Ferries, Sea, Sand, Rocks and Cliffs
By this time in my trip I had already been away from home for about a month. And though I have been actively engaged in serving such as in Japan, sight seeing on my own, or even going to church services at GMT or in Cairns. Feeling a little off, I needed my quality time with the Lord, to just be still with him. And the best way for me to do that is find a quiet spot in nature to sit and read my Bible under a shade of trees with a sunny breeze around me. This was just what I received on my trip to Manly Beach.
As I set out to head to the Circular Quay, the cloudy winter skies began to lift. Once on the ferry, I found a spot on the upper aft deck to view Sydney Cove so that I could get a good picture of the Sydney Opera House from that vantage point. I ended up chatting it up with two gals who were also visiting from the states. One gal just visiting from NY with her friend who was living in Melbourne for a year. They understood that sometimes people need to take advantage of opportunites like to travel when you are in a transition stage.
We parted ways as we docked onto Manly Wharf. Conveniently located as you exit the ferry on the street entrance to the wharf, a friendly visitor center guide made some suggestions to what I could see and do.
With the mindset of just exploring, I was open to what she had to say. Recommending that I take a walk along the beach promanade towards Shelley Beach to the rocks where I can view the other northern beaches along the shore. I was not disappointed as I made my way there especially people watching - all the families with little kids on their foot scooters. Or seeing old couples taking a mid-morning walk, recognizing other tourists who were on the ferry, or ladies pushing their baby strollers.
And the view kept getting better and better as the skies got bluer and bluer when the clouds cleared. The tides were still low for me to walk onto the rocks and crashing waves in the bay. I was envious of those homes with their daily view of such a beautiful beach.
And as I progressed on my walk towards Shelley I passed the Fairy Bower sea pool. Free and open to anyone to take a swim.
But when I finally reached the calmer Shelley beach, I felt like I found my little piece of paradise. The water was calmer than at Manly surf, and the best part was the rocks beneath the grove of trees at Cabbage Tree reserve. It was enticing me to climb up them to sit and chill. It was my perfect spot for my quiet time.
And apparently other people was attracted to it as well, as teenagers where passing through on it either coming back from surfing or like me exploring the rest of the rocks at the headpoint. One of the surfer directed me to a path that was easier to get to the top path to get to views from the top of the cliff. After wrapping up my quiet time, I headed back to the beach and up the path. The view from the head point was very accessible and I did not know how I lucky I was to not have it crowded to enjoy such scenic views in peace and quiet. And there was even a plaque with a verse from Psalms 93:4 on it, "Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea--the LORD on high is mighty."
And the view of the cliff over the rocks was amazing to watch the crashing waves. The pictures doesn't do it justice to hear the force of the waves or how really high I was standing. Or the beauty of the terrain.
The photo gallery shows more views of the cliff and rocks and what I did on my trip out to Manly. It was beautiful and displayed the majestic creation of the Lord, and how fortunate we are to be able to experience his beauty and creation.
But as the verse says nothing is mighter than the Lord and more majestic than him. This is merely a glimpse of his wonder and power. And I can't imagine how in awe we will really be one day to see and meet him.