Australia Day
While it was by no means a spectacular Australia Day, somehow it seemed very appropriate for me. I'd been invited to two BBQs, but thanks to a hangover lingering well past noon I made it to neither. Instead I opted, against my better judgement, to head to Manly on the offchance that I might catch up with the tail end of one of the BBQ groups. Sure enough they'd left, and instead I found just a wall of people packing Manly to overflowing, to the point that I actually had to wait for a gap in the people to get in the water. So I picked up some fish and chips for hangover fare, jumped back in the Roo Disco and headed north.
All I really wanted at this point was a beach that wasn't jammed with people, so I decided to try some of the little beaches up north that I'd passed so many times on the way to Palm Beach but never bothered going to. There was one in particular that I had some vague memory of being as out of the way as you can get in the northern beaches, and just north of Mona Vale I spotted the sign. I jumped across the endless line of cars and wound down the road into the cove. The parking lot was naturally full, especially since it was incredibly small. However taking a chance on a detour, I lucked out completely with a spot just feet from the sand that was also completely free. Even better yet the beach itself was practically empty, and beautiful, steady sets of waves were breaking just offshore in perfectly clear water. High cliffs bookended the beach on either side, but dipped just enough behind to let the sun in until it was truly gone for the day. I had found my place.
I spent pretty much the remainder of the day in that one spot. I bodysurfed, read, people watched, and as the sun got low, listened to the trailing music of a swing band playing on the patio of the club at the far end of the beach. For a while I even just timed the waves so I could watch as they curled over me, the low sun sparkling through the curl for just a moment. It wasn't exactly your typical Australia Day celebration, but it was certainly celebrating what I liked about Australia.
(Not my photo, but pretty much my day. Need to get an underwater housing for my camera)
All I really wanted at this point was a beach that wasn't jammed with people, so I decided to try some of the little beaches up north that I'd passed so many times on the way to Palm Beach but never bothered going to. There was one in particular that I had some vague memory of being as out of the way as you can get in the northern beaches, and just north of Mona Vale I spotted the sign. I jumped across the endless line of cars and wound down the road into the cove. The parking lot was naturally full, especially since it was incredibly small. However taking a chance on a detour, I lucked out completely with a spot just feet from the sand that was also completely free. Even better yet the beach itself was practically empty, and beautiful, steady sets of waves were breaking just offshore in perfectly clear water. High cliffs bookended the beach on either side, but dipped just enough behind to let the sun in until it was truly gone for the day. I had found my place.
I spent pretty much the remainder of the day in that one spot. I bodysurfed, read, people watched, and as the sun got low, listened to the trailing music of a swing band playing on the patio of the club at the far end of the beach. For a while I even just timed the waves so I could watch as they curled over me, the low sun sparkling through the curl for just a moment. It wasn't exactly your typical Australia Day celebration, but it was certainly celebrating what I liked about Australia.
(Not my photo, but pretty much my day. Need to get an underwater housing for my camera)