NORTH HEAD CLOSURE UPDATE | 30 October

Great news! NPWS and Harbour Trust have been working hard over the last week to open up parts of North Head.

In light of this, we’ve included an updated route on the B2M map, still in purple.

You’re now able to follow most of the trail up to North Head until you reach the sandstone wall just before (or West of) the North Head Sanctuary Visitors Centre.

1. At this point, don’t go through the wall. Turn left and follow the wall up the west side until it joins the road then turn left up the road. Pretty quickly soon after you’ve joined the road, take the first fire trail on your right.

2. This fire trail will bring you through the bush and out to an oval where you’ll follow the concrete path around to the left then as it joins the road and veers right back to the barracks precinct where the B2M signs will start again.

Click the link below to view the map and remember to download the App for your journey.

North Head Closure | 23 October 2020

Due to the Hazard reduction burns on Saturday October 17, most of North Head is temporarily closed.

This section, which falls in the final 8km of the Walk, will reopen over the coming weeks. We will keep you updated as it happens.

In the interim, we’ve included a temporary route on the B2M map in purple.

Here are some track notes to help direct you on this temporary route.

This route follows the standard B2M to Little Manly Beach and Collins Beach.

1. From the top of Collins Beach road, where it meets North Head Scenic Drive, turn left passing through the heritage archway until North Head Scenic Drive becomes Darley Road. At this point, the old Manly Hospital will be on your left.

2. Turn right up Bluefish Drive and follow this bitumen road for 300m where you’ll turn left to join the Shelly Beach to Barrack Precinct Walk, bringing you back on to the Bondi to Manly Walk.

Please contact us on contact@bonditomanly.com if you have any questions.

To read more about the closures visit Harbour Trust and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services.

Not to be missed : Cremorne Point

Initially granted to a Scottish watchmaker, then 'Robertson Point', after three decades of private ownership, was leased out to two local businessmen in 1856. 

They created a harbour-side amusement park - 'Cremorne Gardens', fit with a carousel, music and dancing stages, a rifle-shooting gallery, refreshments and themed local walks through the surrounding bush and headland. 

Failing to remain a success, at two shillings a visit, the seaside amusement park evolved into a popular local garden for leisure seekers and weekend holiday makers. 

In the 1880's the land owner James Milsons Jr, looking to capitalise on the incredible location, began plans for residential development around the peninsula.

An 1828 Government Order stipulating that a 100-foot setback be retained on remaining harbour foreshore lands around Sydney presented a problem.

Determined to incorporate the 100-foot shoreline into the development proposals, James Milson Jr sparked four court cases seeking to revoke the reservation ruling.

Unsuccessful in his attempts, he blatantly displayed allotments for sale, including the 100-foot reservation which angered the Crown and led to a Supreme Court Hearing. In 1891 the Supreme Court, after listening to passionate residents of the area, concluded that 'the land, therefore, belonged to the public, and always had belonged to the public.' 

But the battle wasn't over just yet. 

Around the same time, the Sydney and Port Hacking Coal Company Ltd. sought a license to mine coal at Cremorne Point. The community and the newly amalgamated North Sydney Council combined forces to protest the industrialisation over 12 years and, in 1905, the Cremorne Reserve was gazetted.

Through fierce community and Council support, with prominent Australian artist Arthur Streeton passionately involved, this beautiful public asset was preserved for the many generations to come.

Best Hidden Beaches on the Bondi to Manly Walk

With 49 beaches stretching between Bondi to Manly, we’ve compiled the best hidden gems for you to explore.

With the new COVID-safe summer plans in place, the beaches around Sydney have limits of the number of people they can accommodate while keeping everyone safe. Please check Council websites for more information before you head to the beaches below.

Enjoy!

Shark Beach

Nestled in a National Park, with grass, sand, a beach bath enclosure and a great little café for all your coffee and ice cream needs, this is one of the best swim spots in Sydney.

Click here to see where it is.

Milk Beach

This tiny little beach is nestled in front of the famous Strickland House, featured in the movie Australia. Tucked away with clear waters and views across the Harbour. Remember to pack a picnic - there are no shops nearby!

Click here to see where it is.

Queens Beach

A stones throw from Milk Beach is the equally beautiful, but less popular Queens Beach. It’s tiny but the views are glorious and there’s always a little spot to sit in the shade.

Click here to see where it is.

Chinamans Beach

Just passed Balmoral Beach, backing on to a huge grassy Reserve is Chinamans Beach. The perfect spot to stop for a dip looking over the Harbour to Clontarf Beach, before you start the Spit to Manly Walk.

Click here to see where it is.

Washaway Beach

A little bit off the beaten track is Washaway Beach. Looking straight out between the heads, Washaway Beach is one of many incredible small beaches dotted along the Manly Spit Walkway.

Click here to see where it is.

Reef Beach

Reef Beach with it’s glorious blue waters looks straight across the Harbour to Manly Wharf and the final few kms of the Bondi to Manly Walk - a real gem and a popular hidden spot for locals.

Click here to see where it is.

Make sure to pack your swimmers - the water is irresistible!

Leaderboard Update | September

Over the last few crazy months, what started as an 80km 'Walk' has been transformed by our Sydney running community into an 80km (or 50mile) run. 

Each week our elite local running and walking community have been pushing their limits to complete the full 80km in one go. 

We now have an incredible FKT (Fastest Known Time) of 6 hours and 37 minutes by Matty Whittaker and our female FKT by Sophie Brown is just 7 hours and 14 minutes. 

We also have the ultra ultra athletes who decided 80km wasn't enough so turned around and went back to Bondi! 

It's inspiring to see everyone using this incredible public asset. Whether it's for personal growth, a challenge, an activity with friends or to raise money for a great cause, over 1 day or 20, we applaud you. 

I you want to get on there, email us with a link to your tracked recording on contact@bonditomanly.com.

Not to be missed : Parsley Bay Bridge

The ‘Foreshores Vigilance’ movement and the Parsley Bay Reserve Foreshore land at Parsley Bay came into public ownership largely as a result of the efforts of William Notting and his Harbour Foreshores Vigilance Committee which lobbied the State Government from 1905 to secure access to areas of the waterfront for the people of Sydney.

Notting, a keen yachtsman, began his campaign to liberate the foreshores in the late 19th century, and from 1900 was joined by a growing throng of supporters, who boosted his voice in the cause. Like Notting, his fellow activists could foresee the impact of Sydney’s residential growth upon the harbour, as the large, open estates of the few were gradually replaced by dense settlement, and the ‘pond’ in a privately owned ‘paddock’ became fully enclosed by suburban development.

The foreshores of this tiny but beautiful bay have long been one of Sydney's favourite harbour-side places, and since 1906 have been officially reserved for the enjoyment of the public.

That same year, in 1906, Vaucluse Council was considering the benefits of installing a footbridge across 'The Parsley Glen' to improve pedestrian access between the two shores of the Bay. The cable suspension bridge was constructed during 1910 at a cost of £500.

Is the Bondi to Manly Walk dog friendly?

As the Walk uses all the existing tracks around the Harbour and through National Parks, the entire 80km track is not dog friendly.

Below we’ve marked in thick red lines, the sections of the route where dogs are not allowed.

While we endeavour to make all the information as accurate as possible, please be mindful that there may be other areas where dogs are not allowed.

Please assume where dogs are allowed, they must be on a lead unless in a designated dog park.

Updated Bondi to Manly Walk route divided into 10km markers.

Please contact us on contact@bonditomanly.com if you know of any sections which are dog friendly so we can share this with the broader community.

COVID-19 Update: Is the Bondi to Manly Walk still open?

The Bondi to Manly Walk is open and walking or running for exercise is one of the legitimate reasons to leave home.

However, please follow government regulations and keep local during this time. This means, if you can’t access the Walk without driving or using public transport, please wait until restrictions have eased before heading out on the track.

Safety & Etiquette Out on the Walk 

If you feel unwell with cold or flu-like symptoms, please stay home

Practice good hygiene

- Wash your hands frequently using soap

- Carry hand sanitiser that contains a high percentage of alcohol

- Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing using a tissue or your inner elbow 

- Avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes

Avoid touching anything in public spaces

- If you touch anything in a public space, wash or sanitise your hands

Keeping 1.5m from others

- Please keep to the left side of tracks and busy walkways

Be considerate to other walkers

- If walking with another person, go in single file when others approach if necessary to allow the 1.5m distance between walkers. 

- If passing someone on the track, whether going in opposite or the same directions, please alert them to your presence then pass them keeping your distance

- If necessary, please stand to the side to allow other explorers to walk passed at a safe distance. 

For the latest medical advice and updates, please visit the Department of Health website: www.health.gov.au

World Heritage Week: HMAS Sydney

Day 2 in our Heritage Week | The HMAS Sydney I

The HMAS Sydney I was launched in 1912 and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1913.
During the early stages of World War I, HMAS Sydney I was involved in escorting the first ANZAC convoy.
On 9 November 1914, HMAS Sydney I defeated the German cruiser, in the Battle of the Cocos. During 1915-16, it operated from North America to Greenock, Scotland, supporting the Aussie troops.
During late 1917, HMAS Sydney I became the first Australian warship to launch an aircraft, and the first warship to do so from a rotatable platform.

After the end of WWI, HMAS Sydney I spent a year in reserve before being reactivated to serve as Flagship of the RAN. The cruiser was decommissioned in 1928 and broken up for scrap but a few parts remain around Sydney including the Hull, perched beneath the Harbour Bridge right at our half way point.

World Heritage Day: Hornby Lighthouse

To celebrate World Heritage Day, we’re celebrating some of the incredible Heritage sites found along the Bondi to Manly Walk.

First of the ranks: Hornby Lighthouse

This, the Hornby Lighthouse is perched on the tip of South Head with spectacular views. Built in 1858, it was the third lighthouse built in NSW and was built after the wrecking of the Dunbar.

After 81 days at sea, coming from England, the wooden Dunbar arrived at night and, with obscured vision, crashed into the rocks at South Head when trying to enter the Harbour. Of the 122 passengers aboard, only 121 survived.

As a result, our candy coloured Hornsby Lighthouse was built and still lights the way for boats.
Hornby Lighthouse and tributes to the Dunbar are all part of the South Head loop which you can start and finish in Watson’s Bay. Enjoy!

The Bondi to Manly Walk

The new Bondi to Manly Walk links all the existing coastal and harbourside walking tracks between Australia’s two most famous surf beaches, Bondi Beach and Manly Beach. For its entire length, the Bondi to Manly Walk is on public land, with the vast majority of its 80kms on existing well-made and well-maintained bushwalking tracks. It is the product of a collaboration between all six Councils along the Walk.

The Bondi to Manly Walk links four iconic Australian landmarks recognised around the world - Sydney’s Opera House and Harbour Bridge, and Bondi and Manly Beaches.

• MANLY BEACH Manly, so named by Capt. Arthur Phillip in 1788 because of the manly nature of its indigenous people, is famous for its ocean beach and the ferry service from Circular Quay which started in 1852.

• SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE Since opening in 1932 the Harbour Bridge has shaped the City of Sydney. Its steel arch span and two pairs of granite pylons have become a symbol of Sydney and Australia.

• SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE The Sydney Opera House, with its white shell-shaped sail roof, is one of the world’s most famous buildings.

• BONDI BEACH Bondi is Australia’s most famous surf beach and is home to the world’s first lifesaving club. More than a million travellers visit Bondi every year for the quintessential Aussie experience of sun, surf and sand.

Sydney’s world-class Bondi to Manly Walk will be at the heart of Sydney’s national park visitors. Linking 2 of Australia’s most famous beaches the walk will take in another 2 Australian icons while skirting ‘the most beautiful harbour in the world’, this is an experience visitors wouldn’t dare miss.

The Bondi to Manly Walk will inspire millions of people to get outdoors and be more active, whether it’s a visitor on a multi-day trek or the locals who use the newly connected signage to encourage them to be more active in their daily lives.