Manly Scenic Walkway is one of the many coastal walks you can find in New South Wales, Australia, in the surroundings of Sydney. With views on the Sydney bay, nature, lush greenery, and silence, it can be a welcomed escape from the bustling big city.
This is a throwback, but way back, to the good ol’ times when I was still a student enjoying life and traveling with university scholarship money. Okay not only, I wish that was enough, but you get the point.
How NOT to do budget trips
You’re about to read a story of big bad Australian spiders hanging from the trees, getting lost in the woods with no phone, and experiencing the thrill of being alone in the middle of nowhere, in the dark. Okay, I am probably making it sound scarier than it actually was. Spiders were not so big and I didn’t spend so much time in the dark. But for a few long minutes out there I got just a tiny bit scared.
On one of my trips to Sydney, I decided to explore one of its famous coastal walks. And because I was on a budget, I packed my backpack, brought some lunch and decided to walk from Milsons Point, right under Sydney Harbor Bridge, all the way to Manly. That’s around 13 kilometers if you walk in a straight line. Which I didn’t. I took detours, lost my way, explored the coast around Balmoral. I even stopped for a second lunch since the one I had packed wasn’t enough.
Just the Manly scenic walkway is 10 kilometers long, starting from right under Spit Bridge. Add about 15 more kilometers that I walked from Milsons point to Spit Bridge and there you go: a 25 kilometers walk. More or less. It surely felt like more.
So after almost half a day of wandering (and wondering) along unknown roads, taking detours, and stopping to enjoy the view, I only started the Manly scenic walkway around 5 pm. It was the end of the Australian summer when days are already getting shorter. I still had 10 km to go and already a low battery on my phone but I was confident. Maybe too confident.
The pros of getting lost
There’s nothing new about the fact that the greatest discoveries are made by mistake, and this also applies to travel. When you lose your way, you come across places that you never would have discovered otherwise.
This happened to me in these wanderings along the coast. I took turns wherever my intuition led me and saw amazing views of the Sydney bay: boats lightly floating on water and the blue of the sky reflected on the smooth surface of the ocean. I discovered a hidden garden with colorful flowers, magnificent trees, and a little house with wide windows, hidden among the trees.
At Balmoral beach, I found one of the most peaceful sights I ever experienced. Maybe it wasn’t the place, just my state of mind. I was happy. I was doing what I love the most: wandering, eyes wide open, ready to take in the beauty of the world. On the edge of Rocky Point Island, I sat facing the bay and looking at the opening towards the ocean, where Middle Head reaches for Grotto Point, two stretches of land enclosing this little bay.
There were a few boats sailing around the bay, the water of an intense blue. I found myself filled with gratitude. From that moment on, whenever I think of a happy place, I go back there in my mind. This is my happy place. Unwillingly, after some time spent there in awe and silence, I decided to proceed with my journey.
I made my way towards Spit Bridge and encountered dozens of green parrots gathered around a window where they were getting fed. When I finally reached the bridge, I realized it was quite late. I had spent the whole day wandering around, not really following my plan. But was it worth it!
Manly scenic walkway
Manly scenic walkway is one of the most famous coastal walks around Sydney for good reason. The sights are just stunning and the whole path is immersed in nature. I was lucky (or not) to have most of the walk to myself, with most people ending their hike by the time I was starting it. In the beginning, I crossed some people but as I kept climbing up and hiking deeper into the forest, there was no more trace of a human being.
At first, I took it slow. I was optimistic, there was still a lot of light and I stopped often to enjoy the views and take pictures. At every turn, there was a new perspective, a new view that deserved to be captured. At times I could peek through the branches of the trees to see a little patch of crystal clear waters. Other times I found viewpoints that opened onto small bays, with one or two boats lazily floating on the water. The nature along the coastal walk was wild and pure. The silence was only broken by my steps and occasionally by the wind blowing through the leaves.
The path kept going up, the sky going from light blue to purple and darker blue. I had already noticed spiders hanging from the trees. Not extremely big spiders, just big enough to make it unpleasant to have a face to face encounter with them. The tree branches were getting lower as the path went up and I started walking bent, afraid to get a spider right in my face. I started wondering when the path would start going back down on the coast and to the final destination.
Lost in the dark
Then I started going down and after some time I reached a small rocky beach. This is where I actually freaked out in realizing there was no path going forward. There was the path I came from, a couple of houses on the hill at the back of the beach, and water. The only source of light at this point was coming from the windows of the houses on the hill. For a moment I thought of going to ask for help. I didn’t want to walk all the way back through the forest, I knew I was close to the end of the trail.
Without any flashlight, I was improvising with the flash of my camera, trying to find a path among the trees. I finally found a board in the middle of the trees which showed a path. I looked around but I couldn’t see it anywhere.
After moments of panicking at the idea of having to go all the way back and considering knocking on the door of one of the houses on the hill, I realized something. Maybe there was a high tide that was covering the path going forward. So I started walking in the water and climbing on unstable sliding rocks. Turns out I was right and after a couple of minutes, I found the path going forward.
A few more minutes and I found myself out of the forest and into the suburbs near Manly. It was nighttime and I was tired of walking. But I was happy. On the ferry ride back to Sydney, while sailing at high speed past the Opera House and into Circular Quay, I felt alive and grateful.
Allow yourself to get lost
My little adventure rewarded me with some amazing views and probably made me just a little wiser when it comes to planning ahead. Still, it wouldn’t have been the same if I had planned everything ahead and diligently followed my plan.
So my whole point with this story is: get lost! Plan ahead but then allow yourself the freedom to wander and follow your heart and your eyes. Don’t just stick to the main road, take side streets, explore hidden alleys (maybe not during the night), and don’t be afraid of losing your way. You will find it back. Be wise and cautious but not too cautious. Find adventure in little things, like a walk along the coast or a small journey not far from home. And ditch Google maps for a while. You don’t want to take the shortest way. You want to discover the most beautiful one.
My coastal walk may not have been a super exciting adventure, filled with action. But I lived it like an adventure. I took my time to explore the places that drew me in, which called to me somehow from a distance. I allowed myself to deviate from the path and this has guided me to discovering new places and experiencing unexpected feelings. And I found myself a happy place, once I can always go back to in my memory when I want to feel that peace again. These memories are what make life worth living at its fullest. At least for me.
A few tips
If you do plan to walk the Manly Scenic walk, remember it’s 10 kilometers long. So maybe plan just a little. Enough so you don’t end up exploring hidden paths in the ocean at night, unable to see where to place your feet, with no source of light, and no clue where you are going.
You can also read more about the Manly scenic walkway on the official NSW National Parks website. The dedicated section has useful information and tips for your walk. If I had read this before I would have probably been more prepared. But then again, it wouldn’t have been so adventurous.
Also, if you liked this little story, you might want to check this article I wrote some time ago about why I think you should travel.
As always, happy travels!
