Kristin Mack Alnaes: A hidden story

Even though Oslo (capital of Norway) only has 1/8 of the population of Sydney, I never feel lost in the big city. The similarities between the two cities are obvious. Sydney has got the features of a big city, like reasonable and taller skyscrapers, eight lanes freeways and 24/7 nightlife. And yet everything that I love about the town that I have lived in almost all my life, also can be found in this far away metropolis (today's dose of marketing Oslo and Sydney). The nature is just on the doorstep of the city. The mountains, the ocean, the coastline, the forest, the wild animals — it's all here. And consequently the outdoor activities that comes with all the elements — they are all here, too.

Last weekend I went with my brother, Eystein, and a friend of mine, Sarah, to do the "Manly to Spit walk". It is a 10 km hike along the shoreline, going past areas of bushland and exclusive waterfront houses, beaches, Aboriginal sites, community parks, scrublands and even pockets of subtropical rainforest. All in all; beautiful scenery. So stunning colors! And heaps of flowers that I have previously only seen at the florist's. See the photos and you'll understand.

We were well prepared for our excursion. Or so we thought. Lots of water. Sun lotion. What we should have brought was an umbrella... It drizzled most of the time, but fortunately the trees gave us shelter. And when we eventually had to leave the safe embrace of the treetops, the view was amazing. We could see Manly, our final destination, and the eternal Pacific in the horizon. And the best of all: Down underneath the viewpoint, we were breath taken by a couple of small houses hanging onto the cliffs. What a place to live! To our fortune a man suddenly came out of the blue and told us the story about the small houses.

You are likely to miss the turnoff from the track to the small shacks. The settlement is not signposted. It is an enchanted place and accessible only to those in-the-know. Our man out of the blue explained us how to find the unmaintained, narrow path through the bush. Enclosed by the trees, we could not see far ahead. Sarah slipped on the rocks; Eystein and I bumped our heads into the head high branches. But after ten minutes a broad view over Sydney Harbour opened before us. Welcome to Crater Cove, one of Sydney's hidden heritage gems!

Fishermen and World War I returnees, who couldn't cope with society, built the first shacks in Crater Cove in the 1920s. Later on what was described as hippies and squatters lived there. The shacks were permanent homes on what was army land until as late as the 1970s. However, the social history of Crater Cove settlement came to an abrupt halt in 1984 when the area became part of the Sydney Harbour National Park and the residents were evicted.

Fortunately you can still visit the area. These one-room huts are built of local stone, driftwood and roofing iron. The simple homes on the edge of the cliffs have a spectacular view over the outer harbour — an envy of property speculators. Apparently no one lives there anymore (descendants of the ex-residents maintain the huts though). Nevertheless, we did meet a colony of inhabitants. Lizards! All over the place. Inside, outside, upside, downside.

As we sat on the rocks, Easter Water Dragons surrounded us. They were curious, sniffing at our backpacks, others posing for the camera. Even though the lizards have not made it into my deck of cards with images of dangerous species in Australia, they still freaked me a little bit out when they came too close. And they were not shy!

After leaving Crater Cove we finally arrived Manly, a suburb of northern Sydney. Manly was one of the first places in Australia to get a (western) name. Soon after his arrival in Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson) in 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip (the first colonial administrator and founder of Sydney) began exploring the harbour in search of fresh water. Passing near Manly a group of Aboriginal men waded into the water to greet Phillip's boats. Impressed with their physique and behaviour, Phillip described them as "manly", and the name stuck.

Even though our legs were on autopilot and the clothes soaked, I would recommend anyone who care for history, nature or simply exercise to do the Manly to Spit Walk (we started in Spit). Our minds were impressed, and now there was only one task left to do: swim. We had passed several secluded beaches on our way, but we wanted to save the swim as a treat. Despite the water from above, we jumped into the ocean for a rather cold and refreshing bath. And finally the recipe for getting warm again — a recipe that'll work both in Oslo and Sydney; hot chocolate!