Visitor: Cousin Charlie

Welcome to Australia

We recently had the good fortune of having Cousin Charlie come for a short visit while on his way through to a research project down in Tasmania.  I picked him and his kayak up from the airport and we wasted no time.

By the way, you know you are in for an adventure when someone brings their own KAYAK with them.

Can this count as my carry on?

We came home and went straight our for a spear up at Long Reef.  Conditions were good with about 15 meters of visibility and after some fumbling with the gear we managed to spear a nice Morowong for the lunch table.  It was tasty.

Mmmmm....lunch

After lunch it was straight down to Freshwater Beach for a surf lesson.  We did some practice pop-ups on the sand and then jumped into the water which was a beautiful spring temperature.

Charlie proved a natural and managed to get up and ride several waves.  We took turns with the board and bodysurfing.  What a way to spend a day.

Ready to rock it 

Pro style

We finished off Charlie's first day in Australia with a beachside sunset followed by bonfire on the balcony and some BBQ lamb.  Jet lag cowered in fear in the shadows.

First day sunset panoramic

We woke up on Saturday to what seemed like a summer day with a light breeze blowing through.  We loaded up the boat in the car and drove down to Little Manly Beach to launch.  We also managed to see a poor guy trying to turn his trailer around and hitting everything in sight.  Charlie was greatly amused at the trailer fail.

Middle Harbour seclusion

We did a cruise up Middle Harbour to some secluded spots and pulled up on an unnamed deserted beach for lunch, watching the lizards scamper and the birds flit around.

We managed to catch lots of small fish, all of which were tossed back to grow into a suitable eating size.

That evening we took a stroll around Manly and ended up on a beachfront balcony enjoying a couple of Ciders and watching the waves and Saturday evening crowd pass by.

Charlie was due to fly out on Sunday but we were determined to squeeze in a little more.  We woke up and had a quick breakfast and then straight back to the beach for some more surfing.  This time, with Charlie knowing the ropes we brought down 2 boards and rode the waves together.  Amy accompanied us down and managed some photos.

Checking out the waves

It was great to see Charlie and we look forward to adventuring with him again down in Tasmania or back here is Sydney.  Safe travels, cousin!

Here we go

Birds! 

Negotiations have broken down

Team wave!!!! 

Emerging victorious

Good times

Freshie beach, calling to Charlie