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!

SURF, SNORKELS, HIKE - 13 JANUARY 2018

11 January 2018

Very small surf today.

A snorkel at Toowoon Bay in the morning. The conditions were excellent - light wind, smooth water, low swell - leading to very clear water.

Highlights:

A lot of fish and a few large ones.

Under one rock crevice was an octopus.

At one section the water was shallow and the sea weed thick and I had to snorkel though it. It was like being brushed all over as I moved.

Clear water.

12 January 2018

Very small surf.

Jacinta and I drove over to Blue Bay. It was a beautiful white sand small crescent shaped beach. The swell was small so we walked along the beach towards the north until we found a good spot to sit.

I went for a snorkel along the northern point. There was reasonable visibility, a lot of seaweed, glimpses of large fish and a few stingrays on the sand bottom. I followed a couple of stingrays for awhile. They are so fluid and graceful in the water.

Back on shore, I had a hike around the rocks while Jacinta continued to bake and read. The small swell allowed me to walk safely along the rocks close to the water. There were lots of mollusks, light seaweed, rock pools and interesting rock formations.

Back to Jacinta and we decided on going to The Entrance for coffee. We picked a nice cafe on a wooden boardwalk and took in the view while we drunk our cappuccinos and cake.

13 January 2018

A surf at North Avoca. Looked okay but only had a few nice ones. Most waves were steep and short.

Down the Haven for a coffee with Jacinta.

About mid day, Jacinta and I drove to Copacabana Beach. A little windy but had a few fun waves.

BEACHES, BIKE AND FATHER'S DAY - 3 SEPTEMBER 2017

2 September 2017

In the morning, Jacinta and I went down to Terrigal Haven for a coffee. We sat on the beach in the sun but we were both too virus-out-of-it to do anything else.

Kara and I took Mr Archibald down to Copacabana Beach.

We sat on the sand with a warm spring sun on our backs. Archibald played on us and the sand. I watched the guys surfing off the point and the beach.

As usual, Mr A sparked a lot of interest, especially, from a group of young surfers who wanted to take a picture of themselves and Archibald. Oh, such a celebrity.

In the afternoon, I felt like the virus was starting to break as I felt like doing something active.

3 September 2017

I drove to Brisbane Water National Park for a mountain bike ride.

I decided to ride to and around the quarry and make a further decision at the end of that section.

I took a short turn off and rode over the rocks and along the creek at the eastern end of the quarry. The wild flowers were in bloom and the perfume they generated was intoxicatingly pleasant. I rode up a rough overflow track to the eastern side of the quarry's more natural looking and largest pond. It was so pretty. The lake was fringed with reeds and water birds floated serenely over the surface. The clouds raced across a deep bright blue sky which was reflected in the lightly ruffled water.

I rode back down the overflow which was quite a challenged as it was etched with deep and sharp ruts. I made it successfully to the bottom though none too stylish or fluid.

I continued along the service road to the quarry. I made a decision to challenge myself so I rode a little harder and over sections I normally have had difficulties. To sum it up, the terrain was bumpy, hard, sharp, rutted, soft sand, boggy or/and steep. A lot of fun.

I was bellowing like a bellow at times - being the shortness of breath from the virus - but I stopped controlled my breathing and continued.

The ride was about 3 km with birds, fragrant flowers, beautiful bush scenery and stark quarry features.

After the ride, I met Jacinta down at Terrigal Haven. We sat in the warm sun on the beach, chatted and drank cappuccinos.

Today as Father's Day in Australia. The girls organized a great pastry picnic at Wamberal Lagoon. the food was great, the company excellent, the views awesome and the presents amazing. I had a lovely time. I love the tie-dyed hoody.

COFFEE, HIKE AND MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE - 1 JUNE 2017

31 may 2017

The weather for the morning was coolish and sunny.

I checked the waves but very small so I had a walk around Terrigal Haven. Being low tide and a sm all swell, I was able to walk around the rocks at the base of the cliff. It was nice going to the edge of the rocks and the water and checking out a few rock pools.

I met up with Jacinta and paul for coffee at 'The Cove'. A nice chat in the sun while protected from the breeze.

1 june 2017

Surf check but a no go.

Rang and caught up with high school mate and long time surfing buddy John at Copacabana for a morning coffee and chat. Noice.

Up to Kincumba Mountain for a mountain bike ride. I rode a couple of tracks and had a fun time. The ride felt smooth and easy. I guessed that losing a bit of weight and extra exercise was starting to pay off. Yo!

Called Jacinta who was just finishing a morning walk so I joined her at Terrigal Haven for coffee, chat and a sun sit.

Later in the morning, Kara Mr. Archibald and I sat in the sun at Wamberal Lagoon protected from the cool winds. Relaxing and pretty.

WINNIE BAY HIKE - 8 FEBRUARY 2017

Yesterday, I had an a ocean swim at Terrigal Haven wearing goggles and snorkel.

The water looked clear but there was a lot of small plankton in the water which made it difficult for the camera to focus. There were a lot of fish about, the highlight being a large groper.

Today, it was still raining lightly at dawn but looked like it was a going to clear soon.


I drove to Captain Lookout at Copacabana and followed the track to Winnie Bay.

It was a very wet hike as the vegetation was thick along the track and dripping with raindrops. My shoes and pants were drenched by the time I got to the open area of Winnie Bay.

The walk was great as it followed the cliff edge until it dropped towards the bay below. There were lots of short turnoffs that lead to the cliff edge with expansive ocean views and dizzying drops to the ocean and rocks below.

It was a slow hike going down as there was an abundance of Golden Orb Weaver spiders along the side of the track and a number of times across thee track. I had to carefully remove an edge of the web so that the web was moved to side of the track. I watched one of thee orb weavers deal with a prey that had entangled itself in its sticky web.

Winnie Bay was a light pebbly beach with rock platforms stretching out from the base of the cliffs. The waves were crashing in a rough and random manner on the shore edge. I enjoyed walking on the flat rocks and watching the crabs scuttle away on my approach.

A wet but good 2.87 km hike.

I met two police officers at the lookout at the end. There was no problems but they part of there run was to check lookouts and large water storage tanks for vandalism and other indiscretions.

I had a short ocean swim at Terrigal haven before heading home.

Later in the afternoon, I went to the movies to see 'Resident Evil'. It was non stop action all the way. :)