Patonga to Woy Woy: headlands, beaches, shark eggs, pelicans

A classic leg stretch with the bushwalkers the other day. We took the bus to Patonga on the northern side of the Hawkesbury estuary, and walked over the hill to Pearl Beach. Then via beaches to Ettalong, and around toWoy Woy.

Here's our morning tea vantage point, with views across to West Head, Barrenjoey, and the Newport Peninsula.

Who knew that some sharks lay eggs, and some give birth to live young? Actually I think I did. Our leader Len was able to further educate us on the subject when he found this Port Jackson Shark egg on Umina Beach.

An awful lot of dogs on these dog-friendly beaches, sometimes getting a bit tangled up with the bushwalkers.

One of Woy Woy's time-honoured attractions is the 3pm pelican feeding session. We were just in time.

Tea Gardens

We took the ferry from Nelson Bay over to Tea Gardens. It's on the north side of Port Stephens harbour, and it's just across the Myall River from Hawks Nest, famous (among other things, perhaps) as the holiday home of choice for ex-Prime Minister John Howard. It's also the gateway to the complex Myall Lakes system, and the Myall Lakes National Park.

Somewhere in the Myall Lakes, my friend Paul's boat sank recently. I haven't been able to establish what exactly happened, except that "it went down backwards", and it went to the bottom, where it remains, and all aboard were rescued by another boat.

Pelicans are everywhere. They seemingly run the police and the fire brigade!

Woy Woy pelicans

They're there every afternoon at 3pm, for their feeding session at Fisherman's Wharf. Some of the spectators donate their chips to supplement the fish. It's quite a show.