AUSTRALIA - Warrumbungles - Belougery and Split Rock Track - HIKE - september 2008

Belougery Split Rock – 2 hours

The track follows a gradual ascent until the turn off for Split Rock. The trail becomes steeper and steeper winding its way quickly to the top. An outcrop of rocks is reached and after a short distance a gate with warning signs and a series of 15 steps leads to the steep rock climb to the top of Split Rocks. The climb is indicated by yellow markers embedded into the rock. There are about three false spots where it appears that the top has been reached. The top which is covered in boulders and flowers is eventually reached. The view is excellent, taking in the camp area which seems a stones throw away, the western plains and rest of the Warrumbungle. Truly, the highlight of this walk, is sitting on this pinnacle, solitary, on the throne of the world with the sounds of insects and the wind while viewing the changing shadow of the world below as the sun rises higher over the eastern mountains. The return track was steep and rough, passing through a variety of different types of landscapes. At points, the track passed sheer rock walls, wind-hewned caves, shady areas of grass trees and open expanses of rocks.

AUSTRALIA - Warrumbungles - Grand High Tops Circuit - HIKE - september 2008

Pincham Trail, Alex Goulds Circuit, Grand High Tops, West Spirey Creek – 6 hours

The trail starts with a camp to the left of the trail. Soon the trail turns into an easy bricked-laid path with bridges spanning the dry watercourse. Taking a turn off, the trail becomes rougher and steeper. The first lookout is Febar Tor with nice views of the eastern side of the Warrumbungle.
The trail descends into a treed, flat area where the vegetation looks soft and there are the calls of many birds. The trail ascends steeply and progressively becomes even steeper still until it is a near vertical rock scramble to reach the summit of Macha Tor. The view is circular of the range, being akin to the throne of the world. It is very quiet except for the soft sounds of the bush creatures and the rustling of the wind.

The track becomes a series of steep descents and flat areas that are dominated by small oaks and soft looking vegetation. Birds abound and kangaroos can be heard thudding away. The trail joins back with the main trail which changes from dirt, gravel and pavers. The trail gradually becomes steeper until reaching raised metal steps. There is occasionally a rest sport of a small lookout or bench seat. The walk reverts to dirt and rocks following the bottom edge of the Bread knife. At this distance, the height with its vertical sharpness gives credit to the name ‘Breadknife’. The track becomes steeper still over bare rocks with yellow markers showing the way climb to the top. The view at the top is sensational. Looking back at the distance and the terrain covered in the walk. Looking to the south, even larger features like Buff Mountain are at eye level. Even more dramatic is the domination of flowers between the boulders of this relatively flat apex over the trees and shades of green that are prevalent below. Insects are buzzing in large numbers. It is a place to sit and wander and wonder on the beauty of this earth.

The high ridge trail continues in a series of steep ascents and descents. More lookouts give new perspectives on the ranges and the volcanic outcrops. Buff Mountain is the dominating feature with its massive sheer drop. At Ogma campsite, there is a trail continuing to Exmouth Mountain. The track to the right is very rough and steep following a dried creek. It is more like a second creek than a track at times being deeply rutted in places. Eventually, it flattens out relatively with soft-looking vegetation and grassed areas while criss-crossing the creek at various points. Birds are plentiful flittering amongst the oaks and wattles. The trail joins with the main trail after a bridge crossing and it is a short distance to the carpark.

AUSTRALIA - Warrumbungles - Fan Horizon Trail - HKE - september 2008

Fan’s horizon – 2 hours

It is steep ascent along a track with the buzz of insects. The track is mainly log steps. At times there are rock hewn steps amongst boulders. It eventually levels out and the walk follows a ridge. Many lizards were seen at this point. The first lookout is Fan’s Horizon, which was named after Fanny Gould 1902 to 2004. It is a panoramic view of sharply-cut mountains with greenery filling the bare rock gaps. The greenery is various dark shades of green laced with the yellow blossoms of wattles. Sit for awhile and enjoy the silence, the stillness of the wind and the murmur of insects and birds.

AUSTRALIA - Diamond Head - september 2008

Diamond Head is a protected beach and is a part of Crowdy Bay National Park.

National parks present Discovery Programs consisting of walks, talks, nature tours and other activities during school holiday periods. Nearby bushwalking tracks and camping facilites.

Wildflowers in Spring and early Summer, Christmas Bells in December.

AUSTRALIA - Crowdy Head and beach - september 2008

Crowdy Head is in the Manning Valley. Crowdy Head is a fishing village located just 7km from Harrington, and 4hrs drive north of Sydney via the Pacific Hwy.

Crowdy Head is situated around the mouth of the manning river and surrounded by 26 kilometres of scenic coastline. The lighthouse, perched high on the headland for more that 120 years, provides exceptional views and is easily accessible on a sealed road.

The seafood co-op at Crowdy Head has fresh catch of the day.

Crowdy Beach sweeps in a long arc through to Diamond Head Beach in the National Park.

AUSTRALIA - Waitui Falls - september 2008

Waitui Falls is just on the outskirts of Coorabakh NP. Nice place for a rest, sitaround, swim, picnic.

AUSTRALIA - Coorabakh National Park - january 2009

Coorabakh NP is inland from Old Bar. We drove around a gravel road through the NP. It took us to some great lookouts and two rainforest walks. Noone around. There was also a mountain walk but we were short of time.

AUSTRALIA - Wallabi Point - september 2008

 

Not far from Old Bar, Wallabi Point is suppose to have good waves. Well, not today. We followed the track heading towards the point. at the point, it is mainly a scramble over the rocks. At this point we came across a seal basking on the rocks.

You can drive or walk to the beach on the south side. There is a lagoon between the beach and the car park. It is shallow enough to walk across to get to the beach.

Thailand - Karon Beach - surf - october 2006

 

Checking the weather before leaving singapore for Phuket showed a big typhoon over Vietnam. Taking a guess, i took my board to Phuket.

We were greeted at Karon Beach with onshore winds and sloppy surf. This lasted a few days but the place looked like it had potential.

Finally, I woke up to off shore winds and 2m surf though bumpy surf with noone out. It wasn't too bad and the waves inproved throughout the day. The waves got better each day but also smaller. After five days it was too small. After six it was dead flat.

Lucky!!! Great fun waves with noone out for the first three days, then a couple of local surfers. No problem!!

Singapore and Thailand - Phuket - Karon Beach - october 2006

 

We had an overnight stay in Singapore before flying to Phuket for 10 days in October 2006. We based ourselves at Karon Beach. The beach was excellent and there were shops nearby for eating, shopping and massages.

The restaurants were all good and prices varied. some of the cheapest tasted the best to me.

The shopping was good as the quality of the goods was good and there was a lot to choose from. For example, three years later I'm still wearing the t-shits and boardshorts. The massages were great though I did prefer the foot massage.

The beach was excellent with long white sand, patrolled, rocky points at either end. It was also a short walk to Kata Beach.

There were plenty of activities to do such as visit other beaches, elephant walks, etc.

The locals were friendly to indifferent. On the beach, I had a  number of chats with the locals and  when shopping they acted with indifference.

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.