Saturday, February 17, 2018

AVOCA LAGOON KAYAK - 18 FEBRUARY 2018

An early morning paddle around Avoca Lagoon.



The highlight today was the birds as there was a  number of species.




 Black-winged Stilt with chicks and a nest with three eggs. :)


Royal Spoonbill


Swamphen


Cockatoos


Duck - too high to guess species


Pied Cormorant



Great Egret


Australian White Ibis



Welcome Swallow


Australian Pelican

PEARL BEACH AND ARBORETUM - 17 FEBRUARY 2018

Jacinta and I spent the morning at Pearl Beach.

We had a nice breakfast at the local cafe, which was close to the beach.



Afterwards, we wandered down to the beach - sat on the sand, enjoyed the sun, swam a bit, alked a bit and chatted. It was very pleasant.




Next stop was the Arboretum. I've walked around it heaps but it was the first time for Jacinta.







The area is a wetlands but with this long term no rain it was bone dry. It was nice walking along the paths in the shade of the trees.

TERRIGAL LAGOON KAYAK - 16 FEBRUARY 2018

I kayaked at Terrigal Lagoon. The water level was low due to long time lack of significant rain so where I could paddle was limited.










Still, it was pleasant and I managed to get to the western end and watch a few birds.

The sunrise was pretty.


CASUARINA REUNION - 13 FEBRUARY 2018

Spent a few days catching up with long time friends at Casuarina on the Tweed Coast.











It was heaps of fun - chatting, laughing, surfing, eating, drinking and some sleeping.

It took me 3 days to recover. :) :) :) :) :)


Thursday, February 8, 2018

HIKES, SURFING, KAYAKING, SNORKELING - 7 FEBRUARY 2018


1 February 2018

An early hike with Grotty and Helen, long time friends visiting from Melbourne.


The weather as cloudy and showers. The luck was with us during our hikes with no rain. The first hike was along the tracks at Mount Ettalong. A short hike with great views over Pearl Beach, Lion Island and the exit of the Hawkesbury River.




I took a side track and climbed down the cliff and followed a track at the cliff base. A lot of litter but great rock formations. I will do more of this track next visit.




We finished the hike we a view over Ocean Beach, Box Head and the exit of Brisbane Water.

Next, we drove to Warrah Road and had a short walk to the tessellated sandstone and views over the hinterland.

A short drive down the hill for coffee at Patonga.

Late, at night, we had dinner at The Pavilion Restaurant at Terrigal.


2 February 2018

Off and on rain again. I checked the surf but it was a no go.




Early in the afternoon, Kara, Chloe and I looked at textile art display at the Gosford Regional Art Gallery then walked around the Japanese Gardens. The gardens were pretty but the rain started to pour just towards the end.




We did a small shop at Erina Fair and had a late lunch.



4 February 2018

The surf was looking poor so I ventured over to Avoca Lagoon for a kayak.



The weather was cloudy with periods of sunshine. This mad for pretty reflections in the water.





There were a number of birds foraging for food. I sighted a number of new birds for me -





After the kayak I met Jacinta for coffee at the Haven, then I had a snorkel around the ocean side of the rock pool. The visibility was okay at the bottom of the water - a number of fish. I was excited to see a large groper.


5 February 2018

I looked for surf at heaps of beaches. Lakes Beach looked good but there was also massive closeouts.








I finally had a hike around the rocks at The Haven. The tide was low and the sun was shining on a sky of clotted clouds.








Later in the afternoon, I ended up having a good surf at Wamberal Beach.

6 February 2018

I surf at Wamberal beach.  The surf started off good but I moved further south on another sand bank and it was a no go.

7 February 2018

I hiked the rocks south of The Haven. It was a good hike with crashing waves, spouts of water, a fisherman hit by waves, a sea eagle, cockatoos on the cliff face, sculptured rock formations and a chat with a lady with two dogs.









Later, I surfed with Bryceson at Wamberal Beach. There were some nice rights and some hard breaking and fast lefts. It was fun for an hour before the wind increased into a strong onshore.

CENTRAL COAST - 4 TO 11 MARCH 2023

 4 MARCH I woke and unloaded and tidied the van. I drove Jacinta to the Hens party for Chloe at Glenworth Valley. Back home and I tidi...