Kayaking and snorkelling

 

It is great to have our full tribe back on the sea together again ...

 

 

The air was heavy with the powerfully evocative smell of bushfire smoke as we paddled up the north shore.

Some hours of paddling later we had a very memorable snorkel in a shallow bay that revealed a small submerged cave with at least fifteen large crayfish tucked away beneath its ledge. The image below shows just some of the crays that made the journey home with us in our kayaks ...

 

And this is just one of the many meals that followed ...

 

 

Crayfish stir fried with ginger and shallots, fresh chilli, crushed garlic and coriander. Squeezed lime juice and slices of fresh mango as accompaniments.

How's that for kayak food sourced from our backyard?

And, jumping back in chronology a little, this was how the day began with a glossy seal pup leaping beside our kayaks on the way out through the Heads ...

If we thought that it was difficult to capture such a fast moving seal by photo then we had no chance with recording the silvery flying fish that later skipped into startled flight out at sea.

Another great day in our kayaks.

Mid-weeker

 

16 or so kms after work ...

South to RNP

This morning we paddled south from Cronulla to the beautiful cliffs and beaches of the Royal National Park. And back.

The photo above was taken on the way back.

Highlights:

> The sea standing up and pitching itself across bomboras - dangerous traps for the unwary or distracted paddler
> Snorkelling over a rock platform full of cray and abalone hidey-holes
> Reddy-brown wallabies wondering what we are doing on their beach
> The east-coast heathland flora in bloom ...

 Setting up the sail for an easy return journey with the sou-easter.

Mid-week paddling

For the last couple of months we've been slipping in an additional mid-week paddle, either in the morning or evening. It's important to do this to build up and maintain paddle fitness - and it's very enjoyable too.

We've been paddling up to 20 kms into the night - down the Harbour,out the Heads, along the coastline and back. The photo above is just off Shelly Beach / Manly.