Up at 8am again (I felt much better), we tried once again to book kayaking in Port Stephens, and did so this time. We'd been thinking of going paddle boarding there with Jess, but she declined in the end as she had too much work to get done before term started again. We had breakfast and decided on another easy morning (blogging and doing photos and the like). During the course of the morning, the kayaking hire place rang to say that the wind had come up again so there was no kayaking for us. Boo.
Christian made us toasted sandwiches for lunch, and we packed up and left at about 12.30, stopping to transfer our house deposit at the building society, and to have a look at the fish shop in Argenton (it has an impressive marine representation, with fish and some amazing corals). The drive seemed a lot longer not being broken up. We went straight to Nelson Bay and parked at the end near the fish shops, having a quick glance at Bub's takeaway with a view to a snack and/or getting dinner there. Loaded up with snorkelling gear, we walked around the shops, peered into the water in the marina looking for fish, and got something to eat. We camped on Nelson Bay beach, at the closest end to the marina, and went in for a snorkel. It was incredibly windy, and the water was very cloudy and silty. We didn't see much. We decided to try again at the other end, and it was better, though there was a kid throwing a line in the water nearby. We went close to the rocks and found some fish and coral, but we also found a nasty current. We decided that that was enough and went back to the car.
I thought it was worth trying Fly Point or Halifax Park for snorkelling, but despite driving in the direction I thought they were, I could find the right places. And the tide was low anyway, and the wind strong on that side as well, so it wouldn't have been optimal. We kept on to Fingal Bay, and I felt sure that that, at least, would be more protected. I was wrong. I'd never seen such a swell there before. We walked down to the beach, but gave up on getting wet. Disappointing.
It wasn't quite dinner time, so we decided to investigate Boat Harbour, which could have been a potential snorkelling place, but we didn't think we'd get wet there either. After a 20 minute drive, during which we saw a red-belly black snake scooting along the road trying to avoid traffic, we arrived to the right of the main harbour, and investigated the rock pools. Christian put his phone, inside a waterproof sleeve, into a pool and then through a wave. It was nice there. We then drove to the main harbour, found a park, and walked onto the beach. Out of all places we'd stopped, it was the most sheltered, and we should have gone there to start with. Oh well.
We drove back to Nelson Bay, parking in the same place as before, and went into Bub's seafood. Christian had been toying with the idea of a seafood platter, but he decided on half lobster mornay with chips as well, so I ordered them for us and sat down with our buzzer to wait. They were $27.50, so fairly reasonable, and we hadn't managed to get lobster in the UK despite wanting to for some time. It was very busy, but the food came before too long. It was really delicious - Christian wolfed his down, but I savoured every mouthful.
We drove back to Coal Point in the growing darkness, hoping to see some kangaroos beside the road (but didn't). Stockton Bridge was very pretty with its lights against the sunset. Back at home, we caught up with Jill and the tennis, and went to bed.
Christian made us toasted sandwiches for lunch, and we packed up and left at about 12.30, stopping to transfer our house deposit at the building society, and to have a look at the fish shop in Argenton (it has an impressive marine representation, with fish and some amazing corals). The drive seemed a lot longer not being broken up. We went straight to Nelson Bay and parked at the end near the fish shops, having a quick glance at Bub's takeaway with a view to a snack and/or getting dinner there. Loaded up with snorkelling gear, we walked around the shops, peered into the water in the marina looking for fish, and got something to eat. We camped on Nelson Bay beach, at the closest end to the marina, and went in for a snorkel. It was incredibly windy, and the water was very cloudy and silty. We didn't see much. We decided to try again at the other end, and it was better, though there was a kid throwing a line in the water nearby. We went close to the rocks and found some fish and coral, but we also found a nasty current. We decided that that was enough and went back to the car.
I thought it was worth trying Fly Point or Halifax Park for snorkelling, but despite driving in the direction I thought they were, I could find the right places. And the tide was low anyway, and the wind strong on that side as well, so it wouldn't have been optimal. We kept on to Fingal Bay, and I felt sure that that, at least, would be more protected. I was wrong. I'd never seen such a swell there before. We walked down to the beach, but gave up on getting wet. Disappointing.
It wasn't quite dinner time, so we decided to investigate Boat Harbour, which could have been a potential snorkelling place, but we didn't think we'd get wet there either. After a 20 minute drive, during which we saw a red-belly black snake scooting along the road trying to avoid traffic, we arrived to the right of the main harbour, and investigated the rock pools. Christian put his phone, inside a waterproof sleeve, into a pool and then through a wave. It was nice there. We then drove to the main harbour, found a park, and walked onto the beach. Out of all places we'd stopped, it was the most sheltered, and we should have gone there to start with. Oh well.
We drove back to Nelson Bay, parking in the same place as before, and went into Bub's seafood. Christian had been toying with the idea of a seafood platter, but he decided on half lobster mornay with chips as well, so I ordered them for us and sat down with our buzzer to wait. They were $27.50, so fairly reasonable, and we hadn't managed to get lobster in the UK despite wanting to for some time. It was very busy, but the food came before too long. It was really delicious - Christian wolfed his down, but I savoured every mouthful.
We drove back to Coal Point in the growing darkness, hoping to see some kangaroos beside the road (but didn't). Stockton Bridge was very pretty with its lights against the sunset. Back at home, we caught up with Jill and the tennis, and went to bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment