Saturday 24 February 2018

A Short Sea Change

My New Year's resolution at the beginning of 2017, was to take the van out at least once a month. Alas, Evie Eagle, as she has now been christened, had not one adventure. 
This year's resolution was exactly the same, but with more conviction when making it.
January is not a good time to camp, with high temperatures, school holidays, and regular thunderstorms. February arrived with the temperature dropping back to the high 20's, so I asked my friend's Jocelyn and Leanne if they would like to join me. We settled on 3 nights, 15 - 17 Feb. Meanwhile the temperature and humidity soared again to the mid 30's, but thankfully the coastal temps were several degrees cooler and with a sea breeze.

We found the Pottsville North Caravan Park about midday and were impressed with the friendly staff, who gave us several choices of sites, the park's shade opportunities, cleanliness of the amenities block, and the spacious feel of the whole park. Their swimming pool was a bonus, given the temperature and we gladly cooled off in it, once we had set up camp.

At this point we had just broken the back of the work - approx 40 mins from driving in. If we used Evie more regularly this time would be halved. A good plan! The sweat was pouring off us and we were in need of a coffee break. 

Thank goodness for our shady site!

All done. We have recovered in the pool, read a book and now a cuppa before heading to the beach to watch the sunset.

Sheer bliss! 
High seas of the past week had closed the majority of the coastal tourist strip's beaches. Combined with the humidity and heat, they had created sea spray levels that I had not experienced before. Often the visibility was down to 50 m, but it did make for some different photography.

My youngest son had given me a special bottle of champagne for Christmas. My husband doesn't drink it, so I had kept it for a special occasion with friends. Just perfect for this afternoon.





We initially set up above tide level, but it wasn't long before the decision was made to move a little closer.

The sea still beckoned. As it was low tide, the shoreline was quite flat, so we again moved to feel the edge of each receding wave, or at times, a swirling of the rushing wave. The temperature was still 29 C, making this a lovely relaxed way to cool off. We did have to move back up the beach several times, but it was worth the effort.



Sunset nearing, in the west.

Sea spray increasing.



7.30 pm saw us back at the van and whipping up a delicious steak meal on the park's BBQ.

Breakfast after our early morning walk, was very appetising too.

Rain delayed our departure to watch the sunrise. It was well up on our arrival, but blurry, because of the misty sky. A glorious couple of hours was spent strolling along the shoreline, enjoying the reflections, waves, cloud formations and variety of creatures and flotsam on the beach. Great excitment when we actually saw fish being caught off the breakwater.


















I've cropped these tiny crabs from another photograph. I hadn't noticed them in the sand.








Beached jellyfish.


It was fascinating to watch the waves receding where crabs were under the sand. The air bubbles kept bubbling until the water was gone and then this perfect circle was left to admire.











This end of the coast is very unpopulated, so it was a joy to have the beach virtually to ourselves. So peaceful and relaxing. A wonderful start to our short break.

I would love to read your comment.


19 comments:

  1. You and your friends sure know how to have fun! Love the champagne on the beach. Nice ocean photos.

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    1. Thanks Linda. We would fit in very well with your ski bus crew!

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  2. Many to love here--- Especially a couple of the trees and sunset, along with the figures on the beach. Excellent. It looks like you had a wonderful time!

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    1. Thanks Bill. It was difficult to pack up, and on my return, suburbia sounded much less peaceful and far too busy.

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  3. A m a z i n g photos.
    The life is surely good there. :) Your camping and champagne tasting looks such fun.
    We (unfortunate inland habitants :)) always consider sea spray as something very good for the health, because of the inorganic salts it contains, but I just read it contains also organic matter and thus even microbes. Very interesting.
    For example the photos 25 and 26 are so beautiful that I almost start crying.
    Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Thanks Sara. The tranquility and beauty of the sea was mesmerising. It was wonderful to share the adventure with 2 friends who were on the same wave length as me.

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  4. What gorgeous beach photos! Since we are smack dab in the middle of the U.S., we'd have to travel quite some distance to find a beach. Thanks for sharing your trip with this landlubber!

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    1. It is hard for me to imagine being so far from the sea. I don't actually miss it until I revisit and then I realise just how special and relaxing being near the waves is!

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  5. WOW! That's the dictionary's definition of "remembering to breathe" while "living life large"!

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    1. Definitely! The timing was also perfect. This past weekend we had 200mm or 8 inches of rain fall.

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  6. What a great way to spend a weekend, camped by a quiet beach, picnic in the waves. We have a camper like yours and don't use it as often as we should

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    1. Thanks. It was fabulous and has made me more determined to get away, more often.
      I think your excuses for not using yours, would be far more valid than mine. I wonder will you be off in it this coming summer?

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  7. What a lovely outing. You took some fabulous shots!

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    1. Just a tad different to your spectacular views.

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  8. This looks like so much fun!! Great photos.

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  9. Oh that just looks totally delightful.

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  10. Oh how wonderful! Beach time with friends! Awesome photos.

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  11. That all looks very relaxing. We have a camper too, and there's nothing better than getting away in it for a while. We're intending to use it quite a bit this year. Love the reflections on the beach.

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    1. I look forward to reading of your adventures in it.

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