Those Walking Boots

I had the best opportunity yesterday to put my walking boots on as my buttercup car needed to spend the day at the mechanics in Manly.  One of the things I loved about Perth was discovering the wonders of the west while walking; you see so much more when you either walk or run rather than sitting in a car.

After leaving the buttercup I zigzagged along the streets of Manly and Balgowlah until I reached The Spit where I was going to start the 10km Manly Scenic Walk. I've done this walk several times but only over weekends where the traffic of people is quite enormous, yesterday it was the opposite very peaceful with few people along the way.

It's a beautiful walk where most of the time you hug the shoreline walking through bush with glimpses of the sparkling water but there are higher areas such as Dobroyd Point that gives you fantastic views of the harbour, The Heads and Manly to the left.

Before reaching Dobroyd Point there's a large rocky outcrop called Grotto Point where there are several ancient aboriginal engravings carved into the sandstone. It always makes me stop and think and wonder what stories this land could tell.

I was still walking through the bush when the aroma's of a BBQ started to waft my way,  it reminded me of the time last year climbing to the summit of Bluff Knoll where we could smell a BBQ and as we arrived at the summit there was a group cooking sausages on a portable BBQ. Yesterday a guy had sausages, onion and the billy on the fire, I don't know if it's legal to have an open fire in the National Park but it was on the beach and it looked fantastic and smelt even better.

Once I arrived at Manly I received a call to say my buttercup car is very sick and needs to stay overnight, so 'Onward Christian Soldiers' and I kept marching onwards to Collaroy - another 10kms.

The Spit opened regularly for the boats

View from Dobroyd Point

The BBQ

Path in Manly a reminder of the Little Penguins