CENTRAL COAST - 12 TO 18 NOVEMBER 2022

 

12 NOVEMBER

Lunch at Tall Timbers Hotel with the future in-laws.

Chloe and Angus’s engagement party. What a great night! We met a lot of their friends and relatives from Angus’s family.

15 NOVEMBER

Jacinta, Kara, Johnny and I had breakfast at The Haven. The next stop was Sydney to drop Kara off for her tonsil's operation. Sydney.

Making a day of it we visited long-time friend, Freckle and had a nice lunch at his digs then dinner at Enmore Road. It was great catching up. Newtown was where I grew up, so it was pleasant to reminisce on my early life and share it – where I did a newspaper run, what buildings were still there or what building were now gone …

17 NOVEMBER

A mountain bike ride and a hike to Kariong Falls in Brisbane Water National Park. It was downhill all the way to the falls and, of course, uphill all the way back. The ride was fun as the trail (Tommos Loop) had roughen a lot due to the recent rains. The steep track down to the falls was also eroded making the descent a little tricky. The falls and the area around the falls were so pretty. I spent a ½ hour there just soaking it all in.

Afterwards, it was coffee at The Haven.

18 NOVEMBER

A SUP at Terrigal Lagoon. I was a bit unsteady. Definitely need more practice.

A swim and coffee at Terrigal Haven. The water was warm.

CENTRAL COAST - 12 TO 17 SEPTEMBER 2021

 

12 SEPTEMBER

A windsurf at the old fishing cooperative on Tuggerah Lake.

The wind was a west and it was up and down. One minute you were flying, the next minute was a dead stop. The gusts lasted long enough to make it fun.

13 SEPTEMBER

A wander around Hardys Bay.

We were going for a hike but the wind increased and the rain looked like it was ready to burst.

We wandered around mainly on the jetty where we enjoyed coffee and hot chips.

14 September

I drove over to Canton Beach for a windsurf but the wind wasn’t quite strong enough. J

15 SEPTEMBER

A short/long hike to Kariong Falls in Brisbane Water National Park.

The wild flowers were amazing. We even saw a lone waratah. The hike was along the Tommos Loop trail from Staples Lookout and a turn off for Kariong Falls. At the turnoff, we met three national park rangers. A good chat and they had some interesting stories. The track to the falls was narrow and steep in sections. The waterfall was excellent. So pretty. We wandered around the pool at the base of the falls with no one around. Two of the rangers joined the scenery for a short while then it was back to us.

16 SEPTEMBER

A walk around the Haven with Jacinta.

The Haven has been so crowded that we have avoided it for quite a while but today it felt like precovid again.

17 SEPTEMBER

A morning check of the surf. Not good but the morning hues were excellent

A mountain bike ride with Ken on Rocky Point tracks at Bouddi National Park.

It was only a short ride. The view over Hardys Bay was pretty. We took a turn to the left on the return leg to look at the big drop waterfall.

A walk around the summit of Rumbalara with Jacinta.

Still feeling good, we had a pleasant walk doing a few laps of the summit tracks.

STRICKLAND WATERFALL, PATONGA CREEK, KARIONG FALLS - 9 TO 13 MAY 2020

9 MAY 2020

An early morning hike along the Cabbage Tree and Strickland Falls tracks at Strickland State Forest with Jacinta.

These tracks are accessible from the top car park forming a loop track.

The hike started with gymea lilies along the track edge. A change of scenery with some rock formations and the vegetation changed to grass trees.

A short descent lead to Strickland Falls. I never seen the falls with a great deal of water. The water drops in parts along a semi circle of cliffs. The area seems to be always dark and this reflects in the tall trees and sparse ground cover.

The track follows along the creek and joins onto the cabbage tree track. The vegetation is of a drier type and there was more sunlight.

A well trodden but narrow track with some interesting rock and vegetation features.


10 MAY 202

Happy Mother's Day Jacinta :)

11 MAY 2020

An early hike around the rocks at Terrigal Haven.

The tide was low, the swell smallish, the weather clear, the temperature crisp. Heaps of good ingredients for a hike.

I took my time. soaking in the view and the smaller things in life.

A late morning kayak along Patonga Creek.

I timed this with the tide just on high. This worked out well as I had the tide in my favour going up and down the creek.

It was a good paddle. The wind was blocked, the sun was shining, the water was mostly clear and there were a lot of reflections on the water.

The creek starts wide but narrows considerably about half and winds in and around the mangroves.

There were fewer oyster leases than I previously remember which made for an easier kayak.


12 MAY 2020

A short mountain bike ride at Kincumba Mountain.

I wasn't feeling the best so I just did a few tracks close to the car park.


13 MAY 2020

A mountain bike along along Tommos Loop with a hike to Kariong Falls in Brisbane Water National Park.

An easy ride along Tommos Loop on the bike with a couple of steep downhills.

I turned off the main trail and on to the track to Kariong Falls. I rode a short distance and hid the bike in the bush and continued by foot.

It was a steep eroded hike down to the falls with some views and some interesting rock formations. It was so quiet around the falls which tumbled down into a clear pool of  deep water. I wander around the pool edge and eventually sat on a comfortable rock in the sun and soaked in the tranquility.

I had my time there in seclusion and passed four people along the track back to Tommos Loop. I retrieved my bike and continued my ride along the loop till the main road. It was a fast and quick return to the van.