CENTRAL COAST - 30 OCTOBER TO 4 NOVEMBER 2022

 

30 OCTOBER

KINCUMBA MOUNTAIN RESERVE

A beautiful morning.

A surf check revealed small cross shore waves.

I drove up to Kincumba Mountain for a mountain bike ride. It was a fun ride. Some of the tracks had changed after the rains and it was a bit more challenging. Near the start and at a different location towards the end of the ride, there was a wallaby on the track. 😊

31 OCTOBER

BRISBANE WATER NATIONAL PARK

A hike to around the old quarry off Woy Woy Road.

It was very pretty wandering around the edge of the man-made lakes. They were left abandoned years ago and since then, the holes had filled with water, plants had grown, insects abound, and birds regularly forage. A few of the tracks were a bit rough, especially, when squeezing past the plants with leaves that were hard and sharp.

2 NOVEMBER

BRISBANE WATER NATIONAL PARK

A hike along the Piles Creek Loop in Brisbane Water National Park.

A long hike following the high area of Piles Creek and crossing the creek along a suspension bridge. There were heaps of wildflowers (some were endangered), cliffs, water dripping off the cliffs, sandstone overhangs, waterfalls, cascades, a lot of up and down hiking, a lyre bird and a juvenile goanna. It all made for a long and eventful hike.

3 NOVEMBER

BOUDDI NATIONAL PARK

A short hike over the hill to Lobster Beach. We wandered along the beach, sat on a rock and enjoyed the view. A very pretty spot.

4 NOVEMBER

KINCUMBA MOUNTAIN

A short ride at Kincumba Mountain on a new track.

KINCUMBA MOUNTAIN, LOBSTER BEACH - 5 TO 9 JUNE 2020

5 JUNE 2020

A morning surf check - no go. 

A mountain bike ride at Kincumba Mountain.

A beautiful, warm and sunny Winter's day. The tracks were firm and the crowds have dropped significantly. Back to near normal weekday.

The council are building a new gate. Interesting to see the purpose of it.

6 JUNE 2020

A trip to Sydney to see Mark, Jacinta's brother.

7 JUNE 2020

A morning hike to Lobster Beach in Bouddi National Park.

A short but step walk over the hill to a pretty beach. We explored the rocks at each end but couldn't get too far due to a high tide.

9 JUNE 2020

A mid morning mountain bike ride at Kincumba Mountain.

CENTRAL COAST - Iron Ladder Beach - kayak - 12 november 2009

All my kayaking so far has been on still water. This was the first with swell movement.

Leaving Ettalong, all was well until the currents in the centre of the river caused fast flowing, very choppy water. No problems though. I paddled to Lobster Beach and used the outgoing tide to get out to Iron Ladder Beach.

The beach at Iron Ladder was exellent for a swim with a sandy bottom. The view across Broken Bay gave a feeling of isolation. I walked around and found the track which leads to the beach. So far, I haven't been able to find the other end.

There were plenty of birds and a pod of dolphins cruised out of Brisbane Waters while I was resting at Lobster Beach.

Time: 3 hours
Warnings: used the tides to help paddling, even so, it wasn't as hard paddling as I thought it would be when I was paddling against the tide.

CENTRAL COAST - Lobster Beach - HIKE - 28 July 2009

 

Lobster Beach is located in the south of the Central Coast along a track from Pretty Beach. It is a short bush, beach and rock walk. The steep track path varies from brick, steps, natural and wooden platform.

I parked my car at High View Street, Pretty Beach. There is a small national park sign indicating the start of the track on the southern side of the street.

The walk starts as a paved brick track between houses. Soon there is a junction of tracks that lead to Tallow Beach in one direction and Wagstaffe in the opposite direction. Follow the track upwards along the steps. The houses give way at this point to a pretty bush setting. On the descent to Lobster Beach there are two rest spots with seating.

Lobster Beach is a pretty white sanded beach with a backdrop of trees and bushes. The view from the beach is of Umina beach and the surrounding areas. There are a compost toilets and rubbish bins.

I continued my walk east along the rocks. In some places, the rocks had fallen so that they formed arches to walk or crawl through. There were also many sea birds and the sounds of various birds on the bush side were vibrant.

My intention was to traverse the rocks until I reached Iron Ladder Beach and return via the bush track from Tallow Beach. Unfortunately, the rocks became impassable at a small cove before Iron Ladder Beach. I climbed the small sandstone cliff at this point but the bush above was extremely thick and also impassable. Luckily, the small cliff I had scaled had a concrete survey marker and from this marker there were uninterrupted and excellent views across to Pittwater, Broken Bay and Umina.

I returned the way I came via Lobster Beach and to my car. The journey was appropriately a 1 ½ hour leisurely walk.

Best: views, easy walk, quiet

Warnings: best to walk rocks at low tide, can be slippery in parts, steps are steep