Our Airbnb was lovely. The hosts have done an awesome job converting their garage and the fact it works out cheaper than a hostel is also a bonus. The only downside to the converted studio,was, well, shall we say, lack of privacy.I mean, the toilet was literally at the end of the bed and if you’re sitting outside, you then have to go in, close the garage door and then visit the bathroom. Nothing more pleasant than lying in bed whilst the other one is in the bathroom…what a nice thought to open this post up 😂…

Friday and Saturday we’re spent being very lazy. Not intentionally but when it torrential downpour outside again, what can you do? Read, write, research new destinations…really getting to explore Australia! 🤣

We did walk down into Freshwater Village Friday evening just to see how far it was. It was a very worthwhile walk, just to get soaked. Turned out it was just one straight road down into the village and took all of ten minutes. Saturday evening the rain let up for an hour or so, so we took the opportunity to sit outside and get some fresh air.Now, if you’ve been reading, you’ll know we’ve grown quite accustomed to card games so what better way to spend the evening. Researching two player card games and me getting shored at because I wasn’t paying attention to the rules. Whoops!

Sunday morning gave us a bit of relief from the rain thankfully. So what else was there to do, after being stuck inside for two days, that visit the beach!We got to Freshwater Beach and it was beautiful. Sun, sea, sand and surf. What the Aussies live for right? The sand was cool, so we laid there for a good few hours, people watching as the surfers just waited, and waited, and waited. I mean seriously, there were waves and there were more waves but they seemed far happier just sitting there chilling on their boards than actually attempting to ride one! Don’t get me wrong, I have no clue how to surf, nor would I be able to as I have the balance of an elephant on a marble, but still. You get where I’m coming from?Either side of us were hills sprawling with houses overlooking the beach. The beach was glorious, but as seems to be our luck in Australia so far, the weather changed in an instant and we went from clear blue sky to thisIt was only when people next to us said “think we’ve picked a good time to leave,” that we turned to see the monstrosity looming over us. And guess what? No sooner had we stepped into our humble abode, the heavens opened. Seriously, have we just come to Australia and brought the English weather with us or something? 300 days of sunshine my arse….

We had two days left in Freshwater. Two days we were going to hope we had sunshine. Hallelujah!! We did! Monday came round and after our rice crispies (me) and coco pops (him) for breakfast, we set off towards Manly. It’s actually possible to get sick and tired of eating the same cereal day after day too! Good old budget travel 😊!!It was picturesque. The sky was blue the sea was so clear and the sand virtually untouched except for footprints every now and then. We walked along the promenade and as usual the sea was full of surfers, casually sitting on their boards waiting for that wave that would see them paddle like crazy, pop up, ride it and then either bail or make it to shore. I truly do wonder how much time they actually spend surfing compared to how long they spend just sitting on their boards??The streets were lined with surf shops renting boards and we came across the main street full of shops and places to eat. There was also an awesome souvenir shop!!The street is known as The Corso and is a world away from the old site it used to look like.The beach was delightful and the surf pretty fierce at times as the waves came crashing down. We sat and watched the world go by whilst soaking up the glorious sun. It was nice to actually see them riding the waves! The beach was pretty much empty. I get people would be working but i envisaged it being a lot busier.Volleyball nets were lined up along the beach and they were advertising lessons for beginners each weekend. The great thing about Australia is that they have water fountains, everywhere. All along the beach and on the streets. It can get extremely hot so it’s a lovely touch! We walked back towards our humble abode but not before visiting the pool. That’s right, there was a pool on the beach. How weird is that? You can swim in it too it just says to watch out for jellyfish late at night. I guess they get washed in with the water. The view from the pool opened up manly.With the waves crashing down against the rocks, we chose which apartment we’d like to own overlooking the beach and headed back for our penultimate dinner in Freshwater, consisting of noodles. Our last day in Freshwater was also spent at the beach. We went back to Freshwater beach to soak up the last of the sun, whilst wondering why people go to the beach dressed in black leggings and back long sleeved top? The waves were huge! The sea was so clear and you could see fish swimming around! The current was so strong that I went in by one flag and came out pretty much at the other! Good job the sea was warm! Certainly not a bad way to spend our sixth month on the road!!

Until next time….