Hitching a ride & A view from North Head

We were due for a ghost tour of the old quarantine station at 7:45pm. We got on a bus at Manly Beach at 6:45, convinced the driver to take us beyond where he was supposed, during which he almost crushed a biker (who banged on the bus’s side while riding and then screamed at the driver when he let us off), and then discovered at 7pm that the legendary North Head viewing platform was a 1.5km walk – in a light rain.

There was no way we were going to walk there and back to this viewing point in time for the ghost tour. Did I say “We’ll just come back another time?” Did I rationalize “We have seen plenty of nice viewing spots and what’s one more?” Of course not, I stuck out a thumb. It’s a National park. What was the worst that was going to happen?

We ended up hitching a ride with a professional photographer. We snapped these beauts and then started walking back while the photographer remained. He ended up leaving while we were hoofing it back, and I jokingly stuck out a thumb again. He picked us up, and I asked if he normally picked up hitchhikers since he had picked us up twice. He responded with a resounding “No,” and we all had a good laugh.