CENTRAL COAST - 5 TO 11 FEBRUARY 2021

 

5 February

A morning surf at Wamberal Beach. It wasn’t really good but there was the odd just okay wave. Spot (Mark B) paddled out. We had some fun until the blue bottles (stingers) move in with the increasing wind. Mark got stung.

We had coffee and breakfast.

Back home doing jobs until the wind increased more. I rang Mark who was keen to check out the windsurfing conditions. We drove to Monday Street and Peal Street. I rigged up at the latter and had my first windsurf at Budgewoi Lake. Well, it wasn’t too successful but I did have a few good runs and gybes. More downhaul need and mast placement on the boards needs to be further up.

On the way back we checked out North Entrance on Tuggerah Lake. That looked heaps better. Next NE wind, I’ll try there.

6 February

A lazy morning then Mark and I drove over to Brisbane Water National Park and rode some of the tracks at Warrah trig on the mountain bikes. Lots of fun – we did the PMG track fast and a few other tracks. The spider webs and orb weavers on the webs were a laugh when we swapped places taking the lead.

Afterwards, we had coffee and breakfast on Pearl Beach.

8 February

A trip to Sydney for a medical appointment. Checked out Cooks River while I was waiting.

9 February

A sunrise check of the surf at Wamberal Beach. The sunrise was nice but the surf looked ordinary.

Back home and I unloaded the windsurfing gear and replaced it with the kayak gear. A pleasant paddle around Avoca Lagoon – a little bit of cloud in front of  the rising sun, families of ducks, black swans, superb fairy wrens, a kangaroo and a odd coloured stick just under the surface of the water that turned out to be an unimpressed eel. Part of the foreshore of the lagoon was close temporary while council and Newcastle University were conducting a study of endangered green and golden bell frogs.

10 February

A morning surf check at North Avoca Beach – not much quality … again.

A mountain bike ride on Kincumba Mountain. No one around and the tracks were firm. Focused mainly on control and direction after a few tips from Mark. Towards the end, I surprised a wallaby feeding at the side of a track. J

11 February

Poor surf once again – them’s the breaks J

A mountain bike ride at Brisbane water National Park to Rocky Ponds. A great ride with some fun downhill runs. The tracks/trail were firm with some puddles of water. In sections, there were a lot of loose fist size rocks – a bit of a hazard. I stopped along the way to take photos of birds and flowers. The ponds were pretty. No one was there. I wandered around the bush and waded through the water.

COOKS RIVER CYCLE - 'BRIDGES' - 16 DECEMBER 2019

Down to Sydney today for a short while. I was taking my daughter to a medical appointment. While she was there I had a cycle along Cooks River.

It was a fun cycle with heaps of bridges to cross, a very narrow path under a bridge and some short tracks through the bush. There were a few diversions along the way.

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.

DRIVES, KAYAK, MOUNTAIN BIKING AND CHRISTMAS STARTS - 7 DECEMBER 2017

3 December 2017

A long drive today. Six hours of driving return trip picking up my daughter from a music festival.

4 December 2017

Very tired after the drive so had a nothing day.

5 December 2017

After a surf check, I drove over to Hardys Bay in Brisbane Water for a kayak to Rileys Bay. Just as I was about to start, I had a chat with lady who wished to buy a kayak. We talked of the pros and cons and costs.

 The paddle was a good test for the new kayak as the wind was fresh but increasing.  Along the way there were a couple of piers. One of the piers was high enough to go under it.

Rileys bay was lined in mangroves and white sand beaches. I parked the kayak under the shade of the mangroves and enjoyed the silence and solitude. I turned back at the end of the bay due to the very shallow water, rocks cov ered in oyster shells and an outgoing tide.

The wind was getting stronger and was against me as I paddled but the kaayak held its speed and line well.

6 December 2017

I had a surf check at Macmasters Beach. It was sort of okay but decided to check it again with a higher tide.

In the meantime, I drove to Bouddi National park to mountain bike ride the tracks towards Daleys Point.

This ride was very challenging in sections. There are lots of tracks that sort of run parallel to the main trail. Each track was so relatively different with drops, steep sections, spiky plants, very narrow sections, rocks, logs and cliffs. The more I do these tracks the more I am liking it.

The flannel flowers were in full bloom along some of the tracks.

I tried a chest harness for part of the ride. I made a few adjustments as I was using it but it retrospect I need to point the camera higher and tighten the mountings.

I check Macmasters on the way home with a higher tide but surf was way too crowded.

7 December 2017

Kara had a medical appointment in Sydney.

While she was at the appointment, I had a 12 km bike ride along the cycleway at Cooks River. It was fun and very hot.

Back home and I had an ocean swim at Terrigal Haven.

In the evening, e started putting up the Christmas decorations under Kara's supervision. A lot of laughs.

Kara decided the angel on top of the tree needed to be modernized.

SYDNEY, COOKS RIVER MTB - 10 OCTOBER 2017

A  trip to Sydney for Kara's medical treatment.  It started at 10 am and finished approximately 3:30pm. There wasn't much for me to do there but wait so I used the time to do some nearby activities.

Today, I decided on a bike ride along the Cooks River cycle path. 

I started going to the west but found it a bit boring after awhile as it was too urbanized.

I backtracked and headed towards the east.

This was much better. Highlights included: low hanging tree branches, low bridges, narrow bridges to cross, roads with traffic to cross, groups of birds, a blue tongue lizard, a chat with an old Scottish guy, some regenerated wetlands, lots of paths and a few tracks.

I rode as far as the Princess Highway bridge at Tempe. This brought to mind a lot of very old and fun memories. My very first friends and I use to ride our bikes from Newtown to Tempe and wander around Tempe Tip (gone now), crawl along the length of the Princess Highway bridge underneath it, walk along the top of the oil pipes on the bridge and even floated out to Fatima Island on old bedding mattresses. The latter sank on us and it took ages before a fisherman would give us a lift back to shore.

So it was a very good day, remembering and riding.