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Shelly Beach Walking Track
The Shelly Beach Walking Track is a track from the Barracks Precinct to Manly Beach. I did this walk as part of my visit to Quarantine Station and the Les Sculptures Refusees. You can find more details about that walk here: North Head Quarantine Station.
This walk is about 4km long and is mostly on elevated steel and concrete paths. There is a portion of the walk that is not clearly marked and I took the wrong turn twice. This portion is near the Shelly Headland Upper Lookout and the path needs a bit of climbing up and down some rocks.
The walk can also be taken the other way - from Manly Beach to Quarantine Station. However, that way would be more uphill than this.
From the Quarantine Station gates I walked along N Scenic Drive Rd and took a right at St. Barbara's Ave to get to the Barracks Precinct.
A Kookaburra I saw not far from the Quarantine Station gates
A Masked Lapwing at the Barracks Precinct
The Barracks Precinct is made former military defense buildings.
Past the buildings is the starting point of the Shelly Beach Walking Track. A lot of people head this way so it is not hard to find.
The first part of the track is made of elevated steel paths.
The path crosses the road at Blue Fish Drive.
The next part of the path is made of concrete. There is a lot of visible damage from the recent bush fire here. This part was also hotter and I recommend sun protection.
Soon the Pacific Ocean comes to view
The Northern beaches can be seen from afar
The concrete path will end at a wall. I found this part confusing. There is a rough path to the left and to the right parallel to the wall. Based on the map I had to take a left so I took the left path. This track was hard and I had to go down some rocks. Then after about 100m, I came into a clearing and I realised it is the wrong path. The path was very narrow with very dense bush so I decided to walk back.
I walked back to where the concrete path ended and was still confused. There were several groups walking ahead and behind me but I cannot see anyone now. Where did they go? Maybe I will wait for someone to pass by.
Back at the wall where the concrete path ended, I realised there is a small steel door at the bottom half of the wall. It looks like a doggy door. So I pushed the doggy door open and the path is there!
So once the concrete path ends just go through the small door. Unfortunately I did not have the mind to take a photo here. I will surely come back to make sure I was not imagining this and just entered Wonderland. :)
Just outside the doggy door is this view.
Near the Shelly Headland Upper Lookout
The path from here was not easy. It was not clearly marked and there are a lot of big rocks on the way. There are also a lot of other smaller paths - I took a wrong one again and had to double back. I noticed that the smaller ones usually have big branches blocking them, so my advice is to take the clearest path. I also wait for people coming from the opposite direction and notice which path they are coming from.
This rough path then suddenly ends at Bower Drive. From here the path is clearly marked and the views here are amazing.
ShellyUpper Headland Lookout from Bower Drive
Down some steps is the Shelly Beach. This is a very busy beach on sunny days with people swimming, sun bathing and diving. There are cafes and restaurants here as well.
The scenic walkway then leads to the very popular Manly Beach.
ShellyBeach from the walkway
Manly Beach from the walkway
Here is a Google Maps of the track I took. On Google maps the walking track is not connected to the road so I marked the correct path in orange.
Here is a 5-min video of my walk that includes Quarantine Station Les Sculptures Refusees. The Shelly Beach Walking Track starts at 3:18. My gopro ran out of memory though so the video ends along the concrete paths.
Here is a full video of the walk. The Shelly Beach Walking Track starts at 18:32
Concord Foreshore Trail is a 6km tree trail from Rhodes to Concord West. It passes through the Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway, around Concord Repatriation General Hospital and around Yaralla House. This trail is one of the quietest tracks I have taken so far having seen only a few people along the trail. This can be relaxing but can also be a bit uncomfortable. There is construction work at the hospital which forced me to go around residential streets to find the access back to the trail. Without this detour the trail would only be 5km. To get to the starting point of this trail I took the train to Rhodes. From the train station, cross the roads to Brays Bay Reserve. Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway Concord Foreshore Trail starts at Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway. It is a very well maintained concrete and wooden track. There are also audio guides playing along the walkway. Brays Bay Reserve At the end of this walkway, the trail loops around the Concord Repatriation General Hospita...
Busbys Pond and Duck Pond loop is a 4km loop around Centennial Park. It has asphalt pathway for walkers and joggers. Cars and bikes share the road around the park. Dogs are allowed on leash along the walking paths and allowed to roam on the grass. There are also dedicated paths for horses around the park. I took the tram from the city to Moore Park. Buses also go here from the city. From the tram/bus stop, walk along Lang Rd to get to the start of the loop. It was raining on that day. I was wondering why it's called a duck pond, and lo and behold, there are ducks crossing the street! It's amusing to see cars waiting for the ducks to cross the road. There are nice views of water and greenery around the Centennial Park. I will surely be back when the weather is nicer here at Centennial Park. Here is a Google Maps of the track I took: Google Maps of Busbys Pond and Duck Pond Loop Here is a short video of a part of the loop:
Kirribilli is a suburb located just north of the city. It is popular during Spring for the scattered jacaranda trees around the neighbourhood and along Milson Park. There are also several lookouts with amazing views of Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House and the city skyline. This is an urban walk that takes around 2km passing through Kirribilli streets and lookouts. To get to Kirribilli, I took a ferry from Circular Quay to Kirribilli Wharf. It is a short quiet ride on a smaller, less busy ferry. At Kiribilli wharf, there is a popular coffee shop called Celsius Coffee Co. The shop was very busy even on a weekday so I was not able to stop here for coffee. Other options of getting to Kirribilli is via North Sydney Wharf, if you want to get to Milsons Park directly. You can also get there by train, via Milsons Point station. Holbrook Ave Right outside the wharf along Holbrook Ave, you would be able to see plenty of jacaranda trees in bloom during Spring. Grab the chance to take p...
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