We’re coming to the end of our 10 days in a holiday house at Hawks Nest, two and a half hours north of Sydney.
We’ve been to this spot lots of times, but still love it. Jimmy’s beach is wonderful for swimming – warm (ish!) clear azure water with little wave action and in the week we have it to ourselves. While sitting on the beach you can watch the dolphins swimming up and down Port Stephens bay, see formations of pelicans gliding in to land and marvel at the varied diving birds chasing fish under the surface.
In the shallows, hermit crabs march up and down and get tumbled over by the small breakers.
The house is a simple, but comfortable wooden two-storey A-frame just two minutes stroll to the beach.
I’m listening to a Hits of 1962 CD that someone had left in the boombox on the kitchen bench (Return to Sender, Baby let me Follow you Down, Breaking up is Hard to Do).
Faithful followers of my fishing exploits will be pleased to know that I’ve caught and eaten a couple of sand whiting and caught and released more whiting, bream and a beautifully camouflaged flat fish. Live beach worms and tiny yabbies have helped in my quest.
The local wildlife has been getting in the way. At one time when getting bites, two dolphins came into the shore right over my bait and scooped up lots of fish – my fish! The fish were leaping out of the water to escape the smug, smiling jaws of the dolphins but to no avail. Then I was just settling in to catching when three pelicans flew down and water-skied to a halt right in my fishing area again. The cheek!
Lots of colourful birds away from the beach and we had a close encounter with a big frogmouth while walking back from the beach at night after a little stargazing.
We had a good Valentine’s Day dinner at the Boatshed Cafe, perched over the riverbank in nearby Tea Gardens. Degustation menu shown somewhere here.
What else? Some golf, very pleasant, despite the warnings about the snakes, goannas and dingos on the course.
Lots of reading and crossword solving. Very relaxing indeed. I read The Goldfinch by Donna Tart and think it is the best book I’ve read for ages. Loved it. Jan has read about 20 books since we’ve been here. (See the comment from Jane below!)
It’s been raining today so Jan wandered around the local shops and I went fishing in the rain – it’s warm, so the rain is not really a problem.
Bought and framed a print of the Goldfinch painting after seeing it years ago at “Vermeer and Friends” show at NG London. Loved it then, fondly surprised to see a book crafted around it. Just finished reading the book, given to me by Duncan for Xmas pressie. Very compelling reading. Tarrt’s incredibly detailed research into addictive behaviours both fascinated and overwhelmed.
I am re-reading “Wolf Hall,” followed by “Bring up the Bodies” by Hilary Mantel. Eager to complete the trilogy. The Mirror and the Light is due out next year.
Holiday sounds bliss. Duty-bound, with some embedded highlights, off to Boughton next week.