Paddleboarding in Manly: Sydney SUP lesson review

Manly in Sydney is one of the best places in Australia to take stand-up paddleboarding lessons. You may fall in the water while SUPping, but the experience comes with harbour views.

Most visitors take the Manly Ferry or Manly Fast Ferry to the Sydney suburb of Manly, then head straight to the beach.

Stay near the ferry wharf, however, and the calm water is ideally suited to stand-up paddle boarding, a sport imported from Hawaii that has mushroomed across Australia.

The Manly Kayak Centre specialises in kayak hire and North Harbour kayak tours. But it also offers stand-up paddleboarding lessons.

Review of Manly stand-up paddleboarding lesson

There is good news for anyone who has ever attempted a surf lesson and spent two hours crashing before even standing on the board – stand-up paddleboarding is much, much easier. This is partly due to duckpond-esque waters rather than ferocious surf, but the boards are also bigger.

The supping instructor gives guidance on the wharf before sending his novice paddleboarders onto the water. Start on your knees, shuffle back a bit, and jump up onto the feet quickly – there’s more risk of overbalancing if you attempt a ginger, ponderous, gradual rise.

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1. Taronga Zoo – the zoo with harbour views (and plenty of cute Aussie animals)
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4. Sydney Cricket Ground – behind the scenes secrets tour.
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Manly paddleboarding experience

Ideally, the feet need to be in symmetry, either side of the handle in the centre of the board. Knees should be slightly bent and relaxed, the back straight. But even with all that, the most important thing is momentum – and that’s where the solitary, almost body-length paddle comes in.

It’s all a lot less precarious when you’re moving. The nervous wobbles turn into something altogether calmer and, indeed, it’s only upon stopping to take in the view that there’s a calamitous tumble into the water.

After a few fairly obligatory dunkings, it all starts to click. It’s really about doing as little as possible while gliding through the tethered pleasure boats.

Supball in Manly, Sydney

On the way back to the wharf are two buoys, which turn out to be an unexpected sporting arena. “This is where we play Supball,” says the instructor. “There aren’t many rules, but those we do have are based on netball. You have to throw the ball against the buoy to score, but the opposition’s allowed to do pretty much anything in order to stop you.”

This full contact rough-housing, apparently, makes it rather popular to watch amongst the bloodthirsty spectators on the wharf.

Manly SUP lessons cost

Public paddleboarding lessons with the Manly Kayak Centre cost $55 at time of writing. Private lessons cost $95. Bookings can be made via the operator website.

Other things to do in Manly include visiting the small harbour beaches – Quarantine Beach, Store Beach, Collins Beach and Little Manly Beach.

You can also take a tour at the old Quarantine Station, swim in the Fairy Bower Ocean Pool and walk through the Worm Tunnel from Queenscliff Beach to Freshwater Beach.

Good places to eat and drink in Manly include 4 Pines, Hugo’s Manly, the Ivanhoe Hotel and the Manly Greenhouse.

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