Friends came along on New Year’s Day to beach number 19, Curl Curl.
Per Wikipedia:
The name Curl Curl appears to be the original Aboriginal name for the larger area of Manly Vale, Freshwater, Queenscliff. The name Curl Curl may have been derived from the Aboriginal phrase curial curial, meaning river of life.
We took the train to the city, collected Erin and her car and headed for the beach. As with Cronulla we again hadn’t properly consulted the map before setting out and so managed to fly well past Curl Curl before realising our mistake. The traffic, by the way, was utterly shitful.
Curl Curl is 28.5km/17.7mi from our home.
Arriving we found the beach crowded with New Year’s Day revellers, including our other mates Laura and Gavin. But, disappointingly, the beach was closed – well not the beach but the water. Due to big messy surf and ‘dangerous tides’ the Surf Lifesavers were busy waving people out of the water and occasionally going in to get them out.
There is a sea pool at the southern end of the beach and it was full of kids and parents, teenagers and a few locals belligerently doing their laps through the crowd.
The day was blowy but clear and warm. I erected the beach umbrella and relaxed in the shade – not really napping but listening to the surf pounding in and the not-quite-distinct conversation of neighbouring groups.
Erin went to check out the beach kiosk and came back with disappointment – no hot chips, NO BLOODY HOT CHIPS, on New Year’s Day, on the beach. It was all healthy overpriced café food: burger $16.50, kids $10. Please.
We stayed a couple of hours. Wandered over to the pool – which was warm and crowded. Took some pictures and called it a day. Then we sat in hideous traffic on Military Road all the way back to the city.
Curl Curl is in the local government area of Warringah; State district of Manly (Mike Baird, Lib) and Federal seat of Warringah (Tony Abbott, Lib).