Saturday in Sydney.
We headed out early towards Pyrmont. My partner-in-crime wanted to do the local Park Run, 5km starting at 8am.
It was a decent walk – the L1 tram would have been an alternative but it was out for works all weekend, and thanks to bad experiences in Melbourne, I avoid replacement buses when I can!
While she ran, I explored. There are some interesting spots, with views of The Bridge and another bridge (Anzac Bridge) – and it’s pretty hilly.
We headed back to the hotel and then headed out again to Circular Quay to catch a ferry to Manly. For this I had to actively ignore Google Maps suggestions of a complicated train plus two bus ride. Maybe it has something in the algorithm to try to avoid the high ferry fares, which is pretty high at $9.20, but there’s a Friday to Sunday cap of $9.65 per day, and with our other travel that day, it was a non-issue.
Anyway the ferry ride was pretty pleasant, though the sky was getting greyer every minute.
We strolled around Manly, headed for the beach, which was looking pretty foreboding, though plenty of volleyball players were making use of the nets.
It started to drizzle and we found a Swedish bakery recommended by friends. The timing was perfect as the rain really started coming down as we ate lunch.
A short walk around in further drizzle (an outdoor street market isn’t so appealing when it’s raining) and we headed back on the ferry.
I noticed besides the Sydney Ferries F1 service, there’s also the Manly Fast Ferry.
While they accept Opal fares, they don’t have a timetable that works well with the other service. This has become more important as the F1’s speed has improved; many trips are almost as fast as the MFF.
- From Circular Quay, most of the time the services alternate, providing a combined 10 minute frequency. But they depart from different quays, and I’m not even sure the MFF was listed on the “Next ferry to Manly” display.
- From Manly, most of the time they are both listed on the board so you can see which departs first, but they’re both timed to leave at the same time for most of the day, and it seems like everybody gravitates towards the F1.
- There’s no specific information reminding passengers that the MFF (20 minute journey) is faster than the F1 (mostly 22, but some 30 minutes).
- All this said, MFF has more frequent peak services, running every 10 minutes. So it’s probably a winner for regular commuters.
Anyway we caught the F1 back. The ride was more rocky this time, as we passed back through the storm.
Back on dry land we had a walk around The Rocks, whose market was more appealing now the rain had passed.
Then back on the train to the hotel for a cuppa.
We’d booked dinner and the Archibalds at the Art Gallery of NSW, a walk through Hyde Park from the hotel.
The restaurant in the Gallery normally does lunch, but with the Archibalds finishing up that weekend, the gallery was open late and there was a special dinner on.
The dinner was very delicious, and then we looked at the Archies (actually the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes).
Some really great stuff, though I was most taken with this work: winner of the Wynne prize, The Waṉambi tree by Gaypalani Waṉambi.
For those in Victoria who’d like to see the Archibald finalists, they’ll be coming to the Shepparton Art Museum in September.
We walked back through the park to the hotel, and pondered having to head back home the next morning.
3 replies on “Sydney Ferries, markets, art”
It slipped my mind but I did notice the faster travelling time for the F1 when I last visited Sydney but I forgot to follow it up later. The fast ferry used to be more expensive than the F1 but now with Opal, it is a viable option, although without the real sense of occasion.
Circular Quay has a lot of issues due to lack of wharf space. Two of the ferry wharves were demolished in the 1950s when it was thought that the ferries were in decline, but now patronage is increasing and there is a contest for space with both ferries and cruise vessels using the wharves. In addition, the main Manly ferry wharf was built for large ferries and is not suitable for the catamarans that now operate almost all Sydney ferry services.
The Manly ferries have two operators, Transdev and MFF, both with Opal fares, so there are no longer any premium fares for a trip to Manly. The two pretty-well dovetail their cat ferry services, but, yes, it is frustrating that they don’t operate from two sides of the same wharf at Circular Quay so that one may more easily choose the next ferry – like at Manly.
The cat services take about 20 minutes for the trip, but they’re still operating the old, large ferries that take 30 minutes, so a cat service is withdrawn every time one of these ferries is running. Commuters prefer the cats, so I think the main patronage of the old ferries is tourists. Cats have revolutionised ferry services in Sydney with their faster journey times, much as the metro has for train commutes.
” thanks to bad experiences in Melbourne, I avoid replacement buses when I can!”
Yes. Same here!