Saturday, July 30, 2016

BOUDDI NP - ALLEN STROM TRAIL MTB - 29 JULY 2016


At Bouddi national park for a bike ride.


The Allen Strom track is fun with a few narrow tracks and ending oin a great view.


The bush scenery is a bit Jurassic looking and spiky.


A fun 2.56 km ride.


KINCUMBA MOUNTAIN MTB - 28 JULY 2016


The unauthorized tracks have been blocked. hopefully, they will be opened again as they were the best tracks in the area.

I followed the service road and a few shorter tracks remain at the end of the ride.

Still, an exercising and fun 3.55 km ride.

THE ENTRANCE HIKE - 27 JULY 2016


 A bit of a late afternoon wander around The Entrance beach.

waves looking good but it was actually quite small.


I was warned.

Gulls in flight makes an afternoon delight.




 Waves lapping on a beach shoreline in the late afternoon. It feels so peaceful so everything is right.


A short stop at Picnic Point for pelican and sun set viewing

Monday, July 25, 2016

BOUDDI NP LOOP MTB - 24 JULY 2016

A check of the surf at Terrigal Beach, then off for a bike ride at Bouddi National Park.


A fun 6.61 km ride along the trails from the carpark at Maitland Bay.








I started along the Turkey trail which was a little soaked from water runoff. Then on to the NW track, which was heaps of fun and scenic. I backtracked then took the trail north. This trail was heaps harder but fun with big drops, slippery rocks and muddy conditions in parts. On the return, I followed the Strom Trail which was soaked and muddy. the ride was hard through the deep mud and sand. Usually, this spot is dry so I was pretty surprised by the conditions.




I finished the ride a little tired and speckled with mud. A fun afternoon.

WYRRABALONG NP - CRACKNECK LOOKOUT HIKE - 22 JULY 2016

I stated the day with a surf check at North Avoca beach. the waves were far between and the tide high.


I decided to have a hike at Wyrrabalong National Park at Crackneck Point Lookout.



It was so good. I only hiked a short distance but I wandered along the smaller tracks through the dense vegetation. The night rain had hung on the bushes so I was soaked by the end of the hike.



There were heaps of birds calling and a kookaburra hung in a tree and posed for a few shots.


There were also glimpses of the coastline.

Taking a slightly inland track, I came across a lot of grass trees. Usually, their flower stem is very tall and straight but a few were twisted nearly looking snake-like.




A great morning hike.


In the early afternoon, I had a surf at Terrigal Beach at a lower tide. It was fun and there were a few okay waves.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

BOUDDI NP MTB - NW RIDGE - 19 JULY 2016

At Bouddi National Park for a bike ride.


I followed the turkey and NW ridge tracks and returned.

Thee ride was fun and it felt good getting through successfully a few short downhill rocky and tree root obstacle sections.


The NW ridge track is so good with a long  downhill section , twists and turns, over rocks and tree roots, past drop offs and it is all in natural forest.


At The end of the NW ridge, I had a walked and jump and around the rocks. There are glimpses of Brisbane Water but mainly the view is of the surrounding bush area.


A fun 5.08 km mountain bike ride

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

NORTH AVOCA, TERRIGAL LAGOON, TERRIGAL HAVEN - LOOK, KAYAK, HIKE - 18 JULY 2016

A mixed day today.

Checked the surf at North Avoca Beach.

I decided on a kayak at Terrigal Lagoon.


I paddled up to the end of the lagoon near the golf club. There are some small waterways here and very natural surroundings.


There were a number of birds about. The Great Egret above was perched high in the trees. I drifted closer on my kayak enjoying the pleasure of not alarming the bird.


There is a small area of mangroves. The root system of this adaptive plant never fails to impress me.
Terrigal Lagoon flows out to the sea. To avoid flooding of lakeside properties the lagoon is opened by council when it gets too full.



Later that day, I went for a short walk around Terrigal Haven. the weather was pleasant and on one of the lookouts I was rewarded with a view of a pod of dolphins frolicking on the waves close to the rocks.



Saturday, July 16, 2016

BERRYS HILL RESERVE HIKE - 15 JULY 2016



There are two main tracks in Berrys Hill Reserve that so far are not interconnected.

I parked at Berrys Hill Road and followed the track.


One service road lead a short distance to a water tank.

Another track (obscure) lead straight up the hill. I'll do this one on another day.

The third track traversed around the hill in a northerly direction.


The track was easy to follow and the landscape varied along the way - being very dry to sub tropical. there were a lot of birds at the beginning that were high in the foliage. Their songs followed me for a long part of the hike.


The track became more obscured on the eastern face of the hill with a number of other tracks (even more obscured) leading upwards to the rocky top of the hill.

I kept on the main track and turned upwards at an intersection of a number of tracks. From here, I scrambled and jumped over the boulders for some nice views of the greenery below.


I backtracked to the intersection and followed a few obscured tracks but they lead to dead ends.


On the way back, I took a few of the obscure tracks that lead up wards.

On one, I found a hermit type dwelling under a sandstone overhang.


On the others, I reached the top and scrambled over the large boulders. I rock scrambled until I could go no further due to the thickest of the vegetation. That was a bit disappointing as the highest part of the hill was ahead of me.


A diverse 1.84 km hike with rock scrambling and a feeling of being nearly lost.

WAMBERAL LAGOON KAYAK - 10 JULY 2016



I managed to find the time for an afternoon kayak.


It was a relaxing kayak. I followed the edge of the lagoon and flowed in, out and under the trees and through the reeds.


The sunlight was putting on a good show with the on and off cloud cover. When the clouds covered the sun the water darkened and got a sort of inky look to it.

The birds were out and about but they wouldn't let me get too close to them. Usually, I kayak in the morning and they seem to ignore me but not today.


At the far end of the lagoon there is a small tributary and just as I was entering a friend of mine was just exiting on his SUP. Small world.


An enjoyable, relaxing and pretty 4.44 km kayak.


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...