A lot of off and on rain and wind today. Between one of the calmer weather periods I did a kayak on Terrigal Lagoon.
The water was just just deep enough to paddle to the western part of the lagoon where there two small natural tributaries. Once in this area the trees blocked the wind an the water became glassy and reflective. The only water movement was the slight wake of my kayak. I paddled slowly here soaking in the quietness. There were also a number of submerged logs and overhanging vegetation to maneuver around as well.
I backtracked along the shallow channels and paddled towards Terrigal Beach. I beached on the beach and wandered down to the shore and watched the small crisp waves breaking on the shallow sandbank. The waves were too fast and small to surf but they ere enjoyable to watch.
Berowra Creek is about an hour drive from home, so hoping for a quiet start I drove off in the dark and reached Berowra by first light.
It took awhile to find a parking and launching place. The tide was low and there was a big drop from road to water and most of the access points were on private land. Luckily, I found a spot though it was very slippery on the rocks leading down to the water's edge.
I paddled past some small marinas and reached the Berowa Ferry. I had to wait till the ferry passed and the cables of the ferry were underwater before I could paddle past... no drama.
After a short distance, I paddled around a bend and there were no more boats or houses just mangroves and still reflective water.
The paddle was for 3 hours plus. The best parts were the small tributaries.
One was narrow and ended in a dripping waterfall. I wandered around carefully on the slippery rocks.
Another tributary went under a walking track bridge and ended when the water was too shallow for the kayak. I paddled back to the bridge and walked around the area and onto the bridge which was a part of the Great North Walk. There was a very pretty saltmarsh on one side of the creek that was dotted with spider webs on the top of the tall reeds.
Another tributary was bounded on one side by sheer cliffs with huge sandstone overhangs that overlapped the creek. One day they will fall but not today. Further along the creek, were some rock obstacles to paddle around with the creek finally ending for me in a tumbling spread of body size rocks. The sunlight was filtering through the trees and highlighted certain rocks and vegetation in the bushy area.
It was a hard 10 km kayak as I was paddling against the tides in both directions. Still, it wasn't that hard.
I launched from Sorrento road in Empire Bay to kayak around Kincumber Broadwater.
The tide was with me so it was an easy paddle along Cockle Channel towards the entrance of the Broadwater. There was an interesting small mangrove island which divides the channel into two. The water was shallow along the island shores making for clear viewing of the underwater world.
The entrance to the Broadwater was relatively narrow with a number of boats, houses and places to launch. I veered to the eastern side where there was a variety of birdlife. I just drifted with the current and enjoyed the show.
Further along, I came across to small tributaries and one larger one. I paddled up all three. The smallest was shallow and difficult to paddle due to the mangroves. I tended to pull myself through rather than paddled.
The second one passed a mobile home area.
The third was wider and much longer. I passed houses, industrial areas, jetties in the wider section. The narrower section passed between mangroves with closely encroaching urbanisation. Still, there were lots of ducks and lizards and unfortunately dumped rubbish. It is amazing how plants and animals survive under these conditions. Despite the rubbish it was still pretty.
On the journey back, I stopped at a small island in the Broadwater and rested and watched the world go by.
It was a good kayak with pretty scenery and birdlife.
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