Green Point and Toronto 27th to 30th August

 

Belmont

 

After spending a couple of pleasant days on the eastern shore of Lake Macquarie at Belmont, we moved a little further north to Green Point. There is a courtesy mooring here close to the shore and adjacent to the Green Point Foreshore Reserve. The reserve is criss-crossed with walking tracks and is well endowed with picnic and BBQ areas. No rain has fallen here for some weeks and the land is very dry. For us this warm weather is very pleasant and we have dragged out the shorts and tee-shirts. We discovered a colony of Bellbirds here, chiming away, and sitting out in the cockpit for lunch, evening drinks etc., with the birdsong from the forest and the warm setting sun, is bliss. Green Point must be a suitable habitat for birds as in the morning and evening the birdsong is incredible.

The weather was so perfect that we decided to motor around Croudace and Warners Bays. These bays are filled with the southern suburbs of Newcastle and plenty of moored craft. Parkland surrounds the shores of the lake and the whole area is quite scenic. We were joined by two of the biggest dolphins we have ever seen. We thought they may have been two males with testosterone problems, because they appeared to be in a very aggressive mood. They kept torpedoing towards us and diving at the last moment. Then they started slapping Rene's hull with their tails. At first we thought we had hit something and I raced downstairs to check the chart plotter. It was definitely the dolphins. They also kept bumping the rudder and the tiller was being pushed to and fro. The boat kept shuddering from the impact. As they surfaced to take a breath is was not the usual graceful movement we associate with dolphins. It was quite aggressive. Interesting experience and I'm glad I wasn't in the water with them.

We met up with the O'Dwyers again on Wednesday evening and planned a trip to Sydney on the train for Thursday. We also had another couple of nights at their house in the lovely soft bed. From Fassifern Station it took two hours to travel to Central Station. It is a scenic trip and one I would happily do again. From Central Station we caught the Light Rail to Darling Harbour and spent most of the day at the Maritime Museum. Roger and Carol are members of the museum so we got in free as their guests. Peter and I inspected HMAS Onslow an Oberon class submarine, then the destroyer HMAS Vampire and finally the HMB Endeavour replica. This was as much as we could manage and will probably go back again to see more exhibits in the future.

We met Roger at the museum and caught the ferry around to Circular Quay to meet Carol for afternoon tea before embarking on the journey back to Toronto. A train to Central then a swap to the very crowded Newcastle train and we were on the way. Luckily we managed to get on early and found seats before the last few minutes of the rush. It's still difficult to believe that the cost of public transport for us seniors for the day was $2.50 each including rail, light rail and ferry trips.

Royal Motor Yacht Club Toronto

Rene alongside at RMYC Toronto Marina