Palm Beach to Manly

33 km (1025 km) | 12 hr

I started the day with a perfect Sydney sunrise over Palm Beach – the most northerly beach in Sydney – with the near full moon setting behind me over Pittwater. I noted the 'Summer Bay' Home and Away film crew there to get the same shots! Then it was the climb up Barrenjoey Headland for its spectacular views up and down the coast, and over the inland waterways of Broken Bay and Pittwater which extends it fingers for many kilometres on the inland side of the narrow peninsula. If you go early enough you can have this magnificent dreaming place all to yourself before the glitterati power walkers of Palmie begin the steep ascent to ritually atone for their capitalist sins.

From Palmie to Avalon the walk was a little disjointed, with some street walking around the headlands (mostly on pretty back roads), but once you are south of Avalon Beach this coast walk is almost uninterrupted beach and headland tracks all the way to Manly. Tens of kilometres of absolute bliss.

If you like your beaches and headlands and ocean and sand as much as I do, then this is an absolutely perfect urban coastal walk - as good as it gets. You can start and end pretty much anywhere along the way and have a brilliant low stress walk - 100% guaranteed! No need to provide full details for this section as you can just search for the 'Sydney Bicentennial Coast Walk (northern beaches)' to get tons of useful info and a great map of the route.

I would suggest a few less famous but IMHO must-see highlights: Careel and Barangelly Headlands (the highest on the northern beaches), Bongin Bongin Bay near Mona Vale, the two fantastic ways around from Warriewood Beach to the Blowhole and Turimetta Headland and Beach - either the track over the outstanding headland or around the rock platform at a lowish tide - and Long Reef, again both the headland and the sensational rock platform around to the main beach. But every beach and headland on this walk is breath-taking. I can't imagine how special it would be for a first-timer – I know that Sydney offers so many breathtaking walks which makes it hard for a visitor to pick and choose, but if you’ve come from far away and love beaches and shoreline then do try to make time to walk this amazing stretch of coastal perfection.

It was a hot (nearing 40°) day in Sydney in the early summer, but the sea breeze at the beach provided natural a/c. Indeed, at times I felt a little chilly – even though those further inland were sweltering! With a light daypack and trainers, along with easy access to drinking water at every beach along the way, I found it rather easy going, although I did remember to slather on a lot of sunscreen!

I 'bunny-hopped' the walk, catching the very frequent 199 bus (Manly to Palm Beach) back to my car twice during the day. I feel more ‘pure’ when I only walk throughout the day, but I did find that the breaks to get back to the car (and quite a few swims) made the walk feel a lot easier than it might have been in one long, hot march.

I’d like to list the beaches and headlands north to south on today's route - just to give those unfamiliar with this part of Sydney an idea of the almost unbelievable extent and variety of this magnificent stretch of coastline:

Barrenjoey (Baranjui), Palm Beach, Little Head, Whale Beach, Careel Headland, Bangalley Head, Avalon Head, Avalon Beach, North Bilgola Head, Bilgola Beach, South Bilgola Head, Newport Beach, Bungan Head, Bungan Beach, Mona Vale Head, Bongin Bongin Beach, Mona Vale Beach, Warriewood Beach, Turimetta Head, Turimetta Beach, Narrabeen Head, North Narrabeen Beach, South Narrabeen Beach, Collaroy Beach, Fishermans Beach, Long Reef Headland, Long Reef Beach, Dee Why Beach, Dee Why Headland, North Curl Curl Beach, South Curl Curl Beach, Freshwater Lookout, Freshwater Beach (Harbord), Queenscliff Headland, Queenscliff Beach, North Steyne Beach, Manly Beach. Incredible!

All of that, with a few more unnamed ones or ones I've left out, in a bit over 30 km of coastline. Sydney may have its share of 'sham, drudgery and broken dreams' but, my god, it can be a stunningly beautiful place at its best. Even though it's a city of 5.5 million people, it is still a paradise for walkers and those who love salt water, views and the beach.