An Espresso Stop On The Great North Walk

This morning, we woke to the sound of a duck being chased around the campsite by a willing but incapable bunch of campers. The duck had netting caught on its right foot and the chase was on to corner it and free it from its shackles. Now ducks are well smart and this one just knew how to “duck and weave” to evade all attempts at being caught. It’s was like the closing scene of The Benny Hill Show as the procession of campers got bigger and the chase went from campsite to campsite.

It’s quite humid already so we packed our hiking bags so that we can do an early morning hike from Patonga Beach on part of the Great North Walk.

The Great North Walk is an iconic 250km multi day (10) hike between Sydney and Newcastle. We are doing a small but steep section offering stunning views of Patonga Beach, Brisk Bay and the mouth of the Hawkesbury River. At the head of the Bay on the opposite side lies Palm Beach, a popular retreat from Sydney and the location for the filming of Home and Away. You can get a ferry from Patonga for $20 return but limited shuttle times.

Part way through our hike, we stopped for a break and I made a fresh, hot espresso with my hiking Nanopresso machine (see video). Bliss.

After learning how to almost sink a kayak yesterday, we got a bit more adventurous and kayaked to a near by cove from Patonga Beach in the afternoon. I tried catching a wave back in and looked good for a fleeting moment until the front of the kayak decided to go for a dive... 10 out of 10 for style. The tide was on its way out so on our return, we ditched the vessels, jumped in and peacefully floated down the creek towards open sea.

It’s been a day of sun, sea and activity so no wonder we crashed early for a well earned nights sleep.

WILDLIFE
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