Day 7: AAT Kings Magical Manly Tour & Captain Cook Lunch Cruise

This was the third day I bused into the city and left my Berlin Blue rental car curbside back in Kingsford. Up early for the AAT Kings official Magical Manly & Beyond Tour which is unofficially the Sydney North & Manly Beach Tour. What a tour it was crossing the Harbour Bridge to the north with a stop at Milsons Point for what I call the ultimate trifecta Sydney picture—you, the Opera House, the Sydney Skyline and the Harbour Bridge!   Hopping back on the coach bus and leaving the safe driving to the expert—our driver Rob; and leaving the tour guiding to the expert—again our driver and tour guide Rob! Next stop was the Arabanoo Lookout at Dobroyd Head in the Sydney Harbour National Park. What a view of the Tasmanian Sea, the  sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand, with the Manly headland in the foreground.   Our next stop was Manly Beach and it was a magical place. The Corso, a pedestrian Main Street connects the two Manly Beaches—the one on the ocean and the one on Manly Cove. I liked the Shell Sculpture in front of the Manly Wharf, a big shell that connects the natural environment; the harbour and the ocean marine life. Supposedly it emits clouds of mist but all I saw was a young lady sitting peacefully atop the shell and then she disappeared. The tour stop was lengthy, enough time to mill around Manly and be at the beach and also enjoy the community feel of a small town. I love Manly now just like all the Sydneysiders who mentioned it to me as the place to go and have a relaxing good time. CLICK here for a VIDEO INTERVIEW with Captain James Cook! Before I knew it the AAT Kings Tour was over and it was time for the Captain Cook Lunch Cruise. I didn't realize I was going to meet the real Captain Cook. I mean Captain James  Cook of the HMS Endeavour, the first to reach Australia in 1770 near Botany Bay. The New South Wales Golf Club overlooks Botany Bay and Captain Cook found fresh water there below the 16th tee. The Captain has a bit of an edge to him and was astonished to learn that now there was a golf course above his old watering hole. The more soft spoken and humble Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship USS Enterprise he is not, though he is a likeable fellow and puts on one heck of a luncheon aboard his modern replacement ship called the MV Sydney 2000. The character actor who is Captain Cook is Paul Ellis and here is his website—The Whole World is a Stage! Employ him, he means business!   The lunch on the Top Deck was elegant and delicious (see pictures of appetizer, entree and dessert below). The cruise was spectacular and a timely Grand Finale to my Sydney touring! Having taken the Sydney South & Bondi Beach tour on Monday afternoon and the Sydney North & Manly Beach in the morning, cruising along the perimeter of the vast and jagged Sydney Harbour, brought all the geography and history learned to a comprehensive crescendo for me! While tour stops, photo opportunities and great zoom lenses enable great pictures, there is no better vantage point than being on the water in the harbour aboard one of the nine Captain Cook vessels. I can see why Captain Cook remains on the water to this very day. Another great day on the Golf Journey to Australia & New Zealand! Like I say in the last picture of the Day 7 post- I could not be happier with the first week of the ‘Golf Journey to Australia & New Zealand.” It has been beyond my wildest dreams! Thank you to many, many people and business organizations! (-:   (Facebook Link, Andy Reistetter, 11/7/14) Check out this lunch!