CENTRAL COAST - 5 TO 11 NOVEMBER 2022

 5 NOVEMBER

A long mountain bike ride at Kincumba Mountain. I followed my usual trails and added on the new track off the Sid Pulseford trail. Heaps of fun. And not so wet today.

Later, Jacinta and I had a walk around Terrigal Haven along the paths, the coastal rocks and the beach.

7 NOVEMBER

An early morning walk along Terrigal Haven Beach with a coffee in hand.

A kayak on Brisbane Water around Pelican Island at Woy Woy.

It was a sunny start with a very light breeze and an incoming tide. The water was deep enough to paddle close to the edge of the island. That was good as there were a lot of oyster farms lining the island that I didn’t have to paddle around their far edges. The higher tide meant I could paddle in amongst the mangroves. It was fun paddling around the trees and other obstacles in the clear water.

8 NOVEMBER

A kayak at Brisbane Water along the Cockle Channel and around Cockle Bay. It was a fun kayak – up close to a roosting sea eagle, a narrow mangrove creek, under the mangrove trees, old and pitted trees, a mangrove/sand island and all under a blazing sun.

9 NOVEMBER

A few laps of Terrigal Haven on the rocks and the paths followed by my first ocean swim of the season.

10 NOVEMBER

A long surf check but not much form.

A mountain bike ride at Munmorah SCA along the tracks on and off the Old Quarry trail. The entry into the quarry was steep on loose gravel. The downhill section near the highway was great … narrow and challenging.

A swim at Terrigal Haven.

11 NOVEMBER

A morning hike around the rocks at Avoca Point. The tide was low but there were a few random waves to watch out for as I walked around. The waves were roiling, the rocks were slippery, the cliffs were high, there had been a lot of small rock falls, the sun was shining.

I caught up with Jacinta at Terrigal haven for coffee.

I did another surf check and the waves looked okay at Wamberal Beach. I had a fun surf for about ¾ hour before the wind and increasing tide played havoc with the wave quality. It was nice to catch a few decent waves.

COCKLE BAY KAYAK AND TERRIGAL HAVEN SNORKEL - 13 NOVEMBER 2016

Yesterday, I had another fun surf at Wamberal Beach.

Today, I checked the surf but the tide was too high. So, I went for a kayak at Cockle Bay in Brisbane Water.

It was a nice kayak along the Cockle channel, then into Kincumber Broadwater then across and through the narrow opening of Cockle Bay.

When I reached the Cockle Bay, I noticed that the kayak had taken in a lot of water. I finally found a place to beach thee kayak and drain the water out. I then discovered a 1/2 centimetre hole in the rear and base of my kayak.

Well, that was not acceptable so I broke off a mangrove root and turned and twisted it until it filled in the hole. Some more water managed to leak through but it was only minor.

On leaving Cockle Bay, there were two white-bellied sea eagles roosting on an overhanging dead tree. Such a pretty sight.

Back home and Kara wanted to go to the beach. Off we went and I had a snorkel out along the rocks of Terrigal Haven.

The visibility was okay but there wasn't much to see.

I got very excited when I saw a large lobster but on closer inspection it was dead along with a few others nearby.

We had a chat to some people who were cleaning out their car and then put their rubbish into the bushes. There are a lot of bins close by and it was so unnecessary. They acted dumb when we approached them but they retrieved the rubbish from the bushes. I hope they don't do it again.

CENTRAL COAST - BRISBANE WATER - COCKLE BAY - KAYAK/HIKE - 5 DECEMBER 2014

The morning sky was brewing with potential storms with patches of clear sky. As the morning progressed it cleared more and more.



I launched at the boat ramp at Empire Bay. The tide was going high so it was an easy paddle. The water was swirling and uplifting along the jetties on Cockle Channel. The kayak had a different feel when I passed over these eddies.

Once out of the channel and around a small island, I paddled towards Cockle Bay. The shoreline was mangrove with taller trees behind them. The sun was rising and twinkling across the water. The ride became more natural and prettier at this point.

The birds were out this morning. The first sight were two white bellied sea eagles who were roosted in one of the taller trees. They flew so effortlessly in flight.

Entering Cockle Bay there is a narrow fast flowing channel with mud flats and mangroves along its banks. There were a number of birds here. The Eastern Great Egrets and White Faced Herons were he stand outs. They were foraging for food in the mud and shallows. The Egret is a slow bird to take flight with slow wing flaps and then a glide.

There were fish and sting rays scooting off on my approach leaving a muddy trail in the water.

The return paddle was harder with the tide working against me. I landed on the two islands at the end of the Cockle Channel. The first landing was on a beach. It was a pleasant walk around the small island and would be a great spot for an overnight camp. I landed on the second island through a small gap in the mangroves. The vegetation was thicker here so walking was difficult. The mosquitoes were insane and descended on me ferociously.

A pretty ride with a beautiful sunrise, islands, eagles and natural vegetation.

4.89 km
1 hour 32 m

CENTRAL COAST - BRISBANE WATER - Cockle Bay - kayak - 31 october 2012

I launched at the boat ramp at serento close empire bay.

It was a nice glassy paddle along the channel with the tide helping me. There were a number of small islands at the end of the channel. These islands and their foreshores were teeming with birdlife. I followed the bay around to the right to the entrance of cockle bay.

The channel was narrow and fun to paddle due to the volume of water moving in to fill the bay. The bay is quite scenic with eagles, ibis, etc. At one stage, I notice a strange movement in the water that turned out to be a large turtle. Further along, I pulled in for a rest and sunk into the mud up to my knees. An experience that I'm glad stopped at the knees.

Leaving the bay. I paddled over to some oyster leases. Seagulls had made them their nesting sites and they weren't happy as I neared them.

The paddle back was a little hard with the tide now working against me.

A nice paddle with heaps of birds and a turtle!

distance 3.54km
time 2 hours
av speed 2km/hr