Sydney has better beaches than any other city in the world, and you’d be crazy
to go there and not get your share. Trouble is, they get pretty crowded. So,
how would you like to find one that’s usually empty at the height of summer,
a 200yd stretch of bush-backed desert-island perfection you can have all to
yourself?
Store Beach isn’t in the guidebooks, and many locals haven’t even heard of it,
let alone been there. There’s a reason for that. You can’t reach it by land.
You’ve got to paddle. Which sounds like a hassle, until you realise that
getting there is actually easy, and almost as rare a pleasure as arriving.
You could do the whole round trip from the centre of town in a couple of
hours, but there’s no hurry. Let’s make a day of it.
Start bright and early at Circular Quay. (Naturally, it’s square-shaped. This
is Australia.) Hop on the stately green-and-yellow ferry to Manly (£5.70
return): a little tacky, a lot trendy, the suburb now pulls in surfers in
their neoprene-clad droves.
The half-hour ride just isn’t long enough for a trip this pretty. You nudge
almost to the foot of the girdery gorgeousness of the Harbour Bridge, then
swing right to within a wombat throw of the Opera House. Then it’s east, and
the world’s biggest and most beautiful natural harbour opens out in front of
you.
You pass Russell Crowe’s Woolloomooloo pad, the ominous grey destroyers of
Potts Point naval base, Shark Island and the millionaires’ mansions of
Balmoral and Vaucluse. This is, believe it or not, a commuter route. It sure
beats the M25.
The ferry docks on the harbour shore of Manly. The town is built across a
headland, so it has another beach, facing the Pacific Ocean - which is where
we’re going for breakfast. It’s a five-minute stroll through the
kiss-me-quick tat of the Corso to the thundering breakers of Manly beach.
Absolutely the best spot for brekkie is the chic Ocean Beach House, a few
yards to your left on North Steyne. Prime location, bang over the sand, with
a grandstand view of the massed ranks of surfers ripping the waves 50yd out;
laid-back modern decor and an Ibiza chillout soundtrack; and great
breakfasts. Choose between muesli and a smoothie (£7) or a free-range-egg
fry-up with a morning kir royale (£11.50). We know which we’re having.
Back down Wentworth Street - stopping at the corner of Darley Road to pick up
a picnic of fresh ham, game pâté, goat’s cheese, olives and Canberra rosé
from the Four Olives deli - and, just yards from the ferry stop, you’ll find
the matey surfies of Manly Boat & Kayak Centre.
A double kayak costs £24 for three hours, and there’s a dry bag for the nosh.
Don’t worry, it’s the laziest of half-hour paddles: you can see out through
the headlands to the wild swells of the Pacific, but here the water’s calm
and easy. Mostly. Just don’t stray too close to the ferries - they make a
hell of a wash.
Round the rocks of Little Manly Point and you’ll see Store Beach for the first
time, half a mile off: a strip of creamy sand, backed by hills covered in
impenetrable bush. No roads come here. No paths, either. Yachties picnic
offshore at weekends, but mostly it’s deserted, apart from the local colony
of penguins.
Paddle ashore, hop out, kick back. It’s pristine: the only sound is the squeak
of the powdery sand under your feet, the only sign of human presence a small
notice proclaiming the beach to be part of Sydney Harbour National Park.
Paddle, swim in the clear water, work on your tan, then sit in the shade of
a gumtree and tuck into that picnic, gazing across the turquoise wavelets at
the skyscrapers in the distance.
And ponder. Most people trek up to Queensland or the Whitsunday Islands for
this sort of splendid isolation, but here you are within a city of 4m
people, utterly alone in one of the most beautiful spots imaginable, an
urban Robinson Crusoe. Only one thing need concern you now. Where did you
pack the corkscrew?
I was interested and surprised to read Steven Bleach's article about Sydney's Secret Beach.
As a boy in the 60s I lived in Little Manly. From my bedroom window I had a view of Store Beach. It was just possible then to walk around to the beach at low tide. A Sunday adventure with my family was to hire a boat from the Little Manly Boat Shed and row around to 'the lagoon', as we called it. We would light a fire and barbecue a feast of steak, chops and snags (sausages). Oysters where plentiful on the rocks and we would feast on them as well.
We didn't swim because there were sharks in the harbour. Fenced off areas where provided at many harbour beaches for safe swimming, I presume this is still the case.
In those days some of the Manly Ferries where still steam driven and the massive engines were visible to the public from a special viewing gallery on the upper deck.
The best pies in Manly were available from The Manly Pie Shop in the Corso a treat after a mornings surfing.
Jonathan Evans, Colchester, Uk