I hadn’t been out in a kayak for five weeks, and I was getting antsy. I also had a student from a recent Paddle Australia Basic Skills course want to try something a little more interesting than her regular flatwater trips. And… the weather and tides were looking great, so off to Refuge Bay – again – it was!
Moderate to fresh breezes were forecast for the Broken Bay area of the Hawkesbury river from early afternoon onwards and, as I’m not a fan of cycling up hills or pedalling in a fresh breeze, we opted for an early launch and midday return.
A 6am meet with a launch 30 minutes later meant we were on the water at first-light, and out on Broken Bay for sunrise.
Trip plan details
- Group size – 2
- Distance – 24 km
- Duration – 5 hrs
- Weather – partially cloudy (clearing), 28°C, light breeze (1-4 kts)
The run across from Patonga to Flint & Steel Beach was as easy as it could ever be whilst looking over our shoulders as we tracked down the eastern shore line (Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park) afforded a lovely view of the sun coming up and starting to burn off some of the early morning cloud cover.
Looking west gave a spectacular sight of the mouth proper of the mighty Hawkesbury River, beautifully calm as we enjoyed the relative peacefulness of the slack-tide period.
Not long later we entered America Bay, and as is my usual want, we tracked the shoreline around the edges of the bay, finally pulling-up at the Refuge Bay beach and waterfall, claiming the two-kayaks worth of sand showing at high tide for our landing spot.
As soon as the JetBoil was fired-up and brewing some tea, paddle boarders, kayakers and some small craft seemed to descend upon us and the beach from the few yachts and cruisers that were moored up in Refuge Bay. Fortunately for us we’d already managed to steal 15 minutes of solo-ownership of the beach and enjoy the surroundings – and unfortunately for them, we weren’t brewing tea for anyone else!
After a hot brew, some late breakfast / early lunch, we packed-up and headed off for the return leg. After finishing the track of the bay’s shoreline – always mindful of making sure that the route looks great on Strava! – we headed straight across the channel (Cowan Creek), over to Fisherman’s beach. From there, it was just a matter of tracking the shoreline back past Possum Beach and Eleanor Bluffs, nipping across the Hawkesbury river itself to Juno Point, then following the shoreline past Little Patonga Beach, back into Patonga Bay and over to the boat ramp.
Another simple paddle, made easy by the weather gods being kind, and made immensely enjoyable by the company of my new paddle partner.
Refuge Bay by kayak – it just never gets boring!
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