A China Story. Ian and Anji: 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.