Friday, March 27, 2015

Heaps of Hart on the Sussex Inlet

I'm the "King of the Sand Dune!"

Bryce doing his best Leonardo DiCaprio impression

We are so lucky to have been given invitations and opportunities from the St. Michael's staff - and school community. Last weekend was another terrific day with Christine and Adrian Hart exploring the Sussex Inlet on their "Bar Crusher" boat and spending the day with them - and their grandsons, Ethan and Noah. The boys made instant friends and had a terrific time with their new mates. 

The forecast was cloudy and somewhat windy, but it turned out to be nice on the water and the sun even came out for a bit while we were enjoying a "picnic lunch" at "Little Manly"

The boys all waited for Adrian to get the boat ready for the water 

Time to board!


A quick photo before they get their "sea legs"

Bryce in the First Mate's chair

Liam exploring the shoreline 



We headed out towards the open water, but it was too windy and rough (with the kids on board) to travel past the inlet. Instead, we pulled up to the sandbar shoreline and did a nice walk exploring (and playing) on the sand


Lots of seabirds around





Liam and Noah enjoying a barefoot sand walk 

  Bryce loses his hat in the winds up on the bank!

Everyone makes their way towards the water 

Beautiful beach (but very rough!)


Chy-Anne and Christine walk barefoot on the sand 

Chy-Anne looking for dolphins, maybe? (They are often seen here)


Back to the boat and Liam is soaking up the sun as First Mate 

Lots of pelicans line the shoreline (likely waiting for the fisherman to return) 

The Sussex Inlet Rescue Boats

Adrian looks on as Bryce works on his Aussie Tan! 

Black swans on the water

And then it was time to go fast when we hit St. George's Basin!!! 

Cormorants were everywhere - we actually watched one choking back a pretty big fish (whole!)

Huge Pelicans!

This is where you can hire a boat for the day 

Toadfish - apparently toxic (to eat)...at this point, it's just easier to assume something here is poisonous unless you hear otherwise:) We were feeding them scraps of ham and quite a few began to gather.

Both Liam and Bryce had a turn driving the boat (Thanks Adrian! You made their day:)



So many things that live in the waters here

This is how the boys entertained themselves after they had finished their lunch...


After the boat ride and a picnic lunch at the sandy hillside of "Little Manly" - we headed back to Christine and Adrian's house and experimented with Liam and Bryce riding a little 4 wheeler! 

This is the map showing where we were:

This is where our boat ride took us

This is an aerial photo of the Sussex Inlet leading in to St. Georges Basin


2 comments:

  1. Love it. This is where I grew up and swam and boated and fished and had a great childhood. The big s sand hill is not as big anymore. We used to go down on our boards, skim across the water and hope to get to the other side of the river. It is ACT so loved being in another state. Exciting as a child.

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  2. Great to hear, Jane! We loved it too! Thanks for your terrific comment and explaining more about your connection to such a wonderful place. Cheers mate:)

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