Fianlly after 4 days of crap weather we are able to leave Cabarita and head off. Our first port of call was Pittwater for a bit of fine tuning.
We left Cabarita at 8.00am on Monday 18th Sept 10 as per our emailed voyage plan doc to Marine Rescue. We arrived at Pittwater at about 2.00pm and settled at Little Jerusalem Bay (photo attached) for the evening.
The next morning the weather was kind to us so we decided to head to Hallet's Beach for the day and night. It was a lovely sunny day so we went ashore for a walk and saw a big goanna. After a few hours of sun we headed back to the boat for an afternoon drink. The weather changed and a storm started to brew. Rod who had tied up the dingy earlier hadn't done a fantastic job and with the wind change it had come loose and headed off. As we stood watching it drift away we were at a loss as to how we could get it back. Since Rod tied it up it was up to him to dive in and swim to save it. Lucky for him there was a couple of nice people from a house boat who came to his rescue and brought it back for us.
Wednesday we headed to Scotland Island to catch up with No Mast for a pre trip drink and stayed the night. We left there Thursday afternoon to fill up with fuel and water at Royal Motor Yacht Club before heading to Coasters Retreat for the night for our journey to Port Stephens the next day. Whilst at Coasters Retreat we went ashore for a walk. It is here that Elaine saw some Kangaroos which Rod questioned and pointed out that they are in fact Wallabies. OK a blonde moment. From here we went for a dingy ride and stumbled across a little wharf called "Bonnie Doon Wharf" oh the serenity!!!!!!!!!!
Now our holiday feels like it has started.......................
We are up early 4.30am (well Rod anyway as Elaine is still sleeping and will do on and off all day) to start our way up north. It is a long day for Rod but we eventually make it to Nelson's Bay at 7.30pm. Our silence is disturbed by a whale blowing it's blow hole @ 60 meters from us just off Noran Head which got the heart racing, it is suprising how loud and clear the sound is. We are greeted by a pod of dolphines off Stockland Beach who want to swim along for a while.
Rod sighted more dolphines in the morning hanging around the boat and then they came back after lunch for a play in the bay. It is here that we have our first swim of the trip. The water is bloody freezing it is 19 degrees but feels more like 9 and if it doesn't warm up it will be Elaine's last swim. The water is so crystal clear and it is easy to see the bottom of the bay at 4.5 meters deep. I think we will stay a week.
Our next stop is Port Macquarie and we will be planning that over the next few days. We will be staying at Peppers Resort Marina for a few nights to restock and general household chores and celebrate Elaine's birthday.
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