MOUNT ETTALONG HIKE - 10 SEPTEMBER 2017

Jacinta and I drove over to Mount Ettalong for a short hike.

There wasn't any flowers but there were a lot of birds to be heard but not seen.

Highlights of the hike included:

The distorted shapes of the trees due to a number of factors such as,  poor soils, large slabs of sandstone and salty air.

Great views towards the south over Pearl Beach, Lion Island and Broken Bay as well as view over Umina, The Box, Ettalong and Brisbane Water.

We walked to the top lookout first then meandered back taking short turnoff tracks. We sat for a while on an overhanging rock ledge and admired the view while soaking in the sunshine.

After the hike, we drove to Pearl Beach and had coffee on the beach then a snooze in the morning sun.

MOUNT ETTALONG MTB - 25 MAY 2016

Another sunny morning. I drove to Umina to check the surf. It was pretty big so I continued to Patonga Beach. Patonga is very sheltered but I was interested to see how a big swell affected it. No effect but it was so pretty.

I stopped on the way back at Mount Ettalong.


It is a short ride being 1.8 km but it has some of the best views on the Central Coast. I tis a single wide track over dirt and sandstone leading to a lookout over Umina and Box Head. Along the way there are short side tracks to sandstone ledges giving amazing views of Pearl Beach and south to Sydney.

There were some amazing tree formations - growing over and between the rocks

The views were spectacular on the whole ride. Each stop gave a slightly different perspective.

The final view was across Umina nd Box Head. The sun was directly into the eyes but the view would be heaps better later in the day.

A fun ride.

CENTRAL COAST BOX HEAD - SURF - 5 june 2013

Paul had just recently bought a boat so off we (me, Paul, Guy, Glenn and Michael) went to The Box at Ettalong for a surf.

The surf break is a long way out so it is either a long paddle from the beach or a walk over the hill and a paddle up the river. Either way it is a long exhausting paddle back in after a surfing session.

We launched somewhere near the rip bridge. We were half way to the break when the engine started billowing smoke. We landed and it seemed to fix itself. Lucky!!!!

The waves were good though a little smallish. The sets were reasonably sized though it was a bit of a wait. There were only a few of us out so there were plenty of waves.

Great day!