We had left Woolwich Marina, before our time was up (we’d had enough), and anchored over in Iron Cove just by the bridge. It’s actually quite a good anchorage: very little wash, the park on one side and Birkenhead shopping centre ( an “Outlet” centre. Imagine, Crocs, Merrell shoes, Icebreaker and numerous other camping type shops selling stuff at 1/3 of the usual price, as well as an Aldi and Coles supermarket) on the other. Sure, the rowers come by in the dark from 5 am, their coach yelling instructions through a megaphone, but otherwise it’s great. There’s a dinghy dock both sides of the river, good for picking up visitors (an old ferry wharf one side, a recreational dock the other) and the holding is gloopy sticky mud (get your deck hose out when you lift the anchor). But the city centre is not so much fun for visitors, so we set off for Middle harbour, under Spit Bridge and on up into Bantry Bay. 

Amazingly, just a few miles up the river from Middle Harbour you find yourself right in the middle of a National Park. There’s no houses in sight, just trees, rocks and the remains of munitions stores on the Eastern shore. It’s beautiful and calm. 

 

I’d been so bothered by the skirt of weed and rock oysters that we grew on Lochmarin in Woolwich marina that I jumped over board straight away, planning to give the hull a quick scrub. I came out again quickly. It was jellyfish soup, they weren’t stingers and Phil had promised to help get any caught in my hair out when I came back on board, but I hated the feel of them against my arms and legs as I swam so I quickly left the water. A good job I did as we found out that Bantry Bay was a Bull Shark breading ground. Interestingly, Bull Sharks can stand fresh as well as salt water so they chose to have their young up river valleys. They like Bantry as the deep pools provide food for them whilst the brackish shallows are perfect for their young. Predators can’t manage the shallow fresh water and the young gradually increase their tolerance for salt water as they grow, so they slowly move down stream. Now, the thing is, in late summer / early Autumn, i.e. now, the sharks return to give birth and then mate again - it takes 12 months for them to to gestate. So now was peak time for Bull Sharks. Not wise to swim. Michael tried to catch one for our tea, but only managed a little unknown silvery fish that was too small for 4 people to feast on. It was not due to lack of trying. 

  

Manly Beach, right at the Northern tip of the main Harbour, is another lovely place to stay. There are three public moorings right up next to the swimming beach, alongside the ferry terminal, so you can watch the comings and goings of hundreds of commuters. There’s a shark net around the swimming area of the beach so we were able to have a dip with peace of mind, then enjoy a pizza on shore whilst overlooking Lochmarin. You can follow the pedestrianised street right over to the ocean beach and watch the surfers do their thing. 

Sydney has proved varied and beautiful, interesting and exciting. We’ve seen old friends and made new ones but we’re feeling itchy now. It’s time to go, we need to be moving on.