BEACHES AND WETLANDS - BELMONT WETLANDS, HAMS BEACH, PEARL BEACH - 6 JANUARY 2018

4 January 2018

The surf was a bit messy early in the morning.

I headed back to North Avoca beach at about 10am. It looked okay but it was actually heaps better in the water - lots of good waves and only a small crowd. A feel good tired now.

About mid afternoon, the girls and I had coffee down at Terrigal Beach.

5 January 2018

Jacinta and I drove over to Pearl Beach.

We had coffees and breakfast on the beach. I then had a snorkel along the southern point but the visibility as very poor. The further out I went the worse it got until I couldn't see anything at all.

I returned to shore and had a walk out to Green Point along the shore line. There was a short ocean pool and interesting rock formations on the cliffs. The end of the point was a terraced like cliff that was easily climbed. From the top there were great views over the coastline north and south.

Next, we drove around Patonga - beach, pier, the creek and camping area.

6 January 2018

We woke early and drove to the Belmont Wetlands in Newcastle.

The starting track was flat and easy. At the end of the track was a road leading to the beach. We followed that and then walked over the sand dunes to the ocean. This place was 4WD heaven. The beach was rutted with tyre tracks and cars were parked amongst the dunes.

We backtracked and turned off towards Belmont Lagoon. The lagoon looked very shallow and was pretty. Further along there was another turn off which ended in three concrete structures covered in graffiti.

We followed one more track with a pipe line beside us leading to the cycle way.

We cycled back to the van along the cycle way. Jacinta stopped and I backtracked to a couple of off path tracks.

After the ride, we had a swim and a laze in the sun at Hams Beach.

WALLARAH NATIONAL PARK MTB - 29 APRIL 2017

I drove up to Hams Beach, near Swansea and checked a few places for surf along the way. The best waves were at my first stop, Wamberal Beach. Anyway, thems the breaks!

I had a mountain bike ride around the coastal tracks of Wallarah National Park.

The tracks varied heaps - wide, narrow, no path, paved path, sand, conglomerate rugged rocks, heavily eroded, heavily enclosed by bush and mud. A lot to offer.

Besides a great ride with some downhill there was spectacular coastal scenery - bays, points, headlands, cliffs and beaches.

I finished the ride with a lot scratches and feeling good.

On the way back home, I stopped at a few beaches to check the surf and ended up having a surf at Wamberal Beach.

There were some good waves but in was fairly inconsistent though nice conditions.

That night, Jacinta and I went to a friends 60th birthday - Glenn. It was a great night with good food, nice company and good laughs.

SWANSEA HEAD HIKE - 30 DECEMBER 2016

I checked a number of beaches for a surf this morning. Not much luck!

I ended up having a small and okay surf at Hams Beach. Surprisingly, there was only a few guys out and they were going left so I had the rights to myself. I had a fun time but all too soon the tide became too high for the waves to break reasonably.

I picked up a coffee and made my way a short distance to Swansea Head.

Generally, the area was a bit run down but once on the small beach and walking it wasn't so bad.

The walk was close to the cliff edge due to the high tide with some scrambling over large boulders.
There were a few small beaches of either sand or large rounded rocks.

I spoke with a couple of scuba divers, who told me about places to snorkel and what were the best conditions.

It was a pleasant 1.41 km hike. 

MUNMORAH SCA BIRDIE CREEK MTB - 2 DECEMBER 2016

I started the day with a surf at Hams Beach.

The waves were very small but I manage to have fun on a right hand sand bank that had a wave at times when the rip surged. The water was warm and I had fun.

I then had a bike ride at Munmorah SCA on the Birdie Creek track. This turned out to be a dead end as it wasn't possible to cross the creek. Not that the water level was high it was more due to extremely thick reeds and the possibility of a snake encounter.

The track was great. It head steadily downhill so there was a lot of speed. At one stage a brown snake slithered quickly in front of me and hid in a clump of grass. The snake was over a metre but there was no way you could see it. By the way, they are a highly venomous snake.

A fun 4.28 km backtrack ride.

I still had some more time spare, so I had a swim at Red Ochre Beach. The water was crystal clear, the sand soft and white and the scenery very pretty.

HAMS BEACH SURF - 16 OCTOBER 2016

Back to Caves Beach this morning.

There were some small and okay waves breaking on Hams Beach. Put that with warm weather and water and I was in for a surf.

I surfed better than yesterday as I was feeling a little more surf fit. Still, after an hour I was a bit tired but feeling good.

CAVES BEACH SURF AND HIKE - 15 OCTOBER 2016

I looked further afield for a surf this morning.

First stop was Frenchmans. A nice looking wave but it was dropping down in sections. There were only a few guys out there and some of them were riding well but really pushing it to get to the wall.

I went further down the beach and saw a nice wave at Hams Beach. I went out and had fun. I had a few good waves but I am definitely not surf fit and I really need more strength in my right leg muscles to compensate for the lost hamstring. Still, I had a goodtime and I was feeling good.

I drove further south to check out the possibilities of future hikes and bike rides in Wallarah NP. I had a short hike to Spoon Rocks Beach which was very pretty.

Later, I had a visit from old mate Terry H. It was good. He has had so many amazing adventures and experiences that can't be repeated again in the same contexts in an evolving world.