No photos of the morning’s paddle. 25 kilometres, mostly with following northerly winds which quickly built to 25/30 knots. Not a time when I was prepared to take out my camera. I was paddling and sailing in an “alert but not alarmed” manner – exhilarating and challenging. Reaching our destination the landing was easy. As we landed and hauled the kayaks up the creek against the strong out-going tide, this poseur popped up…

Then Mark wanted to see which was stronger – the out-going creek or the 30knot wind…

Looking back out across the bay, the conditions were picking up even further with gusts of 35 knots recorded …
The moon was full that weekend and the tides very high. The water came in fast, just 20 minutes between these two photos…
(The thongs have never been found).

This was our rest day, spent wandering…. …fishing with mates …

Note the snake skin – I found it high up on the rocks in a crevice. It’s about 1.5m long and is from a common brown snake.DAY 4
Our time was up and we had to leave paradise. We left early and paddled out in glorious conditions, long before the winds got up.

Thanks to Harry, Mark, Mike and Rose for a wonderful time.

Loading and launching from a beach filled with families enjoying the summer’s day seemed out of place. Once we crossed the bar (hardly noticeable), we headed south into glorious solitude and sunshine.

From a distance this rock lived up to its name, especially when viewed from the south…

The day was fine with hardly any wind, just a few curious gannets who flew over us.

Prior to our launch, we’d had some discussion about whether this island had a campsite so we went in for a closer look…
Turns out there is a potential campsite there…
Passing inside the rock that guards the northern head of the bay…
…we looked south to our destination, about another 10km away with a long crossing of the bay into headwinds. My body was feeling tired after 20km but I pushed on wanting to cover the 30km trip without getting out of kayaks.

Arriving and landing at this place in these conditions was a joy …

Mark and his mate greeted us as we arrived at this heavenly beach, tucked away from the sou’easter and with warm water inviting us back in for a dip.

The tide was going out so lots of little fish were being swept down the creek and out to sea. Where the creek met the bay, bigger fish waited for their tidal feed. As we stood on the rock ledge above, the dolphins turned up for their dinner, darting around not at all bothered by the surge riding them up and down the rock face.
There are days when being in the right place at the right time brings sheer delight.