Our overseas adventure took us via a stopover in San Francisco on 14 December before flying on to Sydney arriving on the 16th. We then spent a month in Manly with friends enjoying a summer Xmas & NY with days on the beach and dinner and drinks in the afternoons and evenings.

During our 32 days in Manly on the Northern Beaches, we visited 17 beaches, including Manly Beach, Shelly Beach, Freshwater Beach, Collins Flat Beach, Little Manly Beach, East Manly Cove Beach, Manly Cove Beach, Delwood Beach, Fairlight Beach, Esplanade Beach, Silver Beach, Quarantine Beach, Queenscliffe Beach, South Curl Curl Beach, Whale Beach, Palm Beach and Avalon Beach.

During this time we frequented over 25 bars and restaurants including The Manly Club, Hugo’s, Felons Brewing Co., Manly Pavilion, The Espy, 4 Pines Brewery, Manly 16ft Skiff Sailing Club, The Boathouse at Shelly Beach, Cibaria Manly, Sushi Plus, Rollers Bakehouse, Yo-Chi, The Ivanhoe Pub, Noon, Silo Espresso, Pilu at Freshwater, Harbord Hotel, Harbord Diggers, Pocket Pizza, Busta, The Newport Arms and The Joey.

We spent wonderful days and nights visiting the sights and scenes in Sydney, including the Rocks, Opera House, Circular Quay, The Botanical Gardens, Bondi Beach and Junction, Queen Victoria Building, Luna Park, St Mary’s Cathedral along with walking tours in the city and a food walking tour in Newtown.

We had a magical Xmas Day with friends at Freshwater Surf Club playing festive games, eating Xmas dinner followed by surfing on Freshwater Beach. It truly doesn’t get much better than this.

On the 28th Dec we celebrated Andy’s 54th bday at Hugo’s restaurant on Manly Wharf, which had an all white theme. It’s always so special to visit a traditionally winter affair in the glorious sunshine of the southern hemisphere.

New Years Eve was a picnic on East Manly Cove Beach late afternoon followed by fireworks in Manly Cove before driving off to Cremorne Point where we watched the main NYE fireworks off Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

Into the new year of 2024 we celebrated a final bday for our daughter Amelia who was turning 19 later in January, so before she returned to the UK on the 12th January, we had a Mexican themed dinner at El Camino Cantina on the Wharf.

After a hectic social life over the first month of our overseas tour, we eventually left Manly on the 15th to start our travels with the first of three camper van trips, with 2 weeks navigating a coast trip down to Melbourne.

Tomorrow we’ll detail the 2 months from Sydney to Melbourne, on to Adelaide and our final 2 weeks looping around Tasmania.