At the end of the track we come to another lookout – this time overlooking Umina Beach.
The view was quite impressive that day. You can see along the length of Ocean Beach Road to Woy Woy, Brisbane Waters, and Gosford at the foot of the hills beyond.
Being mid-spring, there were a few flowers around. The most striking however were small and purple.
This one was from a type of grass.
This one was a little violet of some kind.
Today we’ll begin a wander along Mt Ettalong lookout. We’ve been there once before but this time the weather was much brighter. First stop was the outlook over peaceful Pearl Beach, with Lions Head and Palm Beach in the distance.
One thing about beagles – they’re extreme attention seekers. If you’re not showering attention on them 24/7 they become rather despondent. Below, little princess wasn’t happy that we haven’t given her a pat… in the last two minutes.
We end our wander with a typical sight on the North Island coast – manuka flowers. How delicate they are!
Like Ninety Mile Beach further north, this stretch of coastline around the Hokianga is also wild and desolate. Unlike Ninety Mile beach, it is remote and quite inaccessible. No 4wd buggies around there. Access is only via tiny (and unsealed) country roads. I only caught a glimpse of that coast from the more civilised side of the harbour, but I want to visit it if I’m ever in the area again.
The following day I venture out to the other side of the harbour, all the way to the Hokianga harbour heads. While the south side was lightly developed with two small fishing villages the north side featured giant sand dunes. In contrast to Kohukohu, a mere 10km away, the heads was wild and woolly.
The village church was also made of weatherboard and wonderfully white in the Northland sun. I like the terracotta coloured roof against the blue sky.
Northland has its fair share of historic weatherboard houses. In my eyes there were reminiscent of Queenslanders, except without the stilts. The reason for wood was that there weren’t many quarries in the bush in the old days, and one has to use the materials that are available. A vast majority of these weather boards were painted white, but there were some owners who lived their colour…
On a sunny day, why not have a coffee, or even fish ‘n’ chips, by the harbour and watch the world go by?
Static and Silence 