CENTRAL COAST - ERINA CREEK - KAYAK - 10 NOVEMBER 2014 - 'UP THE CREEK WITH A PADDLE'

A cloudy morning but I had the time to do something.



I drove to Erina and parked near the boat ramp. The wind looked like it might pick up so I chose Erina Creek compared to Caroline Bay as it looked that it would be more sheltered later.

The creek was muddy brown as usual and lined with mangroves. There were a number of birds foraging in them.

The tide was on the turn so it was an easy paddle up creek.

The highlights were:

A lizard lying in the water allowed me to drift up to 1/2 metre away from it before it briskly swam to a more difficult place for me to reach it.

Another lizard, swam away quickly from me then scuttled up the mud bank to eye me indignantly from it's lofty perch on the high bank.

I drifted over an enormous brown sting ray. It was close to a metre in diameter.

A number of overhead branches allowed enough room to paddle under.

The rubbish was a eyesore but at times in was intriguing. For example, the golf buggy in the centre of the mangroves (it would have been an effort to put it there), bedding on a secluded creek bank and the swing ropes (after seeing the sting ray, I wouldn't be too keen for a swim).

A fun and amusing paddle.

distance - 7.56km
time - 1h 55m
av. speed - 3.9 km/h
max speed - 6.5 km/h