We started our Australia week just outside Manly in close-knit Freshwater, NSW, Australia. First things first, obviously, food. We went out for breakfast at Mrs. Jones The Baker 3x in a row. To say we were impressed by the delectable pastries was an understatement. The flavorful sausage roll perfectly satiated my craving, the Nutella Cruffin was moist yet flaky and stuffed with enough Nutella to glue your mouth together (drooling thinking about it), and the thick, ooey gooey saucy quintessential meat pie (our choice: steak and cheese) had us quite literally moaning.
Our first activity was a snorkel from the most southern part of the famous Manly Beach to Shelly beach. That first rock protrusion on the start of the southward swim houses the most impressive colorful colonies of fish, swaying slimy seaweed, and eerie entrances of caverns within the rock. Further along, we were also treated to a sight of a stingray and a shark! Later that night, we climbed up the rocks of the Shelly Headland Upper Lookout to get a higher vantage point of the sea we swam earlier, along with the beautiful lights of Manly, and the many headlands of the Aussie coast.
On the way to a lookout (parking lot) just before the Bicentennial Coastal Walk Long Reef Point, we then checked out a proclaimed local favorite, Upper Crust Pies (TikTok mukbang coming soon). We tried 4 of their pies– Pepper Steak, Mexican, Beef and Kidney, and Massaman, finding the latter to be the best, although significantly drier than Mrs Jones’.
On the second day, we completed the arduous 10 km Spit to Manly walk. We ran into a group of fellow walkers carrying hiking poles and camelbacks, with whom we tried to relate our tiredness with, who actually turned out to be a group from the Oxfam Trailwalker, 30-hours-of-no-sleep 100 kilometer race. After that aggressively humbling interaction, we got to enjoy views of the beautiful aquas of the ocean, and be reminded of Sydney’s jungle location with amazing plants and trees to marvel at.
Another food spot worth a mention was I Gladiatori Osteria Romana — my first time revisiting Roman food since my trip to actual Rome, and was pleasantly surprised with the Cacio e Pepe. The pulled pork Rigatoni was a favorite amongst the others at the table, while the anchovy pizza is not worth an order.
Overall, a beautiful, beach-accessible town outside of the hustle and bustle of Sydney!
Zoe's World 