April 26, 2015 (A rare current post from Cyndi)
Our first marina in Sydney, Rushcutters, had a great location amid of lots of city activity. It’s located next to beautiful Rushcutters Park, and was an easy walk to the nifty Kings Cross area. It was a hub of activity near other hubs of activity. The downside of all this activity were the wakes from the ferries as they went to and fro.
Now, we’ve moved to the suburbs of North Sydney. Our marina is located in the sort of area where houses cling to steep hillsides, where you park your car and then walk up or down a lot of stairs to your house, and you can rest assured that your mother-in-law will never come live with you.
Some houses have private docks on the water and a use a funicular to get to their boat. Our marina has a lot of stone stairs, a series of them that lead all the way from the shore to the street high above. It used to have a funicular, and we look longingly at the old track as we trek up those steep stairs. It’s quite a climb, 110 steps in all.
Luckily if we have a lot of groceries, the guy who runs the marina will drop us off or pick us up at a nearby park on the shore. I’d hate to think of carting a haul from Dan Murphy (the Aussie equivalent of Bev Mo) down those stairs!
Our reward for enduring the stairs is being in a very beautiful area amid tree-covered hills with lots of peace, quiet, and still water. The marina is very small, casual and low-key, and it just feels nice to be here. There are a few things we’ll miss about Rushcutters: the rooftop view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Yacht Club next door that made some pretty good pizza, the small chandlery right in the complex, and most of all, The Flybridge.
The Flybridge is the counter cafe at Rushcutters Marina. They make everything from sandwiches to more substantial meals and have really delicious specials: lasagna, hokkien noodles, quiches, and the best chicken Caesar salad we’ve ever eaten. They also make a good cup of coffee. And they have the nicest staff in the world, who we shall miss we shall miss very much, especially our friend Red. Our mornings won’t be the same without his smiling face and excellent flat whites! –Cyndi
