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.

CENTRAL COAST - 12 TO 18 FEBRUARY 2021

 14 February

Because of covid restrictions and our daughters being away we had a quiet Christmas.

Today was for us Christmas Day but in February. We hadn’t put the Christmas decorations and tree away so the home had a festive feel to it. The girls were home and their boyfriends too. Jacinta sister and husband were here. In addition, my long time friend and his wife were there to join us for a long lunch.

We started we drinks and progressed to lunch which was massive and tasty. Next were the Secret Santa presents which Kara organised. The final part was the family Christmas presents. Everyone was happy with the food, drinks and presents.

15 February

A surf check revealed poor quality waves as the wind was strong and getting stronger.

A windsurf day! I arrived at Canton Beach on Tuggerah Lake and Graham was rigging up. Before long, I was rigged and in the water with the 5m sail. It was an awesome session with strong constant wind. I managed a few small chop jumps and had a couple of wipe outs gybing in the strong winds. A fun day.

17 February

A surf check of North Avoca Beach. The surf was poor and the beach was covered in bluebottles.

I loaded in the kayak and headed over to Woy Woy. It was nice paddle along the channel and around Pelican Island and the oyster farms. The tide was low exposing the farms and adding a couple of kilometres onto the paddle. There were only a few birds about maybe because it was a little windy. I watched a pair of Sooty Oyster Catchers and a white faced heron that was foraging for food in the shallows.

18 February

An east wind this morning.

I rang mark and we drove over to Blackwall Mountain for a mountain bike ride. We got to the top for a great view over Ettalong, unfortunately to the east a rain squall was moving in. We just started the downhill when the rain it us. We continued and had wet fun exploring the tracks and with two downhill rides along some heavily eroded tracks. We were drenched by the end of the session.

Back home and the rain cleared … for the rest of the afternoon. haha

WAMBERAL BEACH SURFS AND PELICAN ISLAND KAYAK - 30 JANUARY 2018

29 January 2018

I checked the surf at Soldiers Beach but was too small.

On the way back home, I stopped at the big house at Wamberal Beach. I chatted with a few friends and decided on a surf. It didn't look too good but it actually got better and better before it became a non event with the lowering tide. A fun surf with Craig.

30 January 2018

I started the day with an early kayak around Pelican Island at Woy Woy.

The rising sun was vibrate and powerful, setting off twinkles across Brisbane Water. Nearing the shores of Pelican Island my first sights were a cormorant drying its wings on the beach and a pair of plovers just standing there looking over the water channel. 

As I paddled around the island, I passed mangroves, small beaches and oyster farms. 

I spotted a number of birds such as pelicans, Australian pied oystercatchers, a sea eagle and an eastern great egret.

The water was very clear in parts and I managed to get a few underwater scenes. I liked the scenes with the small fish curiously wondering about the camera.

A relaxing and fun kayak with the tide in my favour most of the way.

Next, I drove to Wamberal Beach and had a small fun surf with Chris K. We paddled out into waves that steadily improved until the lowering tide turned them into small closeouts. We had some okay waves for about 40 minutes.

After the surf, I drove to Terrigal Haven for a ocean view relax and a cappuccino.

WOY WOY KAYAK - 14 FEBRUARY 2017

The wind was blowing from the east and the surf was looking a little messy especially with the low tide.

I drove to Woy Woy for a kayak.


The sun was rising amongst the cloud cover, peeping through when possible. The water had a oily smooth look to it with the overall scene in varying shades of contrasting greys.

I followed the channel towards the east and from then on I circumnavigated Pelican Island and back into the channel.

Some of the highlights:

Small white sand beaches with no footprints.

Many waterbirds in flight and foraging amongst the shallows.

The mangroves blooming in small orange flowers.

Old barges moored in the channel.

Piers with just enough clearance to paddle under.

The wake of passing boats sending the water rippling and the kayak bobbing.

A jellyfish struggling in the shallow waterweed water.

A sandy coloured stingray gliding over the top of the dark green seaweed.

A pretty 3.88 km kayak.

PELICAN ISLAND AND THE ENTRANCE CHANNEL KAYAK - 16 MAY 2016

The wind was light but looked like it was on the increase. I decided on a kayak to Pelican Island in Tuggerah Lake and then a paddle/play in The Entrance channel.

Pelican Island is part of Wyrrabalong National Park. This national park runs along the coastline in sections then covers the islands in Tuggerah Lake. It must be difficult to manage!

The paddle out was a bit bumpy due to a slightly increasing wind but drop off when I reached the sheltered side of the island. I was planning a walk but the vegetation was too thick and where it was sparser there were a lot of birds that I didn't want to disturb.

Back to the channel I followed the southern side and had a fun time passing sightseers and fishermen.

One fellow pointed out that there was a large sting ray just ahead of me. Thanks, I got some nice underwater shots of it.

In the centre of the channel are a number of sand banks where birds tend to congregate.

A fun 4.19km kayak.