The Palm Beach Ferry

Until we visited Sydney in 2017, something I had never done (despite spending many weekends in the area in my 20s) was catch the Palm Beach Ferry. The ferry connects Palm Beach (unsurprisingly) in the very north of Sydney, and the area south of Newcastle. It's an attractive ferry ride, which crosses four water bodies: Pittswater, the Hawkesbury River, Broken Bay and Brisbane Water.

Taken from Google Maps

As my Father lives near Ettalong Beach and there is a bus which runs between Palm Beach and outside the apartment we stayed in, in Manly, it made sense to use the service for a direct (if slighly long winded) commute. Because, of course, the bus and ferry timetables don't co-ordinate. Most of the time we caught the train from Woy Woy to Sydney then the Manly Ferry, but Palm Beach made a nice change.

You can see how narrow the channel in Brisbane Water is - and how shallow

From left to right: the Pacific Ocean, Barrenjoey Heads, Pittswater, and Lion Island

There are some really pretty views when the sun is out, and when the weather is less than optimal (surprisingly not uncommon in Sydney in summer) it can feel like an adventure. We crossed under both conditions, the following video is of the second, less sunny crossing. I am amazed at how steady I managed to keep my camera.

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