ALONG THE RIDGE MTB - KOOLEWONG - 18 JUNE 2019

A mountain bike ride at Brisbane Water National Park.

I followed the tracks that lead off from the Koolewong firetrail.



There were some very steep sections which were a fun ride downhill but a slog uphill.

There were a number of spots with views across Brisbane Water which was steeply far below.

Along the way there were a few disused trail that were steep and littered with fist sized stones. It was a challenged getting down them in one piece.

The ride ended at a microwave tower. I circumnavigated part of the fencing that surrounded the station and the immense tower.

A great ride.

BIKE AND HIKE - HAVEN, COOKS RIVER, PUTTY BEACH - 16 JUNE 2019

13 JUNE


A trip to Sydney for a medical appointment for Kara.


While at the appointment, I had an hour to spare so I had a bike ride along Cooks River cycle path. It was a fun ride with lots of bridges to cross and a few narrow spots to navigate through.


14 JUNE


It was a bit windy today so I was thinking of a sheltered spot for a hike.


I hiked around the rocks south of Terrigal Haven.

It was a fun wander around the rocks – waves rolling over the rocks, multicoloured rock pools, steep cliffs and huge rock falls.


15 JUNE


I enjoyed the hike so much yesterday I decided on another at Putty Beach.


I walked along the beach and out to the point. There were small waves, rock pools, long crevices and the occasional bird.

At the end of the point I turned inland and scaled the sandstone cliffs. It was an easy climb. The sandstone was very colourful with some amazing patterns and shapes.

At the top was a glorious view along the coast.


16 JUNE


A cloudy and chilly day. 


We had a walk around the Haven and the beach and settled down for a coffee on the beach.

ON THE WATER - WOY WOY - 12 JUNE 2019

A kayak at Woy Woy with Kara and Mr Archibald.

It took us awhile to fit the two kayaks in the van but where there's a will there's a way.

The kayak was fun.

Mr Archibald slipped into the water briefly then spent most of the time hiding under Kara's ponytail.

I took the sit-on kayak. It was so heavy and a little complicated to get the fin and foot pedals right. It went well but a little more sluggish than the other kayak.

Highlights of the kayak included:

starfish under the water

heaps of birds

water reflections

great company

wake waves from the local ferry

shallow fast moving water between the two islands


After the kayak we had coffee on the waterfront at Ettalong.

highlights:

bacon and egg burger

nice view

my seat collapsed - haha

GIRRAKOOL HIKE - 10 JUNE 2019

A mid morning hike on The Girrakool Loop at Brisbane Water National Park.

Usually, there might be  couple of cars in the car park but today it was full and cars were parked along the road. Was it going to be crowded? There were a couple of very large groups but we diverted to keep out paths crossing.

There heaps of various flowers in bloom!

We walked along a seldom used track along the creek and came across a brush turkey perched on guard on top of his mound. I said he, as the male looks after the incubation of the eggs that inside the mound.

We crossed the creek at a mossy rock section where the water flowed under the rocks.

We followed another seldom used track on the other side of the creek. We could hear lots of birds and got a couple of glimpses of them. The track lead to an open expanse of flat sandstone with the creek gurgling and cascading along its western side. Very pretty and slippery in parts.

Back on the track and we continued until the junction of the two creeks and the two waterfalls which dropped into a shallow pool at the base.

We hopped (not really) across the stepping stones to continue on the loop track. We turned off twice along this section of the track down to a deep overhang of rock which the creek flowed over. It was very pretty. Jacinta navigated on the slippery and uneven rocks to get behind the waterfall. Just down from the falls we sat for awhile on the flat rocks and enjoyed the sunshine.

We continued along the track and back to the van. A glorious day for a slipping and a sliding hike.

THE KANNING HIKE - 8 JUNE 2019

A hike on the Kanning Track at Kincumba Mountain Regional Reserve.

The weather has been unsettled the past two days but even though there as thick cloud cover , it didn't look like it would rain.

Jacinta and I followed the easy track. There were a number of small white flowers in bloom and a few other species that were starting to bloom.

The rock formations were pretty. Some were moss covered and others were spilt by tree root action.

There was a small cave on this hike that would provide shelter from rain for quite a number of people.

A pretty walk through a natural landscape.