11 January 2010. The continuing Ferry Journey.

 



















After the trip around Brisbane Water, I decided to take Anji on the 
open water ferry across to Palm Beach which is the northern most point on the eastern coast of Sydney. 


As I said in the previous blog about the Cockatoo Ferry, the Central Coast NSW is separated from Sydney by the Hawksbury River, which enters the Tasman Sea in a wide body of water know as Broken Bay.


There is a photo in the previous blog of this ferry passing us. 


So, after a rest on Sunday, we chose to go across on Monday January 11, while the sea swell was still small. It can get a bit bumpy across the open water if a strong southerly is blowing. As you can see in the first photo, it started out a cloudy day but, by the time we got to Palm Beach, we had left the clouds behind.

From all around our area, a lighthouse can be seen to the south. This is Barrenjoey Lighthouse and has protected the entrance to Broken Bay since the late 1800s.

As the ferry crosses Broken Bay, this lighthouse gets closer and closer until it is rearing up above us high on the headland. It was our plan to climb to the light house and look back north to where we live.


This was Anji's first trip across such a body of open water and the crossing was fairly smooth with only a half to one metre swell running.


As the boat leaves Brisbane Water to enter Broken Bay, it has to go through a narrow, winding, channel which flows in an S shape around a groups of rocks known as Half Tide Rocks and then swings back inside a large sand bar, and once again swings back around a headland known as Box Head. The channel has been getting smaller due to moving sands so the local Council has brought in a dredge to remove some of the sand.

In the middle of Broken Bay is an island. It looks like a lion resting and looking out to sea. So for some strange reason it is named Lion Island. It is said the lion is guarding the entrance to the river.

The Lion at the gate to the sea.

                                Getting closer.

Barrenjoey gets closer and soon we arrive at Palm Beach wharf. A quick coffee at the coffee shop and then walk over the hill and passed the golf course to the bottom of Barrenjoey headland. There are two trails up to the top, both built in the 1800s to allow construction of the light house. One is a more gentle slop and wider as it was laid in sandstone by convicts to allow horse carts to take building materials up to the top. The other pretty much goes straight up the face with stairs cut into the rock. We decided to go up the horse trail and back down the stairs which are known as Smugglers Way.

The inside or bay beach.

The park named after Governor Phillips, the leader of the first fleet of convicts and settlers to Australia (or New South Wales as it was known then).

The real Palm Beach. The ocean side beach.                        At the start to the top.

     Sugglers Cove on the inner side of the spit.

 Some local spiders in a mass of webs. The tiny dots are the male spiders waiting for a chance.

 This is a close up of one of them. It is about the same size as my four fingers. Quite big. The one on the left is holding her mate who didn't get away fast enough.

 A bull ant. We call them Bull Joes. It is about as long as the first portion of my thumb. There was no way I was going to use my thumb for a comparison shot because they are aggressive and have keen eyesight and will follow your movements. They have big nippers and will give a painful sting.

                        Looking into Broken Bay.

                         Looking on the Lion from the top.

                                      The bay beach, the wharf in the centre and Pittwater to the south.

                                  The pathway.

                                          Ian at the top. Note the narrow sand spit joining the headland to the mainland. 

 Almost there. We made it.

Time to rest awhile and then head back down the stairs to the beach, lunch and then head back to the ferry and home.

See more photos on www.81x.com/china/photos

A Ferry Trip 09 01 2010

   

Please also see my web site.

Last week I realised that an historic ferry was running on Brisbane Water during the summer vacation. Brisbane Water is a large, salt water lake that Gosford City is built around the edge of. It empties into the Tasman Sea off the east coast of Australia.

It is named after Sir Thomas MacDougal Brisbane who was Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825.

Gosford City is named after Archibald Acheson, the 2nd Earl of Gosford.

Killcare, where I live and where this journey commences from, is named after an early estate here and simply means come here to Kill your cares.

Reference: www.gosford.nsw.gov.au/library/local_history/placenames.html


Gosford: Believed to have been named after Archibald Acheson, the 2nd Earl of Gosford (1776-1849), with whom N.S.W. Governor Gipps served in Canada.Archibald Acheson was appointed Governor of British North America in 1835.Brisbane Water: Named after Sir Thomas MacDougall Brisbane, Governor of N.S.W. between 1821 and 1825. The naming of Brisbane Water was contemporary with, but not necessarily connected to, the arrival of James Webb, the district's first white settler at The Rip in 1823.

Killcare: "Killcare estate" was the name given to a 1916 subdivision at Hardy's Bay. The name "Killcare" is a pun, as in "Kill care at Killcare".

So I decided to take Anji on a trip on board the Cockatoo Island Ferry. This happened on Saturday January 9 2010. A beautiful day to be on the water. Clear blue skies, a breeze blowing and many people out enjoying this beautiful water way. It is almost impossible not to be relaxed when you are putting around a large body of water with great weather, great scenery and the sound of the old marine diesel (5 cylinder) putting away softly.


The ferry was built before the second world war and was in service on Sydney Harbour for the Australian Navy. After the war, it was refitted as a passenger ferry to take workers from Circular Quay around to the large ship repair facility on Cockatoo Island. Hence its current name.
Cockatoo Island has been closed as a ship repair point and is now part of the Sydney Harbour National Park. The ferry was purchased by Central Coast Ferries, fully restored and put in to service as a tour boat on Brisbane Water, Gosford.

This is mainly a pictorial with small comments on each or group of photos. I hope you enjoy it.

Coming out of the main channel.

The ferry arriving at Hardy's Bay wharf.

 
Some of the yachts and cabin boats moored in Hardy's Bay.

Looking across the top of the ferry from under the canopy on the rear deck.

Heading out to sea in the main channel before swinging around into the secondary channel for the run up into Ettalong and Brisbane Water.

   Two on board for the trip.

 
Leaving Hardy's in the distance behind.

An older house at Wagstaff Point.

 
Some of the lucky people who have water views.

Oyster Leases. There are many on Brisbane Water and the oyster are of high quality.

A pair of locals. Two Oyster Birds who also enjoy Brisbane Water Oysters and other shell fish.

Approaching The Rip Bridge from south to north.






The Rip Bridge was opened in 1974 and is built across the neck of Brisbane Water. At this point, the main channel is only a couple of hundred metres wide. Being so narrow and having such a large body of water behind it, the in-coming and out-going tides roar through here. creating a very strong current that can stall the most powerful craft, if the skipper is not ready for it. Subsequently, it has become known as "The Rip".
The bridge was built to provide a quicker way to get to the suburbs on the southern-most peninsular on the coast. It is the bottom end of the Central Coast. A major river, the Hawksbury River, exits to the sea here. This river forms the northern border of Sydney and the body of water is called Broken Bay. 


 
St Hubert's Island bridge. 
This is an island that was cut up so most people had a water front. Very exclusive. The bridge connects the island to the main land. The ferry passes under this bridge.

One of the waterways cut into the island.

Many people share this place for water sports, especially at the weekend.
Here are some that came passed us.



Mum and Dad on a tandem Kayak with kids in tow on rubber dingy. 


 
A fisherman heading home or maybe heading for his favourite fishing spot. This is looking south and The Rip Bridge is in the background


 
Some people had set up a picnic on a sand bar that has become exposed at low tide. An instant private island.



Two gentlemen have a leisurely sale on a Saturday afternoon in their beautiful old boat. 


 
The Lady Kendall, a larger cruise ferry that cruises the whole of Brisbane Water from the northern end to the entrance at the southern end.





This ferry is the Palm Beach ferry (See blog dated 11 Jan 2010).
It travels across the open waters of Broken Bay and the Tasman Sea from the northern-most part of Sydney, Palm Beach, and stops at two points in Brisbane Water, Ettalong and Wagstaff. It is also a very popular trip of about 30 minutes. Many people who work on the northern beaches of Sydney will even take the early trip across the bay to go to work.

There is also another ferry that travels from Woy Woy to Saratoga. This is the only commuter ferry still running on Brisbane Water.

Economy class fishing boat.

 A channel marker that looks a little worn around the base.

 There are many pelicans around Brisbane Water. They can be seen soaring high in the sky, circling on the thermal currents on a warm day. This is the place they rest when they are not enjoying themselves in the air.

An island reserve along the way.

A channel between two islands.

 
Some kids enjoying the shade of the trees and the cool water on a hot afternoon.


 
In the channel approaching the destination at Woy Woy.

The skipper tying up.


Shutting down and going for lunch.


The ferry has a rest.

The beautifully restored inside cabin.

This is Fisherman's Wharf Woy Woy. A fresh sea shop and cafe/restaurant. A great place for lunch. We had an hour here before getting back on the ferry for the trip home.


 
Into the main channel and heading south towards home.

Post Script: In hindsight, we should have driven our car to Hardy's bay wharf instead of walking. It's only about 2 kilometres (1 mile) but we live on a ridge, high above the bay. We arrived back at the jetty about 2pm and the afternoon was around 35 degrees. The walk back up the hill was a killer. Once inside the house it was open a bottle of beer and jump in a cold shower, beer still in hand.