I had a fun 6.81km and 79m elevation range ride at Bouddi National Park. I rode the tracks at the box head section of the park.
The start was steep along the service road. It soon flattened out relatively and there were great views over Brisbane Water and stunning views over the ocean and coastal cliffs.
I rode that a small track on the left which end up being a fun ride with great views back over towards Putty Beach. The track roughened up so I ditched the bike and continued to followed the track to the cliffs edge by foot. Heaps of flowers.
I backtracked and continued along the service road and turned onto the Wagstaff trail. Parts of this were smooth and flowing and other parts rocky and challenging.
A check of the sunrise and surf and off for a bike ride.
The GPS didn't work correctly so no map or ride information.
It was a good ride that lasted about 1 hour. I felt that I had improved since last riding this track - moving a little faster, handling obstacles better and smoother.
I had to drive to Sydney this morning to fill in a form. Two hours to get there 2 minutes to fill in the form and two hours back. It was okay as to cut a long story short, I had saved $3 000.
Kara, Archibald the dusty lorikeet and I went to Putty Beach surf Club for lunch. It was nice sitting in the sun having a coffee and a bite to eat.
Another sunny morning with some clouds at sunrise on Wamberal Beach. Once again the surf wasn't so good so off for a bike ride.
I drove to Kincumba Mountain and rode along some familiar tracks. It was a good, fun ride. I hadn't been on the bike for over a month but I was surprised that I followed the tracks fairly easily with a bit of speed and with less effort than previously. :)
A brilliant day with a nice sunrise at Wamberal Beach.
Surf not so good so over to Avoca for a kayak.
The lagoon was very high with water. Where we sometimes sit on the lagoon's edge was a half metre under water. The best part is kayaking over places that were usually dry land.
I paddled a bit through the reeds and trees, admired the early morning reflections and watched the various birds in their native habitat. there were black swans, cormorants, ducks and plovers today.
We had visitors. A pair of Australian King Parrots landed on the deck and stayed for a short while. They are such a pretty bird. They have only visited occasionally. :)
Here is some birdy info:
Alisterus scapularisPsittacidae
Male Australian King-Parrots are the only Australian parrots with a completely red head. Females are similar to males except that they have a completely green head and breast. Both sexes have a red belly and a green back, with green wings and a long green tail. King parrots are normally encountered in pairs or family groups.
King-Parrots are usually found in rainforests or wet sclerophyll forests
The King-Parrot mostly forages in trees for seeds and fruit.
King-Parrots lay their eggs on a bed of decayed wood-dust at the bottom of a deep hollow in the trunk of a tree. Often the entrance is high in the tree (10 m) but the eggs are near the ground (0.5 m).
A 2 hour ride from Balian and we were in Legian at the Grand Kumala Hotel.
It only took a short while to register and then settle into our rooms.
I've stayed at the GK heaps. The staff were nice and helpful, the rooms were okay, the pools okay, the gardens nice, restaurant okay. I felt very comfortable there.
We followed a strict routine of eating, resting, massaging, motor biking, street walking, beach walking, pool swimming, bintang drinking and shopping.
So what are the attractions. Well, the hotel is well situated near all our needs. There is a wide choice of eating and massaging. It is a short walk to the beach.
This part of the beach is pretty lively with the promenade lined with a few relatively expensive restaurants. We spent a few afternoons on a bean bag having a beer, watching the sellers and enjoying the sunset.
The car ride from Kuta to Balian was just over 2 hours at 400 000R.
We pulled into Gubug Bungalows which we booked through booking.com. We were a bit early so we waited an hour for the rooms to be vacated and cleaned. All settled and happy.
The new infinity pool was cool in temperature and appearance. The rooms were good but Kara's shower didn't work properly and despite numerous attempts to have it fixed, it was defected the whole stay. Avoid room 2. Later, she changed to room 4 and that had shower issues as well. Anyway our room was great.
The room's verandah looked out across the gardens, pool and the Balian surf break. Nice to sit, eat cheese and biscuits with a JD and coke.
Breakfast was plentiful and tasty.
So in a nutshell, I surfed, hiked, rode motorbike, ate and slept. Jacinta and Kara sat by the pool, swam, got ridden on a motorbike, ate and slept. Everyone was happy and this trend continued for the next two weeks.
The surf . I had good waves everyday surfing one, two, and even three times a day but one for the two weeks from shoulder height to double overhead waves. Heaps of waves and so much fun!
People - we met lots of people and caught up on some old friends. It is a good place to meet people most of them were nice and normal and some were very different. One guy had exactly the same conversation (dialogue) with me on the three times I spoke with him.
Catching up with friends was great - Mark, Jeff and Marty are nice guys and local people like Ayu were very warm to see me. I wouldn't call it home but I feel very comfortable there.
One morning, I went for a hike north when the tide was super low and the waves very small. I managed to go through three caves and follow the coast line without one incident.
On another day, I drove the bike around looking for fun things to do. I drove along two beaches, a number of coconut groves and some very rough tracks. FUN :)
Twice, I drove to Medewi. The first time the surf was good at head height with only two other guys out. Heaps and heaps of waves. The second time, the waves were very good but it was crowded. Still, there were heaps of waves and some obstacles to maneuver (people) around.
We all left Balian happy and I was surf exhausted and needed a rest. Nice way to be!
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