Dolan Pls: Dolans Bay and Port Hacking

I've decided to learn to speak Hobbit. This will help me as I delve deeper into The Shire with a two-fer.

Dolans Bay

Those who have been following along would not be surprised to learn that Dolans Bay is a short walk from neighbouring Caringbah South. The pathway I took from the previous suburb led me into this grassy opening with a very Middle-Earthy rocky outcrop.

The other end of the path ejected me into residential Dolans Bay.

Similar to my previous stops, here you get a mix of new shiny houses as well as plenty of classy older wood panelled homes.

This isn't a big suburb but there's clearly money here (or at least credit). Some use their wealth to build huge houses with plenty of glass.

Others decide to buy their child every toy in Westfield.

But it is understandable. After all, this suburb is perched right on a lovely bit of shore.

My quest, however, was to determine if any of that shore is actually accessible to plebs like me, or whether it's VIP only like Caringbah South.

To determine that, my goal was to head to the furthest tip of the suburb, where the map suggested that there may be a publicly accessible wharf.

On the way I continued seeing huge houses,

as well as constant peeks of the water down people's driveways.

As I continued towards the end of the suburb it became apparent that, yes, Dolans Bay does share!

At the end of the road is a boat ramp with views of the bay. You can even see the lovely beaches of the Royal National Park and Bundeena just a short hop away.

While I was here, I continued on to see the fancy suburb next door.

Dolans Bay: Sharing is caring.

Port Hacking

So you know this one's going to be fancy, because even Wikipedia calls it "prestigious" in the first line of its Wikipedia article.

Prestigious appears to be a fair assessment, with expensive looking houses and expensive looking cars immediately greeting me as I turned into the suburb.

Here's the latest anti-riff-raff sign - no parking on our street if it's the weekend please.

Despite this, there did appear to be some public amenities here, with stairs leading down to Shiprock Reserve. 

On your way down, you get to see the beautiful turquoise waters which justify the suburb's apparent prestige. 

This is Shiprock Reserve. I guess the rock does look like a ship. Noice.

Just like Dolans Bay, from here you're just across from the Royal National Park. For what its worth, there's also snorkelling to be had here. 

I eventually had to go back up the stairs and continue. 

Sadly for my calves, Port Hacking exists on an entirely uphill continuum.

What this means though, is that there are gorgeous views of the water from wherever you are.

As you continue along, the suburb does get a little more down to earth, with less bling and more regular (albeit well maintained) houses.

Also, somebody lost their Card Against Humanity.

The road continues on and leads to the next suburb.

Port Hacking: Pretty close to paradise, as long as you can handle the climb.