Snorkeling in Manly Beach (January 24, 2026)
Before sharing about Manly Beach, I should start with sharing that we had a fire alarm go off in our building last night. Everyone is safe and there was no fire — just a sensitive smoke alarm that went off when someone else was cooking steak in their room. I can relate, that happens to me at home all the time. It was different, however, having it happen here in Sydney.
One of the greatest adventures you can have that costs next to nothing here in Sydney is just riding the ferry to Manly Beach. It’s about a 30 minute ride and before the Sydney Harbor Bridge (see related post) was built, this is how everyone got around — by ferry.
Taking the Ferry from Circular Quay is a spectacular 30 min ride
The views are stunning and if the water isn’t too choppy (ours was smooth) you can enjoy sitting up front in the shade while enjoying a gentle breeze (and taking a heap of pictures, of course).
And, of course, Manly Beach was as beautiful as we had been told it would be. Well worth the epic 30 minute ferry to get here.
Taking in the beauty that is Manly Beach here in Sydney, Australia
What neither Violet nor I were expecting to see here on the beach were turkeys. Yes, wild turkeys. What? And there were iguanas too. Not that iguanas are any less impressive, but they feel more appropriate for sunning on hot rocks than turkeys.
Violet and I spent an hour snorkeling around Shelly Beach where the waves are considerably lower and the coral much more prevalent. Violet spotted a stingray and we both enjoyed watching it watch us. I spotted a school of juvenile boxer fish. And we both saw a small(ish) black-tipped reef shark.
While we didn’t see all of the animal life below the sea, I’m glad we took a good look at the “Meet the Locals” sign on the beach. We certainly met many of them. While we swam around looking for the sea turtle, we couldn’t find it. Conferring with other snorkelers, they didn’t see it either. Perhaps we’ll have another opportunity on Monday when we scuba dive this reef.
Both Violet and I are getting our Nitrox certifications today. A Nitrox certification (Enriched Air Diver) teaches certified scuba divers how to safely use breathing gas with more oxygen (22-40%) than air, allowing for longer dives and shorter surface intervals by reducing nitrogen intake. This will give us more bottom time and less time above for recovery between dives. I love that 125 scuba dives in, I’m still learning new things and getting additional certifications for future dives.
Tomorrow, we head out to the Blue Mountains. What an epic week we’re having here in Sydney. So glad Violet is with me to enjoy it.
