Patonga Pelican

Will I go or wont I; will I go or ...

Kayaking with paintings

Patonga Inlet

A bloke from Patonga rang me recently to tell me he had seen a painting of mine in a local cafe and had decided to buy it but it had "disappeared" before he had had the chance. We arranged to meet on Sunday and I took over three paintings as I wasn't sure which one he had liked.

My prospective buyer turned up in a wet suit, dripping water across the pavement.

Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised as some houses in Patonga are across a creek and only accessible by boat but when I saw the size of his craft I was surprised. It was tiny. He had paddled his one man kayak down the creek and along the waterfront to the shop and proposed to take his painting back the same way.

The kayaker decided to buy two paintings instead of one. He  put them in a plastic garbage bag together with his thick weekend newspaper and set off on his wobbly way. He balanced his paintings on a two-liter bottle of milk he'd bought at the cafe but still they made it difficult to paddle.

As I left I crossed my fingers that his paintings (watercolour and ink) would arrive dry at their destination.

Patonga to Pearl Beach

There is nothing like a bush walk to revive the spirits. Near where I live is a particularly pleasant one, the walk over the hill between Patonga and Pearl Beach. It is easy walking because it is mostly along fire trails (roads built for access in case of fire.)
 

Fire trail walkway

Bush turkeys crossing the path

You climb up and up and at the top of the hill are two small paths leading to the edge of the cliff where you look out over the mouth of the Hawkesbury River.

Path from fire trail to lookout

At the end of the path the ocean is reflected in the morning puddles.

South east - the mouth of the Hawkesbury River

Looking  west

The views are spectacular, my phone camera doesn't do them justice.  You feel as if you are a million miles from habitation but over that hill to the south is Sydney and that the peninsular you see stretching out into the sea to the west is Palm Beach. Very close to habitation after all.

Pearl Beach, Patonga and, across the water, Palm Beach, are top right.

Folk music at Patonga Pub

On Sunday afternoon local folk musician met at Patonga Pub. Its a good venue to have a play-along.

Tom Flood plays

Folk musicians at Patonga Pub

Musician  at Patonga

Great North Walk

The bush track between Patonga and Pearl Beach is part of the Great North Walk which goes all the way from Sydney to Newcastle. The bush path is beautiful, with trees pushing their way between great boulders between which the path occasionally passes.

Steps cut between boulders

Trees push their way between rocks

Att the top of the hill above Patonga you can see all the way back up the Hawkesbury River.

Patonga Inlet

Patonga is such a quaint and unspoiled place, tucked away behind the hills, between a creek and the sea. I have been painting there fairly often recently and I just put the paintings online at artsmitten.com

Boat in Patonga Inlet

Jacarandas at Patonga

Last Tuesday I joined my local 'paint out' group despite cloudy skies as it was the first Tuesday since I moved here that I have had time to join them. The group painted at Jacaranda Avenue in Patonga (NSW).

Watercolour: Jacaranda tree in Patonga

The ground under the trees was carpeted in purple, so by next week this view will be green/green instead of purple/green. Jacarandas might be pretty, but they don't provide any food for local birds so I wont be planting them in my garden.

Fishing

Hot weather equals fishing-from-wharf weather. Yesterday was over 30C and this couple were sitting right on the end of the wharf to fish. Just as well they fished yesterday because today it is cold, windy and wet.

Fishing from the wharf at Patonga

Patonga sunrise

Early morning in Patonga on the Central Coast. I took this photo then went back to bed ...

A little while later, my wall turned into a mural....

So I got up and looked out the window.

Rock 'n' Roll in Patonga

Last night I went to the Rock'n' Roll night at the Patonga Pub. It is a great pub with a wonderful position on the shore line, no pokies and live bands. Last night George (guitar) and Zak (harmonica) played from 7pm to 10 to midnight with hardly a break. They are a great duo and the patrons danced with abandon.
At the beginning of the evening the women danced while the men propped up the bar but as the night wore on and the amber liquid flowed the blokes all danced as well. They are a great crowd at the Patonga pub.

Next morning dancing patrons had a bleary start to the day but the sun was shining across calm water and sailing boats dotted the Brisbane Waters. A little bit of heaven.

Houses needing rowboats

There are a row of houses in Patonga whose only access is by boat. If you want this view...
you have to be prepared to ladle water out of your dingy and row across the inlet.

Patonga

Patonga is one of those places that is lovely, rain or shine. The sand banks disappear and re-appear with the tide and you can sit around ...
...painting the sulphur-crested cockatoos
that gather to smooch on the balcony rail.