Max du Pain: "At Newport"
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Moving right along...
It’s been 10 months now since I started maneuvering between North Shore and the Northern Beaches and the most apparent observation is that the two areas are strongly linked. Many North Shore people have happy memories of long summer holidays spent in the family beach house. Yet now both Mona Vale Road and Wakehurst Parkway bring the areas only half an hour apart. There is an even stronger sense of community in each of the beachside suburbs than there is up the Northshore line. Perhaps it has something to do with the home club and colours blazoned across the backsides of our little nippers and our surf life savers.
The flags our out for summer now and the fearless locals can be seen stroking out across the bay. A few weeks ago they would have been dodging whale spouts, so easily viewed from each headland lookout. The boardwalk between Newport and Bilgola beaches is perfect for whale watching or just minding the views. Steps up to the Serpentine link the North end of Bilgola to Avalon. Oceans of public park at Palm Beach give out to the walk up to the lighthouse – with congo lines of back-packers the day I walked it! Still one could tour the beaches restaurants for months without having to visit the same one twice – unless you get particularly stuck on say the mussels at Beaches or the sourdough at the Bluemoon bakery or breakfast at Cocos or Italian at Lucky’s & Pep’s.
While the Northshore is worrying about the proliferation of high rise developments, the beaches are fighting the introduction of Woolies to Newport. They have a point – Coles has only just opened and serves the community well whereas Mona Vale, the gateway from the Northshore has what is billed as “Woolworths largest store”. With a well stocked Dan Murphys right beside it, it is well patronised. My favourite however is Thomas Dux the Grocer (right opposite Mona Vale library), big enough to display hand picked product easily but small enough to offer a regular number of free promotional tastings to limbo up the tastebuds before you choose dinner!
The flags our out for summer now and the fearless locals can be seen stroking out across the bay. A few weeks ago they would have been dodging whale spouts, so easily viewed from each headland lookout. The boardwalk between Newport and Bilgola beaches is perfect for whale watching or just minding the views. Steps up to the Serpentine link the North end of Bilgola to Avalon. Oceans of public park at Palm Beach give out to the walk up to the lighthouse – with congo lines of back-packers the day I walked it! Still one could tour the beaches restaurants for months without having to visit the same one twice – unless you get particularly stuck on say the mussels at Beaches or the sourdough at the Bluemoon bakery or breakfast at Cocos or Italian at Lucky’s & Pep’s.
While the Northshore is worrying about the proliferation of high rise developments, the beaches are fighting the introduction of Woolies to Newport. They have a point – Coles has only just opened and serves the community well whereas Mona Vale, the gateway from the Northshore has what is billed as “Woolworths largest store”. With a well stocked Dan Murphys right beside it, it is well patronised. My favourite however is Thomas Dux the Grocer (right opposite Mona Vale library), big enough to display hand picked product easily but small enough to offer a regular number of free promotional tastings to limbo up the tastebuds before you choose dinner!
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