NSW Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Baha Adventures

25Sep 2021 by Warren Prior No Comments

Kayak Fishing Cowan Creek (Bobbin Head)

Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Lure Fishing, Salt Water

After far too many weeks in lockdown I decided to take advantage of the fact that I was still allowed out on the kayak. Amazingly, I hadn’t used it since moving into our new house, so I was itching to get out there and explore my new local waterway. I loaded my kayak on the ute’s roof the night before, saving me the effort of doing so in the morning. I then set about kitting up my rods and locating all my fishing gear, some of which was still boxed up from the move. At 6am the next morning I headed for Bobbin Head Picnic Ground, making my way carefully through the Ku-ring-Gai Chase National Park. The roads were packed with cyclists, slowing my trip down to the boat ramp.…

13Mar 2021 by Warren Prior No Comments

Half of my Advanced Open Water

Diving

Despite being new to diving, I was itching to get back into the water to do my Advanced Open Water certification. Why? Well, predominantly to open up a wide variety of exciting new dive sites, especially for our Great Keppel Island holiday in July (fingers crossed it doesn't get cancelled due to Covid). I spent the week preceding the course reading over the course material, and taking the required exam. This escalated the day before the course, when I made a last minute decision to tack on a nitrox certification, which required some additional reading and another exam. I was surprised by just how little additional information there was in the Advanced Open Water training. The course consisted of 2 required modules, Deep Diving and Underwater Navigation, as well as…

06Feb 2021 by Warren Prior No Comments

Diving Fairlight

Diving

After missing out on the dives in Port Stephens, Sharon was itching to get back under the water. So when we got back to Sydney, we jumped straight onto the Frog Dive website and signed up for one of their free shore dives. They were fully booked for all of January (thanks mainly to the reduced numbers due to Covid), and so we put our names down for the first free dive, which was at Fairlight in February. Fairlight is located in the Northern Harbour, and is a good site for beginners, with a maximum depth of around 8 meters. In 1949, the Dutch submarine K XII beached here, where it remained until January, 1951, when it was finally refloated and towed up the Parramatta River. On Friday evening we…

30Dec 2020 by Warren Prior No Comments

Diving with Sharks at Broughton Island

Diving

What’s the best things to do after getting PADI Open Water Diver certified? Jumping into the ocean with a bunch of sharks of course! Having had our Christmas trip to Brisbane foiled by Covid enforced border closures, we managed to find a single campsite in Port Stephens and quickly made a booking. Our mates then surprised us by making the long drive down from Brisbane, showing the ultimate level of dedication to spend New Years together. Amidst the rest of the fun, Nick and I decided to do a shark dive with Let's Go Adventures. We'd both grown up looking at ragged-tooth sharks at the aquariums in South Africa, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd ever be swimming with them...voluntarily. None the less, before I knew…

05Oct 2020 by Warren Prior No Comments

Flathead in Tilligerry Creek (Port Stephens)

Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Lure Fishing, Salt Water, Trip Report

Our exploration of NSW continued with a 4 day visit to Koala Shores, which is beautifully located on the shoreline of Tilligerry Creek in Port Stephens. We chose Koala Shores for two main reasons: firstly, it promised good fishing opportunities (specifically around the oyster farms); and secondly, it's known to have a small population of koalas - possibly Katie’s favourite animal. We took a leisurely drive up on Friday morning, and were thankfully allowed to check in a little ahead of schedule. After unpacking the vehicle, we did our usual exploration of the park (and of course spent some time on the jumping pillow). For me this meant checking out the boat ramp, and sussing out potential fishing opportunities. Other than fishing, we had some great fun over the course…

05Oct 2020 by Warren Prior No Comments

A Slow Session at Budgewoi

Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Lure Fishing, Salt Water

Poor planning meant that most holiday parks were fully booked long before we started planning our 3 nights of camping bliss. Thankfully we found space at Budgewoi Holiday Park, which we’d stayed at before, but was worth another visit. Our previous trip to Budgewoi, earlier in the year, had been with my mom and we’d stayed in the deluxe bungalows. This time however, we decided to “rough it”. I say “rough it” since our camping setup included a coffee machine, fridge, and a large canvas tent, so there was very little roughing it involved. In fact, I'd definitely refer to it more as glamping than camping. Our campsite at Budgewoi Holiday ParkAnother view of our campsiteSunset over Lake Munmorah The campsites at Budgewoi were fairly standard for Australian holiday parks…

31May 2020 by Warren Prior No Comments

First Thoughts – My Scott Aspect 930 on the Manly Dam Mountain Bike Track

Mountain Biking

Having spent Saturday pushing my 3 year old around the Narrabeen Lagoon Trail, it was time for me to put my new mountain bike to the test. And since we were yet to sort out a bike rack for the car, I decided to cycle to the Manly Dam Mountain Bike Track to put it through it's paces. The ride to the track went better than expected. After taking a wrong turn early on, and chasing a B-line bus down the hill to Spit Bridge, the climb back out was easier than expected, possibly due to the bike's gearing ratios. The remote lockout for the front fork was a life-saver, as I transversed from tar to dirt (and back) on a multitude of occasions. The Scott Aspect 930 Once I…

13Apr 2020 by Warren Prior No Comments

Narrabeen Lagoon Doughnut

Fly Fishing, Kayak Fishing, Salt Water

On Easter Monday I loaded the yak onto the ute (is there a more Australian sentence?) and headed for Narrabeen Lagoon. I'd read mixed reviews on the venue, but wanted to check it out for myself, and form my own opinion. At the very least I believed it held a healthy population of bream and flathead, which alone was worth a visit. After a brief 20 minute drive I arrived at the water and was instantly impressed with it's beauty. The wind was yet to pick up, and the lagoon was still devoid of the crowds I expected would arrive shortly, leaving the surface of the water perfectly flat, reflecting the abundance of greenery lining the lagoon's shore. Launching the Hobie Outback at Narrabeen Lagoon After kitting up a few…

28Mar 2020 by Warren Prior No Comments

Flathead at Hen and Chicken Bay

Fly Fishing, Salt Water

After a very successful first trip to Hen and Chicken Bay (read about it here), I decided to take advantage of the fact that fishing was still an allowed activity during the Coronavirus lockdown (as long as social distancing guidelines are followed), and headed out for a second session. Amazingly, the park was still relatively busy, with kids playing and adults exercising, although most of them appeared to be following the guidelines. Hen and Chicken Bay from the air I snuck between them and waded out onto the flats. The water was cleaner than on my previous visit, although it was still relatively dirty, with limited visibility. I stuck to what had worked for me before, a 7 weight rod with a long leader and a weighted fly, resembling a…

29Feb 2020 by Warren Prior 2 Comments

A Dirty Manly Dam

Bass, Fly Fishing, Fresh Water, Kayak Fishing

On Saturday afternoon I made a sneaky dash for Manly Dam, eager to flick a fly for a few Aussie bass. After months of drought, Sydney had finally had a week of heavy rain, and I was interested to see the state of the dam. The water level was significantly higher than on my previous two visits and, as expected, was substantially dirtier. That said, looking at the water from the bank, it looked tannin stained rather than muddy, which gave me some hope that it would still be fishable. An afternoon kayak session on Manly Dam I launched my kayak from the ski area boat ramp, and was promptly given a talking to by one of the skiers. Unbeknown to me, the ski zone was for powered boats only,…

Tag: NSW