Kayaking & Picnicking in Manly

It's been a while since my last post, and I apologise for that. Life threw me a couple of curve balls, but I'm happy to be back on my laptop, drinking a latte and typing in the sun.

Now that I’m back in the swing of things, I’ll tell you a little about last weekend. It was a special occasion for Anthony and myself: our three-year anniversary. In the spirit of equality, compromise and taking the pressure off, we planned our celebration together, and I have to say, it all went splendidly. We stayed a night in Manly (through Airbnb of course) and spent the next day at the beach.

Because we were kayaking, we stayed around Manly Cove, not the main beach. It’s such a gorgeous area, a little tourist-y but still cool and relaxed. Obviously, there are plenty of cafes to choose from, but we stumbled into one called The Manly Coffee Guild. The coffee was good, nice and smooth, and the guys in there were super sweet and didn’t laugh at us when we asked if we could charge our selfie stick behind the counter (I was highly opposed to this idea but you gotta do what you gotta do for a good kayak photo.)

Speaking of photos, I noticed that a lot of the shots I took came up a bit smudgy, because my lense was foggy and I didn’t realise! Also, I didn’t take as many as I wanted, but I think both of these issues were a sign of being too preoccupied, which is what you want on your anniversary, right?

The boys at Manly Kayak Centre were really helpful and calming, they looked liked they lived there, and moved in and out of the water with a sense of ease that I was totally jealous of. They told us to paddle to Store Beach, because it wasn’t accessible by car or even foot really. They gave us a map, we stuffed our stuff into a waterproof bag, then they helped us into the kayak and sent us on our way.

So the actual kayaking. It was fun, don’t get me wrong. But as you know, we are not very active people, therefore, kayaking against the wind all the way to another beach killed us a little bit. Plus, my dad instilled a fear of sharks in me the night before, so there was that. But we pulled through with aching arms – and weirdly, legs – and I managed not to bite Anth’s head off too much for almost steering us into the rocks.

Anyway, Store Beach was absolutely beautiful, serene and still. We packed a picnic with provisions from Coles and Pressed Juices, and sat down on my new Turkish towel from Twenty3 (which is amazing by the way). We ate, checked out the rock pools, jumped in the water for a bit, lay on the sand, then Anth had to drag me kicking and screaming back to the kayak.

Emotionally and physically, it was a full day, a contrasting mix of stress and contentment, fun and frustration. But in the end we had learnt new things about each other and ourselves, and came out happy. Wait, that kind of sounded like the description of a successful relationship. Well what do you know? 

Till next Sunday everyone!

Manly Coffee Guild

1/10-16 Darley Rd, Manly NSW 2095

www.facebook.com/eastcoastcoffeemanly

Manly Kayak Centre

Eastside Pier Manly Wharf

Manly NSW 2095

www.manlykayakcentre.com.au