NORTH AVOCA, MEDOWIE, MYALL LAKES NP - SURF, MTB, HIKE - 26 SEPTEMBER 2017

Back in the water surfing yesterday at North Avoca. Good and fun left and right handers. One short barrel off one of the lefts. After all the virus, I was expecting to surf poorly but I was happy with my effort - throwing myself into some hard takeoffs, a few cut backs, a couple of races down the line and feeling tight on the backhand.

I had an early surf again at North Avoca. Just a couple of other guys out but plenty of good waves. A fun surf.

Back home, to wake Jacinta and off north in the campervan to Myall Lakes National Park.

We had done most of the packing the night before so it was just a few small packs and off we went.



The first stop was Medowie MTB tracks. This was a single 10km track through dry eucalypt forest. Luckily for me, there were a couple of young guys there who guided me to the start of the track (there were a number of tracks to follow) and away I went. It was an easy track in that the gradient was low but their were some fun obstacles to test myself on.

I did about 8 km of the track. I don't know where the other 2 km were but I had fun and felt great.

Our next stop was Tea Gardens. We bought some cappuccinos at the Mangrove Café and sat on the waterfront overlooking the massive waterway. Very pretty.

Next, we had a short stop at Bennetts Beach in the town of Hawks Nest to check the surf. The surf was small and breaking close to the shore. Once again were pretty.

Next stop, was Hole In The Wall. This is a beach inside the Myall Lakes National Park. Once again the surf was of a low quality but the scenery was so pretty. Just a long and empty of people beach.

We drove onwards to Mungo Brush camp area, which was next to the lake, where we stopped for lunch and then a had a hike through the rainforest.

The hike was through dry rainforest with dried cabbage palm leaves covering the track base in places. About halfway through the walk, we had access to the lake and much to our surprise there was an Eastern Bearded Dragon lizard trying to look invisible on the tree root.

Next, was a short drive to Banksia Green camp area. We set up camp and after awhile we met a local couple who told us a short history of the area - rutile mining and shacks on the beach.

We sat on the beach watched the surf, a couple of whales and the changing shadows of the sand dunes as the sun set.