CENTRAL COAST - 17 TO 31 DECEMBER 2021

 

17 DECEMBER

A fun surf at Wamberal Beach north of big house.

A good right hander, a little bumpy, strong rip, good shape, three out, heaps of waves.

18 DECEMBER

A surf north of the big house at Wamberal Beach.

Not so good today but okay. A bit more crowded and the waves were smaller and dropping down on the end section. Still paddled out twice for two sessions. J

21 DECEMBER

Marty and family arrived. Let the fun begin.

A swim at the Haven.

22 DECEMBER

A hike at Girrakool with Marty’s family. The recent heavy rains revealed more track to follow.

A crap surf at the Ruins but It was fun having a paddle with Marty.

23 DECEMBER

Marty and family left to go north.

A surf north of the Big House at Wamberal Beach. The wind was a light onshore but the waves were good. A fun right hander with Bryceson.

Bronwyn and Tony arrived.

We opened resents after dinner as we were going to Sydney on Xmas Day.

25 DECEMBER

Sean and Angela’s for Christmas lunch J

26 DECEMBER

A fun surf at Wamberal Beach, north of the big house. Low tide and a very early start. Joined by Bryceson. Waves finished at dead low tide.

27 DECEMBER

A windsurf at Canton Beach. The second best for this year. A steady wind with power. The modified mast worked well. The last 400-mast broke so I had to cut down an old mast to 420. All good.

Photo of Bill at end of gybe.

28 DECEMBER

A walk around Terrigal Haven with Jacinta.

30 DECEMBER

A fun surf at Wamberal Beach, north of the big house. Three out and heaps of small waves.

31 DECEMBER

A surf check but not much happening. So off for a kayak at Avoca Lagoon before the wind increase. A nice paddle but the water level was very low so the journey was a bit limited.

New Years Eve and a few beers and asleep by 9pm. Haha. Woke for a short time to the sound of fireworks.

CENTRAL COAST - 19 NOVEMBER TO 16 DECEMBER 2021

We arrived back from our trip - cleaned travel gear, storage stuff and tidied the house. 

About a day later it rained and rained and rained for over a week causing massive floods in the state. No much outdoor activity, especially, with a strong onshore wind.

On the November 26, I had my eye operation. A blocked tear duct on my left eye. The operation was successful but I was a bit limited in things I could do over the next two weeks.

I was able to hike and do things around the house.

Unfortunately, my storage drive broken and I lost info and photos from this time. Usually, I store on a second back up device but for some reason I didn't. Ah well, I did mange to retrieve some photos from FB.

When I got home from the operation.

The next morning with the patch off. No pain just discomfort.

A hike around Warrah Trig in Brisbane Water National Park.

A hike at Avoca Point. An easy walk around the rocks with a backdrop of massive cliffs.

A hike on the Strickland Falls and Cabbage Tree tracks in Strickland State Forest. I was able to drive myself to this one. Only a few people at the falls but generally, no one there.

My first try at Mountain Biking at Bouddi National Park. No problems with the eye - no excessive watering or blurred vision. A great ride though it got pretty hot towards the end.

A hike at Mount Ettalong with Jacinta. Only a short hike but the views were amazing, the trees twisted and gnarled and the flannel flowers were blooming.

A hike at Strickland State Forest on the Bellbird track with Jacinta. We didn't hear any bellbirds but there were a couple of pretty creek crossings.

A kayak at Waterfall Bay in Brisbane Water. A good paddle surrounded by big rugged hills, small sandy beaches, interesting rock formations and a pretty waterfall.

A not too successful windsurf at Canton Beach, in Tuggerah Lake. I had one good run and heard a crack on the return leg - cracked a mast. Well, that was the end of potential fun session.

A swim at Terrigal haven but never before lice were biting.

A number of surfs at Wamberal Beach all in fun waves with surprising few others out. Heaps of waves from chest to shoulder height. 

Well, that sums things up over the last month. Time for Xmas - presents, decorations, family, friends, great food. Merry Christmas world :)
 

NORTH ROAD TRIP - MYLESTOM, HAT HEAD, NORTH HAVEN, HAWKS NEST - 14 TO 19 NOVEMBER 2021

 

14 NOVEMBER

We left Lawrence and stopped at Grafton for fuel and food supplies.

Our first stop was Mylestom. We checked out the beach and decided to stay for a couple of nights

After setting up camp, we had a walk down to the beach. A pretty white sand beach. We sat for awhile and soaked in the views.

Later, I had a mountain bike ride along a track north of the camp. It was mainly a road for 4wheel drive cars. It was fun with obstacles such as water filled potholes and deep sand. I had two spills on this ride. The first was sliding on the edge of the road to avoid a pothole. I tipped over the edge and landed in the thick bush. The second was scrapping against a broken tree branch which made a 10 cm cut. Not too bad but there was a lot of blood. I stopped back at the camp to clean my arm and continued to the surf club and along the river foreshore.

In the evening, there were a lot of pale faced black cockatoos screeching their presence. there was quite a few of them.

15 NOVEMBER

In the morning, I had a walk to the beach and watched the sunrise. 

After breakfast, Jacinta and I walked back to the beach and enjoyed the sunshine. There were a few surfers out but it was very small.

In the afternoon, we had a long bike ride to the surf club and the river foreshore as far as Repton.

16 NOVEMBER

In the morning, I checked the surf and it was looking okay. I walked back and got my gear and paddled out for a fun 1m surf on some good left waves. The local surfers were a friendly group.

After breakfast, we continued out journey south.

Our first stop was Urunga. We had coffee and sweets and wandered around the town. A pretty place. We drove a little further and pulled into cliff lookout with great views of the beaches north and south.

Our final stop for the day was Hat Head where we camped for the night.

We wandered down to the beach and enjoyed the sun. The surf was dead flat. I had a few swims Korogoro Creek and the ocean. It was nice drifting along with the creek current. 

In the late afternoon, I had a mountain bike ride to the top of the headland on the southern side of Hat Head and then a loop along both sides of the banks of Korogoro Creek. At the headland, there were a number of kangaroos and great coastal views. The creek banks had fun tracks that were connected by two bridges. A great ride!

17 NOVEMBER

We left Hat Head and drove to Port Macquarie. We had coffee and croissants by the Hastings River. Very pleasant.

Next stop was a surf a Middle Rock. The waves was okay but not the best conditions. While I was in the water, Jacinta had a walk along the beach and was bitten by a dog. Not deep but it it was very sore.

We camped the night at North Haven. We had a walk to the beach and along the river bank.

18 NOVEMBER

We left early and checked the surf at North Haven Beach. there wee a lot of surfers out and the waves were short and breaking in shallow water. It all looked like hard work to me, especially in the strong winds and currents.

We continued south and decided to stay at Bennetts Beach, Hawks Nest. The beach at Hawks Nest was wind blown so we drove over to Jimmy's Beach which was more sheltered and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon.

19 NOVEMBER

We left Hawks Nest and drove a short distance to Tea Gardens. Jacinta had a walk and I had a kayak on the Myall River. The conditions were excellent with little wind. The water was reflective, the birds were about and the occasional boat set off a undulating pattern of waves in their wake.

Time to head home. The weather was forecasting rain.