SURFS, KAYAK, HIKE AND MTB - 6 APRIL 2018

2 April 2018

A surf at North Avoca Beach. Not the best but there were one or two okay waves.

Later, I had an ocean kayak heading north of Patonga.

There was a strong tidal current in parts as it was just before high tide. Overall. it was rough and pretty exciting. No tipping over ... so far.

3 April 2018

It was a looked better out than in surf at Wamberal Beach.

4 April 2018

A mountain bike ride at Bouddi on the Turkey, NW Ridge and Strom tracks. A good ride - controlled and faster, which made it  fun and enjoyable. I  sort of feel I'm improving as I getting through spots I couldn't on previous rides. Still. there are a couple of skills I wished I could do.

5 April 2018

A surf check.

The surf wasn't too good so I had an early hike at Kincumba Mountain on the Kanning Track. 

A pretty hike with huge boulders, ferns, a cave, bush flowers and a background of bird song.

Another surf check. I ended up at Soldiers Beach and had  good waves and not many out. A fun time.

6 april 2018

Another fun surf at Soldiers Beach - a right then swing back onto the left. Noone else was doing it so I was lucky and had heaps of good waves.

NEW KAYAK - TERMINATOR 10 - 17 MARCH 2018

14 March 2018

A surf check at Wamberal was a no go.

I had coffee, an ocean swim and a walk at Terrigal Haven.

I drove down to Sydney for a hearing appointment for a hearing test and adjustments to my hearing aids. My hearing hadn't deteriorated but some adjustments were made to the aides. Working better than before.

Afterwards, I drove over to Central in the city centre and picked up Jacinta who as there for a work conference. We had dinner at a restaurant at Newtown, then a wander around the streets.

Back at the hotel, we went to a bar and had a few drinks.

15 March 2018

I woke early and drove back home from Sydney.

I brought a terminator 10 sit-on kayak. I took it down to Avoca Lagoon for a test run. I tried the seat and foot handles in different positions. I couldn't quite get it right. Back on shore, I was thinking about going to the store for advice when I met a guy (he just got out of the water with his kayak) who gave me great advice on adjustments. I took the kayak back out and was a lot happier.

16 March 2018

An ocean kayak at Patonga on the new kayak followed by a swim off the end of the Patonga pier.

17 March 2018

I had a kayak on Avoca Lagoon on the sit-in kayak and had a fun time capsizing it and trying to reenter it from shallow to deep water. No problems getting in but residue water in the kayak affected its balance. I will need some system to bail the excess water out.

PATONGA CREEK KAYAK - 19 SEPTEMBER 2017

A beautiful day.

I checked the surf which was a bit small and full. I drove over to Patonga Creek to paddle around the mangroves.

Being high tide, I was able to paddle amongst the mangrove trees. It was a nice feeling, paddling over the crystal clear water and around trees with a canopy of green above me. Peaceful and serene.

There were a lot of birds about. I could hear them but it was difficult to see them as they blended in so well in the environment. When I managed to spy one or two, they were quick to fly off or hop out of sight.

After my paddle, I drove the short distant to Patonga Beach and enjoyed a cappuccino in the warm sun while looking over the awesome view of Broken Bay.

Later, I had a middle of the day walk along the Haven Beach and much later still, I had a sunset walk with Jacinta around the Haven.

A nice day.

PATONGA CREEK KAYAK - 29 NOVEMBER 2016

The weather was looking unsettled but probably no rain.

I checked the surf at Wamberal Beach then decided on a kayak.

I drove to Patonga and launched the kayak from a 3 metre beach at the end of Jacaranda Ave.


I paddled over to the mangroves and as the tide was high I was able to play amongst the mangrove trees. A pretty obstacle course.

It was a fairly easy paddle as the tide was going higher and so at times, I just drifted with the current, laid back and tangled the feet over the edge.

There were a number of oyster farms on the creek which meant keeping close to the shore.

Eventually, I reached the narrowing of Patonga Creek. At this point, the creek is about 5 metres wide with lots of overhanging branches and shallow sandbars. personally, I like it when it becomes narrow as what lies ahead is out of sight making it more of an adventure.

Towards the end, I beached the kayak to have a wander around a 'fishing hut'. The spot would make for a great overnight camp. there were also a few tracks meandering off. I followed one for a short while into a rainforest area. Pretty!

Time to end back. Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of time to get back so I spent the hour and a quarter paddling hard and constant against the tide and the wind. I was pretty tired but I made it with 5 minutes to spare.

A fun and adventurous 8.51km kayak

PATONGA WETLANDS MTB AND PATONGA BEACH - 25 NOVEMBER 2016

I drove over to Patonga on this morning.

Patonga is a pretty small town nestled on a small area of land between Patonga Creek and Brisbane Water National Park. There is only one road in and out.

I parked at the end of Jacaranda Ave for the start of the Patonga Creek Wetlands trail.

The track started off easy with a gate to pass through or over. After a short distance a boulder strewn creek cuts across the track. It was a little difficult to cross. there are two ways go high and lift the bike up and down large steep boulders or go low and use the bike to balance while you hop from rock to rock through the water. I tried both ways and probably the water way was easier ... relatively.

The track winds its way through the vegetation and side tracks lead to creek with pretty views.

A some point the vegetation widens out and changes from bush to mangroves. This was heaps of fun to ride through ending in a number of dead end tracks. A track best to do at the lower tide as it is water at high tide.

A fun but don't open your mouth because of the thickness of the flies 2.51 km ride.

Next, I went for a swim at Patonga Beach.

The water was very calm and refreshing, the view so pretty and the beach so relaxing.