CENTRAL COAST - 15 TO 21 JANUARY 2022

 15 JANUARY 2022

An afternoon swim at Terrigal Haven. On the way home, there were rain, thunder and lightning. Good timing.

16 JANUARY 2022

An early morning surf check. The conditions were looking good but there was no quality.

A mountain bike ride at Brisbane Water NP on the Tommos Loop Trail.

An easy ride along a trail with a few narrow side tracks. There were a few muddy sections due to yesterday afternoon heavy rain but apart from that it was dry and firm. A few good downhill sections and a fast return along Woy Woy Road. Half way along a met a guy taking bird photos with a massive lens. He chatted and he showed me a few of his photos.

17 JANUARY 2022

An afternoon swim at Terrigal haven

The visibility was still poor but it was nice to get wet.

18 JANUARY 2022

An early surf check. 

It wasn’t too good but there were a few random ones coming through at The Ruins that looked okay.

A windsurf at Canton Beach.

The wind had increased but not quite enough. I had my largest sail 6’3” but I was only puttering. Still, I twerked my sail rig and by the end it was starting to feel good. The next three days are predicted to be strong winds. Fingers crossed.

19 JANUARY 2022

A terrible windsurf at Canton Beach. The wind had too much east and wasn't getting onto the lake.

20 JANUARY

A no windsurf at Canton Beach. It looked like there was a stronger SE wind but once again it wasn't getting onto the lake.

A hike with Jacinta at Rumbalara.

We did a few laps of the top loop and along the ridge. there were great views over Brisbane Water and there was no one else on the tracks.

A swim at the Terrigal Haven. The visibility was poor and the water was dirty. Glad I had ear plugs.

I had my covid booster and didn't feel any side effects. Ha wait till tomorrow.

21

Woke up sore and felt like I had been put in a washing machine from the covid booster. That eased off and converted to vertigo. 

In the afternoon, I went to the dentist for two crown insertions.

Haha, now my jaw was numb and later sore.

A not so great day!

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.

CENTRAL COAST - 8 TO 14 AUGUST 2021

 9 AUGUST

A cycle at Gosford waterfront.

We started at East Gosford near the Sailing Club and followed the cycle track around the waterfront of Brisbane Water. A great ride - parklands, bridges, boardwalks, tunnels! A number of people doing the same thing either by foot or pedal.

10 AUGUST

A sunrise surf check at Wamberal Beach and North Avoca Beach.

A mountain bike ride on summit tracks of Rumbalara Reserve.

We did a n umber of circuits of the top track in both directions a couple of times. Free flowing and relatively flat. 

11 AUGUST

A kayak at Erina Creek.

The wind was light and the tide was slightly in my favour for the paddle. The best part was after the Sunken Monkey Hotel where the shoreline looked more natural and to a degree untouched.

12 AUGUST

A hike at Berrys Head.

This was a fairly rough hike. There was a lot of up and down with some steep parts. The track skirted the base of the summit. The summit was strewn with large boulders. There were also a number of side tracks. One track joined up with the other track at Berry Head.

13 AUGUST

A mountain bike ride at The Old Quarry and Tommos Loop in Brisbane Water National Park.

A fun ride. I thoroughly enjoyed myself in the quarry. I pushed my limits on the rough rock terrain and tried to remain casual. It seemed to work but maybe that was luck. haha. 

Tommos Loop seemed easier than the last time I rode it. Good views and some steep sections.

A fun surf at Wamberal Beach. A really good right just north of the big house. The current was very strong and it was tiring trying to keep in the right take off position. Only two others paddled out. :)

CENTRAL COAST - HIKES, SNORKELS, MTB AND SURF - 1 TO 12 APRIL 2019

4 APRIL

A mountain bike ride at Bouddi National Park on the Turkey NW Ridge and Strom tracks. It was heaps of fun, especially, as it was the longest ride that I'd had for awhile.



5 APRIL

Off and on heavy rain during the day but it cleared somewhat in the afternoon.

Jacinta and I had a hike at Rumbalara Reserve on the Iron Bark and Flannel Flower tracks. Great tracks with views over Brisbane Water. There were a lot of white bumpy looking mushrooms in bloom.



6 APRIL

A coffee and morning walk around  Haven with Jacinta. The waves slowly undulating on a smooth ocean looked great.

Later, I drove over to Warrah Trig Road near Patonga for a mountain bike ride in Brisbane Water National Park. I had a fun time. It started with riding over the tessellated sandstone and admiring the views over the hinterland and the ocean. Then it was a series of short windy tracks with lots of spider webs (orb weavers and golden orb weavers) blocking the path to the over side of the gully. Back on the main tracks and I turned down the PMG track. This was very rough and steep with heaps of loose stones with lots of deep ruts caused by water erosion and of course lots of spider webs. It was hard looking ahead as well as above. I ran into a lot of webs and had to stop to remove the webs and occasionally a spider from my head. Back up the track and then a series of wider tracks back to the car.

After the ride, I had a swim and rest at Pearl Beach. It was nice in the water then sitting on the beach admiring the views.


8 APRIL

A snorkel at Toowoon Bay. There were a lot of fish but visibility was poor in general due to wave movement. Still, it was a warm day and it was nice sitting on the beach in the sun.



10 APRIL

I finally had a decent night sleep. The new medication I took for the parasitic worms seemed to killing them. I woke feeling th most pumped for the last two months.

A mountain bike ride at Kincumba Mountain along a number of tracks. It felt great and smooth.

Kara and I had coffee at The Reef Cafe and enjoyed the morning view over the ocean.

11 APRIL

A surf check but not good on the low tide. Coffee and short hike at Terrigal Beach.

House chores …

12 APRIL

An early snorkel at Terrigal Haven. It was low tide and clear water once past the beach being closer to the rocks. there were heaps of small and large fish and a number of stingrays. The water was cool and the wind was light but cool. I lost a lot of body heat and it took awhile to warm up.

Later, a surf at North Avoca Beach. There was a nice off and on wave where the rip was flowing out strongly. A number of okay waves but soon the tide was too full for the wave height. Nice to be surfing again and the old merit surfboard went well.