A Short Seachange - Part 2.

After enjoying our early morning stroll on the beach and observing a very hazy sunrise, we returned to camp for a leisurely breakfast. Mid-morning saw us heading off in the car, to explore the local coastline. 

The view from Cabarita Headland was pretty spectacular. It was lovely to see that this bay was less hazy than the open beach at Pottsville.

We would return to this cove the following day to swim and then relax under the shade of the pandanus trees.

Our next stop was the lookout at Hastings Point and the decision was made to return here for sunset. Pottsville is further south in the haze.

By late afternoon, the thick seaspray had returned to the extent that combined with the humidity, the wine label quickly became saturated. No spectacular sunset, but the cooling breeze was very welcome.

As we left, this lovely couple arrived for a wedding shoot.

5am saw us cresting the sand dune back at Pottsville Beach.  The sun was inching above the horizon, with the seaspray creating a muted colour palette.

What a glorious way to start the day!

Attempting trick photography on a high dune.

Canine, bird and human footprints.

Midmorning we returned to Cabarita Beach. The tide was surging in, making it quite unsafe to surf. I was unable to watch this group for long, for fear of what might happen. Thankfully no helicopter rescue took place. We later heard that the Gold Coast beaches, some 20 k's further north, had to be closed all weekend.

Keeping cool and relaxing with a book under the pandanus trees.

Back at the campground, we observed a telegraph pole for nesting eagles. Obviously not nesting at this time, but we were amazed to see that both the magpie and the honeyeaters chased this eagle away.

A calm sea greeted us for our final sunset.

Billowing clouds to the south eventually brought a harmless storm and cooler temperatures for the evening.

On our final morning, a 4am start had us wearing head torches to find the path to the Cabarita headland to watch this morning's sunrise.

First light 5 am.

A pod of dolphins entertained for a very short period.

Looking back to our cove of the previous day - low tide.

Spectacular nature soon had us spellbound.

Joc had brought her photographic crystal ball along and we managed to capture some lovely images.

As the sun appeared!

Heading back to the car we observed jet skis, towing board riders out to catch the waves. Not something I've seen before along our coastline. The swells were huge but not close in. Very impressive.

Beautiful sunrises are not just found on the coast. The morning after our return, I was up at five for my morning walk, to beat the heat, and this was the view across the golf course ponds below our house.

So very fortunate to live where I live.

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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.

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