Thursday, December 20, 2007

Palm Beach again

(Palm Beach again)

Fantasea Crystal at Ettalong Wharf Ettalong

Our trusty steed Fantasea Crystal at Ettalong Wharf. She is a 25 metre aluminium catamaran and takes a max of 192 passengers.


Lion Island, looking south from the Palm Beach ferry

Lion Island, looking south from the Palm Beach ferry. Notice the cliff at the head end, facing out therough the heads of Broken Bay, and the lion-ish shape of the whole thing.


Lion Island from the Pam Beach ferry

Lion Island from the Palm Beach ferry.


Lion Island head on from the Palm Beach ferry

Head on of Lion Island. Rock climbers can occasionally be spotted inching their way up its face.

The island is on a couple of my old maps as Elliott Island, named in 1789 by Governor Phillip after another Island where his mate General Elliott gave the Spanish and French a kicking. It's 8 hectares and was made into Lion Island Nature Reserve in 1956. There's quite a few beasties living on it, mostly birds though of course.

White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Osprey
Kookaburra
Grey Teal
Fork-tailed Swift
White-throated Needletail
Pied Currawong
Australian Raven
Mistletoe bird
Nankeen Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Silver Gull
Crested Tern
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
White-cheeked Honeyeater
Great Cormorant
Little Pied Cormorant
Little Black Cormorant
Tawny Frogmouth
Blue Petrel
Fluttering Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Short-tailed Shearwater
Eastern Rosella
Little Penguin
Southern Boobook
Silvereye

Water-rat
House mouse

Eastern Water Dragon
Robust Ctenotus
Copper-tailed Skink
Eastern Water-skink
Three-toed Skink
Lace Monitor

Proper names at NSW National Parks

Sydney Climbing


Barrenjoey Head from the Palm Beach ferry
Embiggen

Barrenjoey Head from Pittwater. Note the flat strip of land on the right hand side of the Head. That's the golf course, with Palm Beach itself on the other side of it and Barrenjoey Beach on the Pittwater side, which is this side.


Myra leaving Palm Beach Wharf

Myra leaving Palm Beach wharf. She does the bays and wharves of Pittwater. She's too small to go across the mouth of Broken Bay to Ettalong. She'd be all over the place in a decent swell.

She is a 15 metre woodern ferry and "the pride of Palm Beach Ferry Service". She takes a max of 130 passengers.

Sister ship Crystal Spirit at Wagstaffe wharf

Palm Beach ferry fleet

Ettalong to Palm Beach map

More Broken ferries & boats

Islands of Broken Bay


And that's yer lot for the year. I'm on me holidays now and will be laying on the beach and having barbies for a couple of weeks, storms permitting. Have a good Chrissy and come back on the 15th of January.

11 comments:

Suzanne44 said...

Merry Christmas, Spike-o. Have a great one!

Anonymous said...

merry christmas spike have a good one and see you back here on the 15th I am on holidays now as well until the 14th

Inexplicable DeVice said...

Have a great Christmas and a Happy New year!

Anonymous said...

During a debate on the Lost Treasures Forum it was mentioned that there lays a second Lion Island under the sand , these 2 form a gateway to the fabled lost Egyptian civilisation at Kariong , I had to give up on that argument those folk were getting too strange !

Anonymous said...

Merry New Year and a Happy belated Christmas Spike... I like the Myra mate... she's a good looking vessel. I'd hate to be on here when (if) she hits any open water though - that'd be an interesting bop about the ogin - that's for sure!

Sure - the aluminium twin hulled ferry looks flash and all - but she conveys no warmth to me at all... all shiny and new, but no heart and soul.

I reckon wooden boats are the bomb Spike - most of my grandfathers and uncles grew up working, building or repairing luggers out of Broome town... quite well known for their shipwright skills. I reckon there's some of that still - caught up in my blood!

The lugger you may have seen outside the old Freo maritime museum was built by my uncle. Angel - she was called... a replica of the Angel that worked so hard for my grandfather out of Broome.

Hope you're doing okay mate... I'll have a coldie for ya - when I can peel one of these two kids off me that is... lol!

Cheers ;-)

Suzanne44 said...

I just read in the news about flooding is NSW - hope you're keeping your feet dry.

Anonymous said...

the floodings nowhere near us suzzanne so we are safe here we've had nothing but sunny days here although there were a few cloudy and cool days here christmas day was one

Suzanne44 said...

That's good news - thanks michael.

Ron Bloomquist said...

Okay, the 15th is getting close. I'm loosening up the check in button!

Spike said...

Thank yer, all for the Xmas/NY wishes. Hope you all had a good time and weren't too hung over.

Steve, gateway to a what?! presumably these are the same peeps who trek through the gullies up there looking for the pyramid. Dear souls.

Belongum, I am with you on the soullessness of the Fantasea Crystal. She did not do it for me either. Wooden boats are It.

Angel

How cool are you wit all these maritime connections? Don't remember her unfortunately. Plus I wouldn't know a lugger from a launch. Something to do with pearls no?

Suzanne, thank yer for the concern. Nearly everywhere in Straylya but Woy Woy has been flooded or cycloned this month. We live a charmed life here.

Michael, thank yer for allaying news-related anxieties. How was yer holiday?

Ron, I have an advantage what with it being tomorrow here already!

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