CENTRAL COAST - 27 TO 29 MAY 2022

 

27 MAY

A mountain bike ride at Bulls Hill tracks in Brisbane Water National Park. 

A very rough and challenging ride. It was highly eroded with loose fist size rocks over most of the track. I stopped a few times to scrambled to the top of boulder outcrops for a bit of extra fun. The views were great with pockets of mist laying low in the lower sections between the mountains.

28 MAY

A coastal hike from Putty Beach to Bullimah Beach with  Jacinta in Bouddi National Park. 

We walked along the beach, skirted the rocks to the point, scrambled up the patterned sandstone cliffs and followed the coastal path to Bullimah Beach. Such a great hike!

29 MAY

A mountain bike ride with Jacinta on the tracks at Kincumba Mountain Regional Reserve. 

The road to the summit was closed for over a year so this was our first ride there in ages. The road up was heavily potholed and muddy. The tracks were eroded in parts but generally firm. So good to have a ride available again close to home.

CENTRAL COAST - 22 TO 29 JANUARY 2022

 22 JANUARY

A swim at the haven. The water was very clear.

23 JANUARY

A fun surf south of The Ruins.

A well-formed righthander. It was good for an hour then a wind change and higher tide. Heaps of waves.

Later in the afternoon, a mountain bike ride at Bulls Hill and the Old Quarry.

The trail at Bulls Hill was covered in lots of fist size loose stones. A bit difficult to navigate through.

The quarry was fun with firm sand though it was very rutted. A fun ride.

24 JANUARY

A surf south of The Ruins.

Good right handers and the occasional left. Heaps of fun and waves. Only a few out to start but it got crowded and a little intense towards the end of the session.

An afternoon hike at Strickland SF on the arboretum track.

A pleasant to warm hike and very muddy in sections. A good test of Jacinta’s new hiking boots. No one else on the tracks. There were many bird sounds and the creek looked very serene.

25 JANUARY

A surf check. The swell had increased but too large for the beach to handle.

A kayak at Avoca lagoon.

There was little wind and water was reasonably glassy. It was very quiet and relaxing. I paddled around one bend and there were a family of black swans, ducks and other birds. The wind increased and I paddled around the island and back.

A swim at Terrigal haven.

The water was clean and the visibility reasonable. The haven was crowded but the water was relatively empty. A nice swim.

26 JANUARY

A surf south of the ruins.

It didn’t look too good but about ten minutes later it started to get better with some nice rights and lefts. Heaps of waves for a while. Me out only, then two and about seven later. It didn’t last long and it lost quality with the lowering tide.

27 JANUARY

An early surf check but not much happening.

A swim at Terrigal Haven.

28 JANUARY

Small surf and onshore wind.

An early swim at the Haven.

The water was reasonably clear. I saw a large blue groper, a huge sting ray and lots of other medium to small fish. The most I've seen in a while.

29 JANUARY

Packing day.

Kayak check, mountain bikes check, surf gear check, swim and snorkel gear check, food and drink check, whatever check ... ready for a long road trip ... south coast, snowy mountains, Tasmania ... that's the plan :)

SURFS, OCEAN KAYAK, BIKES, HIKES - 24 TO 30 APRIL 2020

24 APRIL 2020

A morning hike at Kincumba Mountain with Jacinta.

We followed the Kanning Track plus the old track that runs over the sandstone rocks above it.

It was quiet with plenty of bird calls and the concessional sighting of some of them. The track was thick with ferns. A pleasant walk.


25 APRIL 2020

An ocean kayak from Patonga Beach to Pearl Beach.

First off, this was a lot further than I thought but it was worth it.

My ocean sit-on kayak was a  lot more complicated to set up before launch - foot petal adjustment, attaching the seat and lining up the steering fin so that it was centred. This kayak was also very heavy (30 plus kg) and the handles are in an awkward balancing position so getting it in and out of the van and carrying it was difficult. Anyway, I lived.

The water was smooth and glassy at the start and once around the first point and wind though gentle made the water a little bumpy. The small swell made it possible for me to paddle close to the rocky shoreline all the way.

The shoreline was mainly rock which had tumbled down from the high cliffs that were only ten metres from the water's edge. There were three small beach areas to land  along the way.

It was an exciting paddle knowing that there was a possibility of tipping.

At one point, two seals were frolicking in water a short distance from me. They were undulating in and out of the water, waving their tails and fins slowly above the water and shaking off water from the upper parts of their bodies like a dog.

The paddle was a 10 km return journey. It took just short of three hours with two beach rests and a swim at Pearl Beach.

27 APRIL 2020

Light rain today.

An afternoon walk around the Haven with Jacinta.

28 APRIL 2020

An early mountain bike ride at Brisbane Water National Park.

A ride along the Bulls Hill trail and tracks. A couple of short steep sections with loose rocks. Great views across the waterways. A couple of rock scrambles to see what was on top of the large boulders.

A short but fun ride.

29 APRIL 2020

A surf check with a wander around Magenta Beach.

Parked the van, walked along the sandy track and I was on Magenta Beach.

Pretty blue skies, sun shining, birds tweeting, waves a rolling and all to myself. :)

A mid afternoon surf at North Avoca Beach with Ken.

It was small and mushy. It was nice to get wet.

30 APRIL 2020

 An early afternoon surf at Terrigal Beach in front of the surf club with Ken.

There was the odd one or two okay wave. The surf started off with a bit of size and bumpy and finished small and smooth.

HIKE, ART, KAYAK AND MOUNTAIN BIKE - 20 JUNE TO 7 JULY 2019

20 JUNE

A mountain bike at Bouddi National Park along the turkey, nw ridge and strom tracks.

A fun ride. I rode over the harder sections of the tracks and did okay. Nice to push yourself a little bit more.

22 JUNE

I took photographs for the 5 Lands Walk at Mac Masters Beach and Copacabana Beach.



It was very interesting photographing the artists and chatting with them about their painting and style of painting.

The surf was good at MacMasters with a lot of surfers out .

25 JUNE

 A rainy day but in between the showers I managed a hike around Somersby Falls. I twas very pretty and there was a lot of water movement.

26 JUNE

A mountain bike ride at Brisbane Water National Park on the Tommos Loop.

A nice ride. I finished it heaps quicker than I thought I would.

28 JUNE

A ride on Kincumba Mountain. Only short but fun.

2 JULY

A kayak out to Iron Ladder beach from Ettalong.

A challenging kayak with strong tidal surges, increasing wind, swell waves, boat wake and hidden underwater rocks. Still, it as fun negotiating all these obstacles.

The water was very clear and the scenery very pretty.

5 JULY

A mountain bike ride along the Bull Hill trail at Brisbane Water National Park.

The trail was very wet pools of water and slippery rocks.

It was only a short ride. I got back to the van, packed and it started to rain very heavy. Lucky Day!