Happy Halloween

Halloween is not the big deal over here as it is in the states.  I do miss getting dressed up and seeing the kids in their costumes. I also miss the way the neighborhood goes all out on Phantom Way.  So, I decided to keep some Halloween spirit and do something spooky.

I have never done this before and I've never really wanted to, but I know my son likes scary movies, so I thought he might enjoy this.  I decided to take a ghost tour of one of the most haunted places in Sydney, Quarantine Station, or Q Station here in Manly.

I was dreading this all day. My stomach was queasy.  I didn't even buy the tickets until the very last minute, just in case I wanted to chicken out and scrap the whole thing.  But I did it, and here I am at midnight writing about it, partly because I'm too scared to turn off the lights and go to sleep and also because the adrenaline from the night is still running through my veins.

They say you should do something every day that scares you. I think I've met my quota for the next few weeks!

Q Station is the place where they kept sick immigrants just getting off the ships before they were allowed in Sydney.  Of course not all of them survived, many died of their illnesses: small pox, flu, scarlet fever, plague.  So you can imagine that many unfortunate souls might still be "living" there.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I hate being scared.  Ah, the things I do for my son.  We were early for our 8:30 PM tour, so Trenton and I walked around the outside of the restaurant where it was dark and quiet with a great view of the harbor.  Trenton pointed out into the water and asked, "Is that a boat?"

I stared for a few seconds and turned around to say yes, but Trenton was gone and I was all by myself, in the dark in Q Station! Grrrr, Trenton! Already, he was freaking me out.  He jumped out from behind a table laughing.  Ugh, is this how this night is going to be?

But everything turned out just fine.  I actually enjoyed the tour.  Yes, it was scary, but I loved the history and the ghost stories! Our guide, Amy was great.

The tour was done by lantern light, but as we entered each building, she made us leave them outside.  Each room had no lights except for Amy's red flashlight, but she hardly kept that on either. In one room, she actually just left us in there in the pitch black to ask us if we "felt" anything.  Umm..how about cold, spine-tingling fear? Is that a feeling? Later, she gave us these EMF sensors that detect Electromagnetic frequencies and are supposed to light up when they detect paranormal activity.

Trenton was holding the EMF sensor while walking around the grave diggers quarters which houses some of the not-so-nice ghosts. He wanted me to go with him into one of the bedrooms and I told him "No Way." I did not like the feeling of that room. Just then he had the EMF pointed at me and it lit up! Ack! Was there a ghost right next to me?

As much as I couldn't stand being scared the whole time, I actually had fun.  Something super scary happened in the morgue, but our whole group ended up laughing so much about it.  She also had stories of friendly ghosts that made me feel a little better.

Anyway, I didn't take too many pictures because I didn't want to capture anything creepy on film, but here are a couple.

The First picture is of the shower stalls in the decontamination station.  Walking around here was super scary, so I held Trenton's arm the whole way.

The second is of the hospital.  There are three original hospital beds behind some stanchions.  Amy said that we could sit on any of the other beds except for those three.  After looking at the photo, it looks like some bodies were, or are already sitting there.

If you really must see more images of Quarantine Station, you'll find plenty on Google.

Happy Halloween, everyone!  Don't be afraid to do something different! You might actually enjoy it and create a new Halloween tradition!

And The Winner Is...The Esplanade

We put in a bid for all five of our contenders last Saturday.  The crowds at each inspection showed us exactly how competitive apartment hunting is out here.  At one of our inspections there were at least 20 people waiting before opening! As we were leaving we passed by 20 more just coming in!  The realtor told us that usually, they would let us know by Monday.

Monday, we found out that our number one pick, The Cove, was off the market.  The current residents changed their mind and have decided to stay.  But we were accepted for our number 2 pick, The Esplanade!  We are so excited to be moving in next month!

It has a beautiful view of the boats docked in the harbor from the 2nd floor, which is the 3rd floor to us Americans.  I'm still getting used to that and have found myself getting off the elevator one floor too early sometimes.

Situated on the wharf side of Manly, it's right across the street from the water and just 400m from the ferry building.  The commute into the Central Business District is just 17 minutes by Fast Ferry which departs every 20 minutes.  The beach on the East side is just a few blocks away as well.  The location is full of shops, restaurants, bars and coffee shops.

We'll make sure to furnish this room with a sofa bed for our US visitors!

This kitchen could use some extra counter space, so I will add a hightop table to my shopping list.

The same balcony view can be seen from the master bedroom.

I remember when our ferry rode into the harbor on the morning of our inspections.  The captain announced that there were a pod of dolphins swimming by on the starboard! I was so excited, and when I figured out which side was starboard, I saw them swimming along and noticed there were several paddle boarders enjoying the company of the dolphins as well.  This was going to be my new home!

Apartment Hunters International

We spent all of Saturday apartment hunting in Manly.  This looks like the neighborhood that checks off all of our boxes.  All of our "Inspections" as they call it here, were walking distance.  We planned on 7 inspections starting from 10 AM to 1:15 PM.  Even though they were close together, I was able to rack up 6.5 miles of steps.

Here's our list of contenders in order of preference.

5.  The Spicoli.
We call it this because as we swung by to view it an hour before inspection, the balcony above the apartment had Spicoli talking fairly loud on his mobile.  He was complete with long hair and a couple surf boards on the balcony.  The view was ok, considering it was on the 1st floor.  It was the only 3 bedroom we looked at and had a large living area.

The Spicoli Living Room

4.  Gardenview.
This is a 2 bedroom townhome surrounded by a nice garden.  It had a spacious front patio and bright interior.  It's clean and roomy.  However, there's no view of the water.  It's only 1/2 mile (800 meters) from the wharf (but uphill).

Gardenview

3.  The Osborne.
The current tenants have a lot of stuff, so it's hard to imagine the place cleared out.  It was on the 3rd floor (4th floor to you Americans) and on top of a hill.  You can see the bay and the beach from the spacious patio.  The kitchen was larger and had the same amazing view.  The bad thing about it was that the carpet was a little dingy.  Maybe, they'll give it a good cleaning (or removal and hazmat disposal?) before anyone moves in.  Also just 800 meters from the wharf (uphill).

The picture doesn't do the view justice

2.  The Cove.
Just steps from the Manly Skiff Sailing club and a common area swimming pool right on the bay.  I can see myself having coffee on the balcony checking the waves before hopping on the paddle board in the morning.  This place checked off almost all the boxes except for a garage.  Great view from the balcony, even if it was on the 1st floor.

 







1.  The Esplanade.

This 2nd floor apartment had an amazing view of the bay and was the closest to the wharf at just 400 meters.  It had nice hardwood floors and a big balcony for dinners al fresco.

The Esplanade

We've turned in our applications and hope to hear from the property managers soon! Wish us luck!