Manley is officially the most laid back place I've ever been. We are managing not to suffer much jetlag at all and got straight into the lifestyle - which mostly involves getting up around 8ish and wandering barefoot over the road onto the beach and going in the water for a swim! Then wandering in our 'thongs' (flipflops don't be scared!) down the road into the town centre to one of a million different cafes serving brunch. Another couple of hours sat around chatting and then wander round the shops, another coffee and it's about time for a bit more beach action and dinner! Just what we needed for our first few days after the hectic run up to Christmas.
Some things that O've really noticed about Australia - it is incredibly American - from road signs to food portion sizes and there are adverts every 8 minutes during TV programs! Apparently the Aussies hate people saying that but it seems really true. We met up with another friend of Steve and Stuart's today called Lee. He has the best lifestyle in the world - works Tues, Wed, Thurs for the Maritime Museum as an accountant and has a part-share in the Manley Toni and Guy so in between volunteering at the surf club and riding his bike around the coast he does a bit of helping out there too - very nice!
Stuart has very kindly given up his bed for us so we are sleeping really well and being woken up to the sound of the waves on the beach. We've both bought a 'rashie' which is a long sleeved top that blocks out all the UV and is supposed to be worn under a wetsuit to prevent chaffing - but also means us lily-livered UK types don't get sunburned or cold in the water - it's beautiful weather - about 27 with a fantastic breeze but the sun is sooo strong it really is different. I'm to scared to go completely into the water as the waves are massive and I don't want to repeat a very unfortunate incident in Portugal that happened once where I got knocked over by two successive waves and lost my bikini top and ended up with sand in the stranges places :-)