Hiking the Northern Beaches

The Northern Beaches is an area in the northern coastal suburbs of Sydney, with houses pushing right up to the water’s edge. We headed to Palm Beach, the furthest north and the least built up.  A long spit that reaches out into the water, Palm Beach is a meniscus of bliss, (and famous as the setting of Home and Away!) A steep 20 minute hike took us to the 1881 Barrenjoey Lighthouse, which punctuates the northern tip of the headland in an annexe of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. The view across Pittwater was absolutely incredible and the colour of the ocean amazing. Apparently sharks are common in this area though so I won’t be swimming anywhere that doesn’t have nets!

Palm Beach

You can’t spend time in Northern Beaches without going to Manly. Famous for its laid back local surfer population, Manly clings to a narrow isthmus between the ocean and harbour beaches; Sydney Harbour’s northern gatepost. Apparently, Manly got its unusual name from Governor Phillip’s description of the physique of the native people he met there….

We decided to do the 10km Manly Scenic Walk through Sydney Harbour National Park. The Park protects a number of islands and foreshore areas around the harbour and provides superb swimming spots and bushwalking trails. The bushland is home to loads of native wildlife and Aboriginal sites. We started at Spit Bridge; a drawbridge which connects the North Shores to Middle Harbour. The trail started under the bridge and skirts the waterfront around to Fisher Bay, a little sub-tropical rainforest wilderness with a waterfall and tiny natural beach. After passing through some bush the trail steps down onto Sandy Bay which is a large expanse of pure white sand. Following the trail along the water’s edge we reached Clontarf Beach, again a ridiculously beautiful piece of white sand and clear blue waters. Being the weekend there were lots of little white boats out on the water and a few people kayaking and paddleboarding. The houses here are amazing, huge glass frontages which open up directly onto the beach. 

Clontarf Beach

The trail then enters the Sydney Harbour National Park.  Clambering up through the bush we walked the trail directly above Castle Rock Beach. This little ribbon of beach has a small waterfall which pours a stream of fresh water on to the sand at the foot of the rocky hillside. We headed out to Grotto Point which is where the trail got a bit bush-wacky and we needed to do a bit of scrambling. It was so worth it though because at the southernmost point stands a tiny white lighthouse built in 1911 but is still active today. We also saw a fat Australian Water Dragon sunbathing on the rocks with the stunning view of the harbour behind.

Grotto Point

Water Dragon

Climbing the trail back up from Grotto Point we followed it around the headland where there is an extensive area of Aboriginal rock carvings including whales, fish and an emu. The trail continues across rock outcrops and through bush but with some well-protected lookdown points providing outstanding Harbour views. Directly below one of the first lookouts we came to is Crater Cove, named because it looks like a volcanic crater (although it isn’t) and there are a number of small shacks built by locals in the 1920’s and 30’s used as fishing huts. These have now become heritage items and are part of the National Park. We next came to Tania Park, where wildflowers were starting to emerge with the start of Spring. The trail led to a lookout called Dobroyd Head which provided unforgettable views out to Manly, the Harbour and the Dobroyd headland. The bush here is pretty typical of coastal heath: all tea-tree and banksia scrub.

The trail then continues onto Reef Beach, a very quiet and natural bush beach which looks towards Manly. The trail then leaves the National Park and drops down to a rocky corner of 40 Baskets Beach. We were lucky that the tide was low because normally the trail requires getting wet. The beach gets its name because apparently in 1885 there was a catch of 40 baskets of fish and sent to troops interned at Manly Quarantine Station. There was only one lonely fisherman out when we were there though and plenty of oysters on the rocks. We then reached the last patch of forest before reaching the North Harbour Reserve and started a pleasant stroll beside more beautiful houses alongside the crescent of Fairlight Beach. From here we could see the end of the trail – Manly Cove and Ferry Wharf. The final stretch up beach led us to the busy Ferry Terminal where we stopped for a pub lunch.

View from Dobroyd Head