Elizabeth Beach

Bimini Retreat

The view

Rusty exploring the garden

Native flowers

Chris at the top of Cape Hawke lookout

Bruce at the top of Cape Hawke lookout

The view from Cape Hawke lookout

Bruce on Boomerang Beach

Nice beach houses

Bruce having a surf at Boomerang Beach

Finally caught a wave

Shelly Beach

Sandbar

Sunset picnic ground

Sunset from Tiona, on the shore of Wallis Lake

Beautiful reflections

Jervis Bay

For Chris' Birthday weekend we hired a 1960s weekender cottage in Jervis Bay. Jervis Bay is about 100 miles south of Sydney and is known for it's white sand beaches and crystal clear waters.

The cottage we rented was pet friendly and so it also became Rusty's first holiday away with us!

On the way we stopped in a pretty coastal town called Kiama where there is a blow hole.

On the way back we visited the Nan Tien temple outside of Wollongong, which is the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere.

Here is a location map:

Kiama Lighthouse

Kiama

Kiama blowhole

Out little rented cottage

Bruce and Rusty playing in the back yard!

Chris and his best friend on the verandah

Nelson's Beach looking out towards Point Perpendicular

Chris and Rusty on Nelson's Beach

Chris taking a dive!

Nelson's Beach

Nelson's Beach

Bruce paddling at Green Patch Beach

Bruce on Murray's Beach

Kangaroos  grazing on the front lawn

Bruce and Rusty on Callala Beach

Callala Beach

Nan Tien Temple

Nan Tien Temple

Pittwater

Today we spent the day on a catamaran on Pittwater with Chris' childhood friend Julia and family. Julia's Mum bid and won the day out at a charity auction and was kind enough to invite us along! Lunch, drinks and a crew were provided, so all we had to do was sit back and enjoy it!

Pittwater is a large bay 25 miles north of Sydney harbour at the mouth of the Murray River. Most of its shoreline forms the border of the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, so it is mostly undeveloped and there are lots of secluded beaches where access is only achievable by boat.

Here is a location map:

The Countess

Sailing north

Bruce seems to be having a good time...

...and so does Chris and Lizzie!

Our captain Paddy from Ireland (emigrated to Sydney in the 1970s)

Clockwise: Bruce, Julia, Lizzie, Jason and Alice

Anchored at Hungry Beach next to another sail boat.

Bruce getting the hang of paddle boarding

Weeeeeeeee!

Getting confident now, paddling off into shark infested waters

A Sydney sea plane arrives to pick up some beach-goers

Cheese!

Sailing back to the yacht club

A nice motor boat overtaking us

Parsley Bay

Today we visited Parsley Bay, which is a long narrow bay in the Eastern Suburbs. The water is very shallow so you can swim out quite a long way and there is also a shark net! One of our new favourites!

Here is a location map:

Looking over Parsley Bay from the Parsley Bay Reserve

Looking back towards Parsley Bay beach and bridge.

On the jetty at the end of Parsley Bay