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.