Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
pines. Nearby is a monument
to a local newspaper proprietor
who, in 1902, defied bans on
daytime bathing and was
promptly arrested.
Every October Manly hosts
a great jazz festival
(see p48)
.
North Head
w
g
Manly.
Quarantine Station
Ghost Tours
Bookings essential
(starting times vary).
Tel
9977 5145.
www
.qstation.com.au
The majestic cliffs of North
Head afford the finest views in
Sydney Harbour National
Park, providing vistas along
the coastline, across to Middle
Harbour and towards the city.
North Head is also the ideal
place for observing the
movements of harbour and
seagoing craft and especially
for seeing off the yachts at the
start of the annual Sydney to
Hobart race
(see p49)
.
The Quarantine Station
nestles just above Spring Cove
within the national park. Here,
between 1832 and the 1960s,
many ships, with their crews
and passengers, were quaran-
tined to protect Sydneysiders
from the spread of epidemic
diseases. More than 500 people
died here, leading some to
believe the area is haunted.
Now a five-star hotel called
Q Station, the site, including
its hospital, shower block and
morgue, can be explored on a
guided “ghost” tour. Countless
migrants spent their first
months in Australia in this
place of splendid isolation.
Many of its internees left
poignant messages and poems
carved in the sandstone.
Shop façades featuring decorative gables along Manly's Corso
restored and refurbished in the
style of the 1930s, it opened
in 1994 as an historic house
museum. Visitors can view the
author's painstakingly kept
notebooks and other memo-
rabilia (including the table at
which she worked), as well as
original editions of her books.
There is a garden with views
across the harbour and a shop
that sells a range of May
Gibbs' souvenirs.
to suggest a single excursion
to enjoy during your time in
the city, most Sydneysiders
would nominate a ferry ride to
Manly. This narrow stretch of
land lying between the har-
bour and ocean was named by
Governor Phillip, even before
the township of Sydney got its
name, for the impressive
bearing of the Aboriginal men.
As the ferry pulls in to
Manly wharf you will notice on
the right many shops, restau-
rants and bars and on the left,
the tranquil harbourside beach
known as Manly Cove.
At the far end of Manly Cove
is Oceanworld Manly, where
visitors can see reptiles, sharks
and giant stingrays in an
underwater viewing tunnel.
You can also dive with sharks,
and details of Shark Xtreme
are on Oceanworld's website.
The Corso is a lively pedes-
trian thoroughfare of souvenir
shops and fast food outlets,
with a market held there on
Sundays. The Corso leads to
Manly's ocean beach, with its
promenade lined by towering
May Gibbs' studio at Nutcote
Taronga Zoo
0
See pp134-5.
Manly
q
g
Manly.
Oceanworld Manly
West Esplanade.
Tel
8251 7877.
#
10am-5:30pm daily.
¢
25 Dec.
&
6
See
Four Guided Walks
pp146-7.
www
.oceanworld.com.au
8
Long after Australia's conver-
sion to the metric system, the
slogan “seven miles from
Sydney and a thousand miles
from care” is still current. It
refers to Manly and the 7-mile
(11-km) journey from Circular
Quay by harbour ferry. If asked
First-class quarters at the Quarantine Station, North Head
