Sunrise over Manly
One of the real joys of getting out early in the kayak is seeing sunrises from the water. There is something magical about a dark horizon turning gold and then watching an amber rising sun reflected off the water, all whilst bobbing about in gentle early morning swell.
Call it a sudden moment of romanticism, but I was looking through past photos and realised just how many sunrises I’ve seen over the past few months. So I thought perhaps I’d share some of those moments. Enjoy – FP
Rising sun reflected in the Sydney city skyline
Dawn from Five Dock (west of the Sydney CBD)
Sunrise over Seaforth
Dawn over North Head
Dawn breaking over Berowra Waters
Sunrise bathing the Sydney city in amber
Sunrise through the mists of Bantry Bay
Stormy dawn, Berowra Waters
Sunrise over Grotto Point
Sydney Harbour Bridge at dawn
Amber dawn over Bradleys Head
Tags: sunrise, Sydney, sydney harbour, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House
Balmoral Beach has a great little kiosk that does excellent egg and bacon rolls. On this particular day I paddled out to watch the sunrise before heading in for breakfast. Yum! 
Tags: bacon and egg roll, Balmoral Beach, sunrise
Dawn breaking on the Sydney skyline
I put the question out to Twitter on where to paddle and got the answer “Lavender Bay” from @andrawatkins. This had great appeal, since the bay overlooks the Sydney Harbour Bridge and would give me a great oppportunity to try to capture one of Sydney’s rare “amber sunrises”. To put this in perspective, the weather needs to be spot on and requires high level cloud to cast the right cover. On this day, the conditions were perfect!
I paddled out into the high-traffic ferry zone to the Fort Denison island (which was once a water-bound prison during the early convict days of Sydney’s founding). Then, in the islands protection I waited for the dawn to break.
Fort Denison, Sydney Harbour. Once a convict prison.
From the safety of Fort Denison I waited with camera in hand to capture the dawn, and what a dawn it was! As the sun rose it cast its amber glow across the city skyline for about 2 minutes, just enough to snap a few pics, before it was over and the light returned to normal.
Amber dawn, Sydney skyline
Sunrise over Sydney and the Harbour Bridge
Once the dawn was over, I paddled over to Darling Harbour (which I learnt mid-paddle is a no-kayak zone – oops!) to have a look at the tourist sights, such as the Maritime Museum and Sydney Aquarium, before returning to finish the paddle at Lavender Bay. Another sensational paddle adventure for the Fat Paddler.
Yarr me hearties! Replica of the Endeavour, Darling Harbour
Fat Paddler rugged up for the cold. Nice scenery though!
End of the paddle - Lavender Bay, Sydney
Tags: sunrise, Sunrise over Sydney, sydney harbour
Dawn through the Heads, looking out to sea
It was a simple plan. Get up at 5am, head to the Spit, get the kayak out on the water whilst still dark, paddle to the Heads, and watch the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean.
It started well. I managed to get out of the house by 5.10am and had a quick drive to the Spit. With the kayak on the water, a small dome light clipped to my PFD, I pushed into the murky darkness before 6am and paddled off towards the entrance to Sydney Harbour.
To say paddling in the dark is surreal is an understatement. Distant boat light reflections give the harbour a magical twinkling look. City reflections show off the best of the Sydney skyline. And of course unseen splashes in the nearby waters raise the heart rate to panic levels!
Then of course there is the discovery as the sky lightens that the sea is not going to play ball. Thick high swell pushes into the harbour from the sea, with large breakers crashing on the middle harbour headlands. And of course in the twilight I’ve barely noticed how much water is pouring over the sides of my kayak from the massive swell, but can now see clearly that I am sitting in a bath.
It is at this point that I develop that “sinking” feeling. And I mean literally, because as my boat fills with water I start to imagine that the swell may indeed send the boat to Davy’s Jones Locker! This sit-on-top just isnt designed for ocean swell stability, no matter how hard I try.
So, turning around I ride the swell back into the safety of Middle Harbour, pull up on a nearby beach and empty the kayak. Then as I continue up through Middle Harbour the sun finally rises from below the horizon.
Sunrise over Sydney Harbour - not quite the Pacific Ocean!
Not quite as planned, but still pretty magical.
Tags: dawn, pacific ocean, sunrise, sydney harbour
7.30am on Sydney Harbour - stunning
One of the things about paddling that is so addictive is the beauty of an early morning start. Take this photo by our friends at The Spit, Sydney Harbour Kayaks. The water is glassy, the air is crisp and the stinky motorboats aren’t out yet, disturbing you with their choppy wake!
Tags: sunrise
