A Break from Routine

Sunday mornings in our household mostly go like this:
6.10am: Alarm goes off
T wide awake, by the prospect of surf; me, not so much awake.
6.15am: Kettle on, as is the scramble to get surf gear/water/picnic etc.
6.30am: Out of the house.
Arrive at Freshwater beach. T surfs for around 90 minutes. I walk - usually to Manly and then make it up as I go along depending on how busy it is at the front in Manly, or wether I feel like walking up steep hills, or not.

But this Sunday was different. 
We awoke at 6am, for a start - yes, that whole 10 minutes earlier does make a difference! 
It was the same routine after that, although we were slightly slower getting out of bed as it was dark when the alarm went off, and somehow the sun streaming in through the blinds makes for a jumping out of bed, whatever the time, whereas darkness does not. We were out of the house by 6.20am, and heading slightly further away (only another 10 minutes) to Dee Why beach. (The guys T usually surfs with had suggested to go there for a change instead of Freshwater aka, 'Freshie').

Having only been to Dee Why a couple of times, and then to meet friends, I was hastily looking on the internet for walks starting somewhere around the beach. But, at bleary-eyed, in the car, my search wasn't too successful.

As is most of the time, when we reached Dee Why and saw the sun rising over the ocean, not only did I wake up fully, but any sleepy grumpy mood soon evaporated.

Dee Why Beach

The guys headed off into the water, boards under their arms; and I went walking along the beach. In the car I had read something about the headland North of Dee Why, 'Long Reef Point', so I headed off in that direction and hoped I would be able to stumble upon some kind of satisfying walk.

Surf's up!

The tide was on its way out, meaning that the point where Dee Why Lagoon meets the ocean was passable when wearing trainers, so I was able to continue across the sand and made it to the headland. 
Most of the headland is a golf course, but their is a path which runs around the perimeter and has some lovely views, both to the North:

Up to Palm beach

and to the South:

Looking out down to the headland south of Manly

I followed the path until it reached a car park and then turned into road, and retraced my steps back to the headland point. Stopping to take in as much of the views as I could, I noticed a pathway down to a little sandy beach:

There were a few people about, but with the main sound of the waves against the shore, and the fresh breeze blowing in across the water; made it feel like I was far, far out of the city.

Catching my breath from climbing back up the steps from this little piece of wilderness to the top of the headland, I caught sight of where I was about to walk:

Twenty minutes later I was back in Dee Why, where the sun was burning away the cloud, ready for another lovely summers day.

Stunning 9.5 km walk complete, 90 minute surf had: it was time to find coffee in this new place...

It's defiantly worth breaking out of the routine once in a while!