As 2019 drew to a
close as per tradition my attention turned towards the final big outing of the
year. Unfortunately due to my extensive work commits with the opening of the
Lightrail, City of Sydney NYE and the new Sydney Metro Southwest project I had done
very little training.
Several course options
were discussed by Anton and myself and eventually we had settled on the Mount
Solitary route. Unfortunately at the time of the run parts of Mount Solitary
and the Jamison Valley were still ablaze which made this no longer an option. Several
other ideas were then discussed and the general consensus was that due to
Extreme and Catastrophic fire conditions remote trails should probably be
avoided.
As it so happens the
new Manly to Bondi walk had just been opened joining many existing trails
together to form a 80km route taking in the best of what Sydney’s harbour has
to offer. It seemed like the most logical choice. The date was set for December
27th.
December 27th was my
19th straight day of work and would be a 13 hour shift from 6:00am till 7:00pm.
It was a tough day which unfortunately ran over meaning that I didn’t get back
to the office until just after 7:30. I loaded the route onto my phone and had a
quick shower to freshen up. The bag was hastily packed and water bladder filled
before I was ready to go. With all of the food for 80km and all of my camera
gear and tripod I wondered if I would regret the heavy pack later. I tried not
to worry about it too much as I jumped in an Uber to Circular Quay to rendezvous
with Anton.
We didn’t have to wait
too long for the Manly Ferry which was nice. It was an enjoyable trip which got
us into Manly wharf at 9:20pm. We started the walk with the intention of
getting some fast food to go and eat on the run but surprisingly all of the shops
in the mall were shut. We both had plenty of food so just decided to crack on
with it.
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| At the start in Manly |
The foreshore area is
well lit which meant that torches weren’t required. We enjoyed the path around
to Shelley Beach were we would hit the trail for the first time. Head torches
were switched on and we plunged into the darkness. The breeze was picking up
which made the temperature quite pleasant for walking. We had a funny moment at
the entrance to the National Park where the trail goes through a small gap in
an old stone fence. There is a gate with a “no dogs” sign that in the darkness
looked like a fence. We walked back and forth past it 3 times before realising
it was a gate! From here it was up towards North Head and the old army
barracks. Many of the paths/roads here were quite open and wide which meant we
could continue in the dark without the aid of the torches, it was a real treat!
At the tip of the headland we were treated to some nice views of the city
nightscape in the distance. The trail then loops back on itself through the
barracks were we came across a guy washing his car, seemed a little odd for midnight
but then again he probably thought the same thing about us! From here we
descended down to the beach at Spring Cove for what would be one of the
highlights of the walk. As we reached the sand music began playing from some boats out on the
water, the Lane 8 Remix of Innerbloom. It was epically loud and was echoing all
around the bay. It really fired us up and gave us a nice boost! Spirits were
fairly high but I was a little worried about my right knee as it was starting
to give me a little grief, it was fair too early to be dealing with that kinda
pain.
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| The gate that had us confused for a while :) |
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| Sydney's Nightscape in the distance |
After passing back
past the Manly Wharf we started the “Manly to Spit” part of the course. By now
we had decided that given the lack of training and the need to not be out all
of the following day that a Bondi finish was not going to happen. Circular Quay
was a very suitable alternative and would still mean that we crack the marathon
distance. We stopped for our first proper 10 minute rest at North Harbour
Reserve a bit after 1am. I spent most of the time stretching my right quad
which made a massive difference and virtually eliminated the knee pain for the
remainder of the hike. At Tania Park we stopped briefly as well to get a photo
of North and South Heads. Through this section there was also a small section
of bush that had been recently burnt (possibly a hazard reduction) and the
smell of bushfire was strong. Once we reached Clontarf we enjoyed the walk
along the sand and came across a few guys having a late night fish. From there
it wasn’t too much further until we reached the Spit Bridge were again we
found a number of people fishing. We crossed over the bridge and then sat down
for a 10 minute rest. It was 3:00am and both our energy levels were pretty low.
For me it was a real low patch, it felt like it was still such a long way to
go!
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| North and South Heads from Tania Park |
We continued on
through silent streets past Chinaman’s Beach until eventually reaching
Balmoral. I refilled the water bladder here. It was at this point I decided to
make more of an effort to drink more water as we had been going for over 6
hours at this point and I definitely hadn’t been taking in enough fluids. At
the southern end of Balmoral Beach you cross the oval and make your way up an enormous set of stairs to the ridge of Middle Head. After a considerable climb
it seemed like the end was near until we came across a barbed wire fence and a
locked gate. The bloody path was closed at night! It would have been nice if
there were signs at the bottom to pre-warn you before the massive climb! It
just made no sense either as we could hear cars on the road above so it’s not
like there was even an area we were locked out of, just a fence and gate in the
middle of the trail. It was a classic stitch up! We sure as hell didn’t want to
back track so there was nothing for it but to attempt to climb through the
barbed wire. It appeared that it had definitely been done before and in the end
we managed to get through without too much trouble. It was only about 50 metres
from the fence to Middle Head Road. We waited under the cover of the bushes for
a car's headlights to pass and then raced over the road and back into the
darkness of the trails without anyone being any the wiser.
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| Scaling the barbed wire fence |
We passed by Chowder
Bay wharf and Clifton Gardens and I reminisced about trips to the Gardens back
in primary school. It was about this time that astronomical twilight begun.
With the thought of sunrise around the corner and a few lolly snakes I was finally
coming out of the low patch. Just goes to show that on these endurance efforts
if you don’t give up and ride it out things will eventually get better. I was
really keen to try and reach Bradley’s Head for sunrise so started cranking up
the pace. With the lingering smoke from the bushfires the orange glow from the
rising sun was awesome! Just as I was coming out of my low patch Anton was
going into his. He went on ahead whilst I stopped to get a few photos of the
glow and then of a massive cruise ship coming into the harbour. I knew it
wouldn’t be long till sunrise so I jogged the final few hundred metres to the
headland. Anton lay down for a short nap whilst I made the most of the sunrise
getting some shots of the Bradley’s Head Lighthouse with the rising sun behind
it. It was a spectacular site!
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| Glow from the rising sun |
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| The big cruise ship coming into Sydney Harbour |
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| Glow from the rising sun |
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| Glow from the rising sun |
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| Sunrise behind Bradley's Head Lighthouse |
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| Sunrise behind Bradley's Head Lighthouse |
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| Sunrise behind Bradley's Head Lighthouse |
Once we got moving
again it was at a greatly reduced pace, Anton’s legs were giving him grief and
he was beginning to limp. I could see that his energy levels were dropping but
we tried to stay positive. We passed by Taronga zoo and continued onwards along
the trail. By the time we reached Little Sirius Cove his stomach was starting
to go as well. Leaving the reserve at the Cove you make your way up a set of
stairs and the increased effort of the stairs was enough to put Anton over the
edge and it wasn’t long before we was in the gutter saying goodbye to his most
recent snacks and water. We rested here for a while and Anton was determined to
continue. We continue onwards slowly but he was really suffering. He had
donated blood the week prior and after a long week at work he hadn’t really
recovered properly. It was clear that this hard effort and lack of sleep was a
step too far and his body was starting to shut down. We only made it a few
hundred metres to the Mosman Bay Wharf and by the time we got here he couldn’t stop
throwing up. We stayed here for at least half and hour to see if some rest
would help but it was to no avail. Anton would sadly throw in the towel here
but insisted that I continue on without him. Selfishly I was glad of his
encouragement as I would have been disappointed to have not reached the
marathon distance. Anton waited for the next ferry to Circular Quay whilst I
popped on the headphones and continued on alone.
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| Passing by Taronga Zoo |
I found a rhythm
quickly and with the trekking poles I was cranking out a really solid pace
about 5.5km/h which is not bad after a 13 hour shift at work, being up all
night and already 10 hours into the hike! I felt great with music cranking, the
sun beating down and a nice breeze off the harbour. Cremorne Point was quickly
conquered followed by Kurraba Point before I made my way through Kirribilli.
Eventually I reached Mary Booth Reserve and was treated to an awesome view of
the Harbour Bridge and Opera House! I stopped here for a few minutes to grab
the camera out and take onboard a few snakes. Next it was the climb up the to
Harbour Bridge deck and then across the harbour towards the finish. I was
really happy to be finishing so strongly after quite a low patch through the
night. Once over the bridge I made the final descent down the Argyle Steps and
out onto the Circular Quay foreshore. We are lucky to have such a beautiful
city and it was nice to finish in the heart of it. I passed the wharf and made
my way up Loftus Street to finish in Macquarie Place putting my hands on the
Obelisk and stopping the clock after 43.8km and 12 hours, 14 minutes & 21
seconds!
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| Huge staircase at Kirribilli |
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| Finally the Harbour Bridge is within reach! |
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| Sydney Harbour Panorama |
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| The Opera House taken from the Harbour Bridge Deck |
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| At the finish by the Obelisk in Macquarie Place! |
It had been ages since
I had done an all night effort like that and I am really pleased with the
result. It was a shame the Anton couldn’t make it all the way but damn we had
fun while it lasted! 2019 is now in the books and a new decade is now upon us. I
look forward to the many adventures ahead!
