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“Take the time to look up
and around rather than
sailing by and appreciate
the beauty.”
In truth though, there is nothing much to worry
about as the entrance is 2.4 kilometres wide
between North and South. Once inside, the 55
square kilometre expanse of water with its 240
kilometre long rocky foreshore, the Harbour is
one of the greatest natural playgrounds of the
world. Home to Fairy or Little Penguins, long-
nosed fur seals, the occasional shark, including
the harmless eponymous Port Jackson Shark
(Heterodontus portusjacksoni), even the odd whale,
and as many varied boating craft of all types that
one can imagine gathered together.
A great deal has been written about the
wonders of boating on Sydney Harbour but
occasionally it is good to step ashore and discover
the rocky headlands guarding it. Take the time
to look up and around rather than sailing by and
appreciate the beauty of what is, in the words
of Arthur Phillip, “without exception the finest
Harbour in the World.”
Standing on the top of South Head one can
see the headlands of the Eastern Suburbs and
their beaches: Bondi, Tamarama, Bronte and so
on. The South Head Heritage Walk is a must
do, offering extensive 360-degree vistas. Start off
in Watson’s Bay where it is still possible to feel
the village-like ambience of Australia’s first and
oldest European fishing community established
by Governor Phillip in 1788. Watson’s Bay is
a great place to wander, even if the fishermen’s
cottages now cost millions and are inhabited by
solicitors and bankers, and even though Doyle’s
fish and chips has become a little touristy, the
product still tastes good.One can set off from here north past Lady Bay
and the nudist beach and see the red and white
vertical striped Hornsby Lighthouse, looking as
though it were squeezed from a 1960s tube of
toothpaste. It was built in 1858 after the loss the
previous year of the Catherine Adamson and six
months before that the Dunbar. After 81 days
at sea, arriving at night and in heavy rain, the
passenger clipper with 122 on board went down,
smashing against the rocks with the loss of 121
people. The only survivor was James Johnson
who managed to hang on to the treacherous and
slippery rocks upon which he had been flung
before being noticed from above nearly 36 hours
later. The anchor of the Dunbar is displayed
nearby at The Gap, a notorious and vertiginous
spot. One can also view the Signal Station, and