Manly Quarantine Station Ghost Tour 2011

My boyfriend and I recently went on the Extreme Ghost Tour at the Manly Quarantine Station here in Sydney, NSW. The quarantine station itself dates back to the 1830s and has a history of disease and death on the grounds. We had been on the regular ghost tour a few years prior and wanted to check it out again. So we opted for the extreme tour, which had 2 psychic medium guides along for the ride to tell us stories, connect with spirits and dabble in the use of dousing rods.

The first part of the tour was a bit cheesy. We were sitting in this room which was set up to look like a bit like a theatre, with red lights and elevated benches. My boyfriend was the first one to try out some dousing rods and had some movement straight away. Everyone who had a go all had the same reaction in the same corner of the room. Turns out there was a cranky male ghost who considered that area of the location to be his stomping grounds. When we were able to get up and look around that particular area of the room was really uncomfortable to be in. We only took around 3 photos in that room because it just felt so invasive to take anymore. We did get an orb in that room but that was pretty much it.

Throughout the rest of the night the cheese factor left and it became intriguing. I have always been able to sense when spirits are around. I don't physically see them or anything, I just get "a feeling". It's hard to explain. Anyway, this night was a bit different for me in that regard.

We went to a small shower block which was situated underneath a dining hall which was used by the 3rd class passengers. This shower block was rather small. Only 4 people at a time went in on the tour. I was in the first group to go in and as I walked through the door I was immediately drawn to the left of the room. I felt a cool breeze whoosh from around waist height up to my face. It wasn't cold, just cooler than the rest of the room. I stood there with my arms by my sides and I just felt this weird sensation in my hands that I can only describe as pins and needles. It was so different to anything I've ever experienced. It wasn't scary or anything, just different.

So as I'm standing there one off the guides calls in and asks if anyone has experienced anything in there. All of others in there called out no. I didn't say anything because I didn't know what I was feeling. Then the guide said, are you sure there's nobody in there who can feel anything in their hands. At that I said "yeaaaah", and then walked out of the room. I never mentioned anything to my boyfriend and he came out of the room and told me what happened to him in there which was EXACTLY the same thing that happened to me. Cool breeze followed by pins and needles in both hands. While the group moved on I told the tour guide what I felt in my hands and she said "that's the way I sense spirits too". So that was my first official time having a physical reaction in my body from a spirit being close by. It was amazingly awesome!

We also headed up to this little house which I sensed had 2 cranky male spirits that lived there. I was right. Before I had a chat to the guide about the location I went for a wander through the house. The backroom felt awful and like I wasn't meant to be in there. The bedroom that is off of the kitchen was another room I felt like we weren't supposed to be in. When I was in there by myself I was drawn to the open wardrobe after I heard a knock coming from the inside of it. As I walked over and stood in front of it I felt like a man was standing in front of the wardrobe and kind of leaning forward towards me, trying to intimidate me. It worked! I got outta that room and talked to the guide about the house and asked her if 2 men were there. She said yes and that both spirits hated people coming into the house.

While walking from one location to another I did see what looked like a black shadow of a female in a long dress out of the corner of my eye, but who knows. It may have been my eyes adjusting to a light or something. We did stop a little past where I thought I saw the shadow for a chat and the guides said that the houses where I saw the shadow were often visited by spirits. Staff members of the Q Station lived there and they reported ghost activity there. Later on I asked if people see spirits wandering the grounds and they said yes. So who knows if I saw anything. I'm inconclusive on that one.

There's the hospital and a bunch of other cool places on the tour too. The first time I visited the hospital I felt sick to my stomach and as soon as I left the room it was gone. This time around I heard whistling at the same time as my boyfriend did and I felt a jabbing pain in my rib. The hospital always makes me feel eugh.

Then to finish the tour off we visited the shower blocks. They are horrid. I hate them. I'm yet to actually walk the entire length of the shower block. Both times I've visited I've only been able to get as far as the 3rd or 4th stall and have to go outside. It just feels horrible in there and like a thousand eyes are watching you. I told my boyfriend to take a photo of the hallway because there was a spirit on the right hand side near the second stall and sure enough, there was an orb right there in the photo.

The Q Station is a great place to check out for ghost tours. I'll be going back again for sure!