CENTRAL COAST - 1 TO 4 MAY 2022

 

1 MAY

A surf at Wamberal Beach. Had some okay waves.

2 MAY

Walked around Terrigal Haven and had breakfast at The Cove Café with Jacinta.

3 MAY

Surfed at Wamberal with Jungle. Started off okay but got really good towards high tide. A few cover-ups. Best surf since getting back.

4 MAY

A kayak at Avoca Lagoon. 

What a great paddle! The water was a bit greenish but still. There were many near perfect reflections and heaps of bird life, especially at the western end of the lagoon.

An afternoon hike at Girrakool with Jacinta.

The track was very wet. After all the rain, the scenery was clear of dust, highlighting the green of the plants.

CENTRAL COAST - 17 TO 31 DECEMBER 2021

 

17 DECEMBER

A fun surf at Wamberal Beach north of big house.

A good right hander, a little bumpy, strong rip, good shape, three out, heaps of waves.

18 DECEMBER

A surf north of the big house at Wamberal Beach.

Not so good today but okay. A bit more crowded and the waves were smaller and dropping down on the end section. Still paddled out twice for two sessions. J

21 DECEMBER

Marty and family arrived. Let the fun begin.

A swim at the Haven.

22 DECEMBER

A hike at Girrakool with Marty’s family. The recent heavy rains revealed more track to follow.

A crap surf at the Ruins but It was fun having a paddle with Marty.

23 DECEMBER

Marty and family left to go north.

A surf north of the Big House at Wamberal Beach. The wind was a light onshore but the waves were good. A fun right hander with Bryceson.

Bronwyn and Tony arrived.

We opened resents after dinner as we were going to Sydney on Xmas Day.

25 DECEMBER

Sean and Angela’s for Christmas lunch J

26 DECEMBER

A fun surf at Wamberal Beach, north of the big house. Low tide and a very early start. Joined by Bryceson. Waves finished at dead low tide.

27 DECEMBER

A windsurf at Canton Beach. The second best for this year. A steady wind with power. The modified mast worked well. The last 400-mast broke so I had to cut down an old mast to 420. All good.

Photo of Bill at end of gybe.

28 DECEMBER

A walk around Terrigal Haven with Jacinta.

30 DECEMBER

A fun surf at Wamberal Beach, north of the big house. Three out and heaps of small waves.

31 DECEMBER

A surf check but not much happening. So off for a kayak at Avoca Lagoon before the wind increase. A nice paddle but the water level was very low so the journey was a bit limited.

New Years Eve and a few beers and asleep by 9pm. Haha. Woke for a short time to the sound of fireworks.

CENTRAL COAST - 4 TO 10 OCTOBER 2021

 

# I started painting the bedrooms, one at a time, this week – repairing shelving holes, sanding, priming and painting. This will keep me busy for a month. Haha!

 

4 OCTOBER

A surf at North Avoca Beach.

There were heaps of backwash making it difficult to get on the waves and stay on them. ha-ha. Didn’t have any good waves but cop a walloping on one of the sets. Nice to get wet and the water was warm. Spring wetsuit time!

5 OCTOBER

A surf at North Avoca Beach.

The right was looking good. I paddled out and had a ball. The waves were fast and furious at times and though it was a small crowd it was a bit intense. Still, got plenty of waves. J

6 OCTOBER

A hike on the Girrakool loop with Jacinta.

It was a quiet hike with just a few people on the track. The waterfall was trickling and the wildflowers were abundant. Just a just walk through the Australian bush.

7 OCTOBER

A surf check at North Avoca and Killcare Beaches. Not much happening.

A mountain bike ride on the Bouddi Loop.

It seems that life is going quiet again on the weekdays. There were only a handful of cars parked at the Maitland Bay carpark. Lately, it has been overflowing. The bike ride was smooth and fun. I stopped for awhile at the end of the northwest ridge, sat on a rock overlooking the bush below and meditated. A fun ride.

9 OCTOBER

A kayak at Avoca Lagoon.

There were a few sups and other kayakers out. It’s always a brief encounter – hi, nice day, have a good one. I had a long chat with Trevor, who was 80 years old and paddling strong despite a number of health setbacks. We paddled around and into the wilder areas of the lagoon. We took a narrow path though the reeds and into a area relatively free of reeds. There was a swan on a nest that was there weeks ago. It left the nest when we came into the area. This was very unusual as they normally are very protective. We approached the nest, close but not too close. There was an egg unhatched in it. There was two previously. There is a off an on very narrow channel to the larger channel to the east. We battled through the reeds until the water was too shallow. We then, got out of the kayaks and walked through the reeds and across the short distance to the main channel. It was fun doing an ‘African Queen’ movie scene. Haha.

10 OCTOBER

A snorkel at Terrigal Haven.

My first for the season. The visibility was very poor. The water was brisk and clean. The haven was crowded with all manner of water craft – sups, peddling subs and motorised foil surfboards, as well as, swimmers and people hanging out on the beach and rock wall. The view from the water of the walkway was unique. It was nice to get back in the ocean.

CENTRAL COAST - 15 TO 21 AUGUST 2021

 

15 AUGUST

A fun surf at Wamberal Beach – north of the big House.

This bank has been good for a number of days with only a handful of other surfers. The current was strong but the waves had power and shape. J

16 AUGUST

A fun surf at Wamby.

The waves changed a lot with the tide and backwash. Two okay barrels and one clear over the head feel good barrel. J

A hike off track at Girrakool.

Still on a high, I drove to Brisbane Water NP and walked through the bush at Girrakool. It was quiet with small cascades of water and even a red bellied black snake. A dangerous snake but they usually slither away from potential danger … very quickly.

17 AUGUST

A hike to Warrah Lookout.

This was a short hike to an amazing lookout. The wild flowers were in bloom with bees buzzing from flower to flower. The colours were white, yellow, pink, red and purple … a spectrum nearly. There were views along the Hawkesbury River to the west, Box Head to the North and Pittwater and Barrenjoey to the east.

18 AUGUST

Caught up with Paul H and we had a walk along Terrigal Esplanade and The Haven. Nice catch up.

19 AUGUST

Surf check at wamby

Mountain bike ride at Brisbane Water National Park on tracks near Warrah Trig.

Great views from the tessellate sandstone area just north of Warrah Road. A number of shorter tracks one narrow and the others wide. The best was the PMG Track which is all downhill for about six minutes – steep sections, with small and fist sized loose rocks, eroded areas, some flowy sections, views, changing vegetation and an eye out for moving pseudo-sticks.

20 AUGUST

A fun surf at Wamberal Beach. A nice right hand bank. Strong current but some waves with good shape.

CENTRAL COAST - 15 TO 31 DECEMBER 2020

15 December

Back home.

Some basic home cleaning and emptying the van.

16 December

Yard work was a month's worth of fallen sticks and leaves. It took me a few hours to get it looking reasonable.

17 December

A morning surf at Wamberal Beach. I was surfing terrible but the waves were okay. Haha!

Jacinta and I spent the mid morning setting up the Christmas tree and other decorations. Yo ho ho!

Kara returned early from Armidale as she had finished work quicker than expected.

18 December

An early surf at Wamberal Beach. The waves were small on a low tide. There were a few okay waves. The sunrise was very yellow and there was a mist over the ocean. Very pretty!

I caught up with Ken at the Haven for coffee.

We went for a second surf at Wamberal but the tide was a bit too high so only had a couple of waves.

Family dinner with the girls at Kincumber Hotel. Sort of an early Xmas get together before they both went on holidays.

20 December

Jacinta and I drove to Somersby Falls. The water was flowing and it was very pretty. It was also very slippery. 

21 December

A fun surf at Wamberal. The waves were much better and consistent today. Smiley face time!

22 December

A mid morning surf at Pelican Beach with ken. The waves were excellent - hard lefts with size and a killer shore dump ending. Big smiley face time.

23 December

A surf wandering with Ken ending in a crap surf at Birdie Beach

A hike on the Girrakool Loop with Jacinta in the late afternoon. So pretty in the land of cool waters.

24 December

A fun surf at Wamberal Beach and coffee with the boys later.

An afternoon sit at the Terrigal Haven with Jacinta. A nice way to end the day.

25 December

Xmas - a quiet one for us due to the girls away and covid restrictions. 

26 December

A morning kayak at Fagans Bay. There was a light rain at times and a contrasting of light and dark due to the clouds.

A hike from Putty Beach to Bullimah Beach with Jacinta. Along the rocks, over the sandstone cliffs and along the path to Bullimah Beach. 

27 December

A mid morning snorkel at Terrigal Haven – stingray and schools of small fish.

29 December

A kayak at Avoca Lagoon – light rain, quiet, birds, a bird's nest and eggs.

30 December

Rain - inside chores

A great dinner night with Bryson and Jeanette.

REFLECTIONS

This period of Summer has been wet with varying winds. It was hard planning activities but still, make the best of what you can.