“What’s your favourite ferry trip?” a foreign visitor asked me recently. I counselled her to take the Manly ferry, the gold standard journey for visitors to our city. As you glide out of Circular Quay, past Fort Denison, Bradleys Head then the Sydney Heads, it is easy to see why the early ferry boat operators advertised it as “seven miles from Sydney but a thousand miles from care.”

You feel the stress falling off you the moment you see the Norfolk Island palms, and step off at the Manly Wharf. Even if you take the fast option: the Manly Fast ferries, with a promised travel time of 18-20 minutes. Although not as fast as the old hydrofoils’ 15 minutes, they are still a fun way to get to one of our city’s signature day trips.

The green and gold vessels are our trademark form of transport. Credit:Nick Moir

Melbourne may have its trams, San Francisco its cable cars, but for Sydney our green and gold wooden vessels and catamarans are our trademark form of transport.

News this week of 400 or so extra weekly ferry services can only be greeted gladly by commuters and travellers to our waterways.