8^th January 2020 – My Angourie Walk

With a broken sleep wondering if my youngest son Joshua had arrived safely at the Gold Coast after driving from Gerringong, NSW; I slept passed my intended wake up time therefore it will be hotter than what I wanted to experience. Today’s temp is expected a calm 34°C with around 75% humidity.

My brother. Kerry, headed off to the local Farmer’s Markets at Turner’s Beach 150m from our camper at Yamba while I climbed the sharp hill to the Pacific Hotel and along Clarence Street towards Pippi Beach in my boardies, tee shirt, cap, joggers and small backpack.

There were plenty of beachgoers and runners around Pippi and Main Beach but I kept a steady pace towards the beach and the extensive sand towards Angourie (a world-renowned surf break) village some 6klms South.

It’s been a while since I did some real walking and I decided to leave my Salomon Hiking Boots in the camper and rely on my joggers for this trip. All is good (a bit hot though), the seas a bit rough but plenty of surfers out at the far breaks catching plenty of reasonable waves.

It seems every walker has a dog (everyone of them unleashed) and I bet not one plastic bag for the number 2s (I found a few sets of evidence to prove my theory). One dog took a liking to me for some reason and kept dropping the ball at my feet for me to throw into the surf for retrieval. The owner had to take over otherwise I had a friend for life, I think.

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From Pippi beach you can see the houses of Angourie … doesn’t look that far … unbeknown there is a middle headland there hiding away which distorts the distance somewhat. Nearing this headland an Eastern Osprey glided towards me and hovered from a close aerial view. I suspect there is a nest nearby or walkers maybe throwing food scraps out for it. I was surprised how close it was hovering. I get a bit nervous if you have ever experienced a magpie swooping on you in nesting season so an eagle/ Osprey is a bit more daunting in size alone. My research leads me towards an Eastern Osprey due to its size and colouring whereas the next best selection would be a White Bellied- Sea Eagle but they are the 2^nd largest raptor bird in Australia and would be larger than the bird I saw. The Wedged-Tailed Eagle is Australia’s largest & I have seen these up close and believe me, they are huge! Much larger than America’s Bald Eagle. My soaring friend went back to its lone high tree to perch and observe. The tree was central to the area recently devastated by the sever bushfires some months ago and the vegetation is quite sparse but slowly recovering.

The tide was going out so the headland manoeuvring was a bit easier. The presence of humans was now isolated and I felt marooned on a large island .. nothing around me until I saw a rock with numerous rock castles mounted. I am not alone! Before long I was at Spooky Beach (a Northern beach of Angourie) and with a very large dumping of seaweed along its shores to the Southern end. The smell was ripe of course but bearable for swimmers desperate for the cool down. I walked past Spooky Beach and to the Angourie Point where it winds around towards the flat rock walls where the Blue & Green rock pools are.

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The photo shows the history behind these pools where in 1899 a quarry was set up with train lines to take the rocks here to Yamba by rail to make the middle wall of the Clarence River (Big River) for boat navigation at Yamba at the mouth of the Pacific Ocean. Overnight, these pools filled up with fresh water burying all the quarry equipment which made the quarry operations cease. These pools are only about 50m from the sea wall of crashing waves so it is quite unique. These pools offer vertical walls for brave people to scale and jump off into the vertical walls of these ponds since the 1900s. Currently, both pools have an attack of an algae so signs have been erected warning the public not to venture in. Of course, it hasn’t deterred many (I was). The Green pool seems to be the least affected in this case. Apart from seeing some climbers and jumpers enjoying the ‘bombing’ there was little for me to venture into. My water bottle was nearing empty so I thought I would visit the local café 100m away on the main road which has had some great reviews of late. It was well attended with no tables whatsoever available however, next door was Barbaresco arguably Yamba’s finest restaurant with my surprise my friends Davida & Adrienne were in attendance getting things ready for tonight’s servings.

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A very warm greeting was received by all including Coco (a German Backpacker) helping out. Last night was a very busy night so they needed to attend before lunch and get things sorted for late afternoon and tonight. Without holding them up too much Adrienne filled my water bottle with her ‘famous’ chilled water as she calls it and I was on my way. What a lifesaver for the water. Across from Barbaresco is the walking entrance to Spooky Beach and that is why it is named; due to the nature walk in a mini tropical oasis (be scary at night, early morning or dusk).

Back to the beach walk. I had already done 77mins and 6.15klms so it will now be repeated for the journey back to Yamba. I felt sand in my joggers, so I belted out the sand, tied them to my backpack and decided to walk barefoot back to Yamba, if possible. It was an opportunity to gain some of Earth’s magnetism for better health (please Google this .. it’s a fact). I found more rock pools full of crystal-clear water and vibrant colours of varying life, rock colours, etc. The photos don’t do it justice. I scaled more boulders and rock formations to add to the adventure and enjoying my barefoot romp.

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It wasn’t long before my feathered observer (Osprey) was gliding through the sky above me. It was quite an eternity watching the effortless gliding of flight. If the Osprey was larger, I think it may have been sizing the 2 smaller dogs playing with their owner on the sand. It was unbelievable this Osprey flew alongside my journey for over a kilometre and then it stopped as if there was some boundary line outside of the Yamba colony. It perched on a tree and stayed there until I was out of sight.

Nearing the Southern end of Pippi Beach I decided to walk along River street (the first main street that takes you past the Golf Club and to the start of the CBD but first I must walk the soft sand with my bare feet. To say the sand was blistering was an understatement! Ouch!! It took a while before I could get some relief. Nearing the road, I was able to get my flip flops (thongs in Australia) out of my backpack and it took a few seconds to feel the relief. Walking 6klms on the sand possibly took the aged skin of my soles (like sandpaper) and now I have baby skin feet affected by intense heat. Still learning at my age .. Go Figure!!!

Another kilometre to go and I was at my Cousin’s Backpackers (Yamba YHA) to refill my water bottle. It was quite busy & I was in no mood to help clear the tables .. a counter stool had my name on it and there I found great relief. Another 15minutes later I had to get my feet going again to shop for some food for a late lunch. My brother was waiting in our camper, but he had to dash off to play one of his nephews in a game of golf. I’m all walked out .. so lunch for me it is!!!

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Now with my feet elevated and them cursing my walk, I thought I would work my fingers and share this blog with you. Hope you enjoyed the walk with me and I look forward to any comments of course to help me improve … or stop .. LOL!!!