With another sunshine day predicted and a high of 32c, Andy was up extra early (6.30am) for his 10k morning run. We then met up in Manly for coffee at Fika.

Fika Swedish Kitchen is a Swedish café serving a menu of homemade Swedish classics like meatballs and the famous fika pastry and great coffee!

Before breakfast we took a quick wander down to Bower beach to take in the waves and enjoy the morning sunshine.

The walk to Fika is in a cool part of Manly with street graffiti charting the evolution of Manly and its surfing history.

We’ve previously visited Fika on past visits and love its cool vibe and welcoming atmosphere.

After our caffeine fix we made our way to Shelly beach for what will be the last time for a while. Given the great weather and it being the last day of the holidays before people return to work on Monday, the sand and sea were both packed.

Thankfully we managed to snare a rare spot close to the water and Michelle then took up her customary spot sitting next to the water to cool off and watch the world go by.

We’d been at the beach for a couple of hours when out of nowhere one of the lifeguards turned up with a sign to advise that a shark had been spotted along Manly main beach earlier in the day. Within seconds the majority of people then exited the sea and came to take photos of the sign. Us included.

With the water out of bounds we arranged one final catch up with the Manly massive down at Felons on the Wharf. Later today Isabel, Jamie and Tracy’s niece, returns to the UK and a day or so later Amelie, Caroline’s niece follows suit returning to University in Leeds. It was lovely to see them all and we said our respective goodbyes to the younger girls whilst we will see the rest in a couple of months when we return to Manly in mid-March.

As the afternoon came to an end, we wandered back passed the Oval for a final dinner at the apartment before packing in readiness for our flights to Brisbane at lunch tomorrow.

It’s been a great few weeks in Manly, but it’s now time to move on and take up the next chapter of our trip with a two month tour up the East Coast. In the first couple of weeks we plan to return to some of our favourite spots including Byron Bay, Burleigh Heads, Mooloolaba and Noosa Heads.