us had to drive. We had an excellent tour guide/bus driver named Barry who informed and entertained us for the day.

Our first stop was Puketi Kauri Forest with 1,000 year old Kauri trees.

They don't look as big in this picture

But they are...they say it's good luck to hug the tree 

We then headed to Cape Reinga, where according to Maori legend, spirits depart on their journey to the homeland - Hawaiki. The view is spectacular.

Can you see the color difference of the water? On the left is the Tasman Sea and on the right is the Pacific Ocean.

Cape Reinga Lighthouse

With the battling waters behind us...

You can see the waves from the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean

It really was beautiful here

They didn't have a sign for New York!

A closer shot of "the meeting point"

Close up of the lighthouse

Pointing again - this time in a different pose

After a nice lunch along the beach, we headed towards Te Paki Stream to do some sandboarding down massive sand dunes on boogie boards. I wasn't sure if I was going to do it but am so glad I did. The walk up was treacherous so I only did it once. Paul went twice!

The sand dunes are huge!

Close up shot - pretty!

Paul is ready!

Steep climb doesn't quite describe it.

Paul sliding down

Feeling proud that we accomplished this dune!

 Check out the video of me sliding down:

And the video of Paul coming down the dune:

Our last stop of the day was the Ninety Mile Beach. Driving on the beach with a big bus was crazy, especially when we got stuck. But we were rescued by another bus so it was all good. It gave us more time on the beach to take pictures!

The famous "Hole in the Rock"

Nice reflection of the sky on the beach - it was very peaceful here

Our tour guide/bus driver Barry trying to get us "unstuck"

Tracks on the beach

Rescued!