AVOCA LAGOON - KAYAK - DRAGONFLIES, SPIDERWEBS AND LIZARDS - 6 NOVEMBER 2015

The weather has been relatively cold lately and the rain has just kept coming down. This morning there appeared to be a change in the weather. The sun was out but the swell was messy. This improved later in the day.



Off to North Avoca for a kayak on Avoca Lagoon.

 

I was looking forward to seeing a lot of birds but alas this morning they were elusive. There was a pelican in the distance preening along the edge of the reeds, a cormorant high above which I notice by the white splashes it was causing in the water below it and a few swamp hens that only made a brief peek appearance. Even the ducks were rare. I saw one couple in the trees!

The lagoon was glassy and the reflections of the trees and bush were perfect. The sun was rising and the temperature was warming up.

 

I rode through the reeds and cut a small wake in the mirror perfect surface of the lagoon. The water was very high so once again I was able to paddle in usually dry places.

The far tributary was a great paddle. Narrow and overgrown with an old spider encrusted bridge joining two fields together at one point. I have never seen any productive use of the fields except for a 1/2 dozen orange trees.

The highlights today were the spider webs that were glistering in the morning sun and dew, a dragon on the tributary bank being rigid for ages anxious for my departure and heaps of dragon flies. The latter was hard to film as they only hovered a short time then flitted to a new spot. Great to watch!

A nice 3.57km paddle that took about 1:30 with various stops.

BRISBANE WATER NP - MTB - 1 NOVEMBER 2015

A ride in Brisbane Water National Park.



I started near the speed camera and followed the road a short distance to turn left on a highly eroded road towards Bull Hill. A good challenging section with loose rocks and flat sandstone areas.

 I rode the better section down hill to join with the main road. I followed this back to the van and continued down the service road towards the quarry.

 

I had a short ride around the quarry then onwards to Tommos Loop. This was a good ride though steep in parts then back on the main road and to the van.

 

A fun, hot, sweaty  9.72 km ride with an elevation range of 72m.

TERRIGAL LAGOON - KAYAK - 31 OCTOBER 2015

A high cloud day with the sun making limited appearances.

I paddled around Terrigal Lagoon.

The morning started brilliant with a filtered sunrise and oily looking water in the foreground.

There was a lot of water in the lagoon so I was able to paddle around the whole lagoon plus part of the golf course.

There were three bridges to go under. The bridge at the golf course was very low but exciting to go under.

There were a number of narrow waterways. Some were partly blocked with trees which had been cut down.

The water towards the beach was high enough for the kayak.

All in all a good 5.75km kayak with a lot of variation.

BOUDDI NP - BOX HEAD TRACKS - MTB/HIKE - 29 OCTOBER 2015

A surf/sunrise check and off for a bike ride.

I had a fun 6.81km and 79m elevation range ride at Bouddi National Park. I rode the tracks at the box head section of the park.

 

The start was steep along the service road. It soon flattened out relatively and there were great views over Brisbane Water and stunning views over the ocean and coastal cliffs.

 

I rode that a small track on the left which end up being a fun ride with great views back over towards Putty Beach. The track roughened up so I ditched the bike and continued to followed the track to the cliffs edge by foot. Heaps of flowers.

I backtracked and continued along the service road and turned onto the Wagstaff trail. Parts of this were smooth and flowing and other parts rocky and challenging.

Overall, a good ride. :)

BOUDDI NP - MAITLAND BAY TRACKS - MTB - 26 OCTOBER 2015

A check of the sunrise and surf and off for a bike ride.

The GPS didn't work correctly so no map or ride information.

 

It was a good ride that lasted about 1 hour. I felt that I had improved since last riding this track - moving a little faster, handling obstacles better and smoother.

PUTTY BEACH - 23 OCTOBER 2015

I had to drive to Sydney this morning to fill in a form. Two hours to get there 2 minutes to fill in the form and two hours back. It was okay as to cut a long story short, I had saved $3 000.

Kara, Archibald the dusty lorikeet and I went to Putty Beach surf Club for lunch. It was nice sitting in the sun having a coffee and a bite to eat.

 

Archibald was the centre of attention!

WAMBERAL BEACH AND KINCUMBA MOUNTAIN - 21 OCTOBER 2015

Another sunny morning with some clouds at sunrise on Wamberal Beach. Once again the surf wasn't so good so off for a bike ride.

I drove to Kincumba Mountain and rode along some familiar tracks. It was a good, fun ride. I hadn't been on the bike for over a month but I was surprised that I followed the tracks fairly easily with a bit of speed and with less effort than previously. :)

A nice morning.

AVOCA LAGOON - KAYAK - 20 OCTOBER 2015

A brilliant day with a nice sunrise at Wamberal Beach.

Surf not so good so over to Avoca for a kayak.



The lagoon was very high with water. Where we sometimes sit on the lagoon's edge was a half metre under water. The best part is kayaking over places that were usually dry land.

I paddled a bit through the reeds and trees, admired the early morning reflections and watched the various birds in their native habitat. there were black swans, cormorants, ducks and plovers today.

 

A great relaxing paddle.

TERRIGAL - KING PARROTS - 18 OCTOBER 2015

We had visitors. A pair of Australian King Parrots landed on the deck and stayed for a short while. They are such a pretty bird. They have only visited occasionally. :)

Here is some birdy info:

Alisterus scapularisPsittacidae

Male Australian King-Parrots are the only Australian parrots with a completely red head. Females are similar to males except that they have a completely green head and breast. Both sexes have a red belly and a green back, with green wings and a long green tail. King parrots are normally encountered in pairs or family groups.

 

King-Parrots are usually found in rainforests or wet sclerophyll forests

The King-Parrot mostly forages in trees for seeds and fruit.

King-Parrots lay their eggs on a bed of decayed wood-dust at the bottom of a deep hollow in the trunk of a tree. Often the entrance is high in the tree (10 m) but the eggs are near the ground (0.5 m).

INDONESIA - BALI - LEGIAN - 13 TO 16 OCTOBER 2015

A 2 hour ride from Balian  and we were in Legian at the Grand Kumala Hotel.

It only took a short while to register and then settle into our rooms.

I've stayed at the GK heaps. The staff were nice and helpful, the rooms were okay, the pools okay, the gardens nice, restaurant okay. I felt very comfortable there.

We followed a strict routine of eating, resting, massaging, motor biking, street walking, beach walking, pool swimming, bintang drinking and shopping.

So what are the attractions. Well, the hotel is well situated near all our needs. There is a wide choice of eating and massaging. It is a short walk to the beach.

This part of the beach is pretty lively with the promenade lined with a few relatively expensive restaurants. We spent a few afternoons on a bean bag having a beer, watching the sellers and enjoying the sunset.



A relaxing pleasant end to a great month in Bali.