Mrs FP captures FP's kayak during a dawn raid

My wife Bec used to paddle in Sydney quite often until a paddling friend told her that Middle Harbour, her usual paddle spot, is a Bull Shark breeding ground. Since then, she has refused to get behind the paddle, with a fairly healthy fear of the ocean critters that inhabit Australia’s waters.

One morning during our family holiday in Avoca, Bec surprised me by asking to take my kayak out for a paddle. I honestly thought she was trying to be funny, before I realised she was serious. So with that, I rushed the family down to Avoca Lake, launched the boat, gave Bec some last minute tips, and pushed her out into the Lake.

Bec in the kayak with a Greenland paddle in hand

I admittedly was a little worried. My boat is designed for big heavy loads, and she is but a little bitty thing. It is also has a moderate V hull which can be tippy for some. And with the unconventional paddle to top it off, I was expecting her to take a little swim. But instead, with rock-steady balance, she paddled out into the lake and easily steered the boat around without so much as an awkward lean.

Once she’d had enough, she then handed the boat to me for a quick burn around the lake. This is an old favourite paddle spot for me, and the place where I did my initial training when I first started paddling, so it is always nice to cruise amongst its trees and birdlife.

The serenity of Lake Avoca... rudely interrupted by a fat bloke in a boat!

Such a lovely part of the world

When I finally got back to the shore, by wife had just returned from the butcher with a couple of steaks and a few sausages for dinner. I mean, seriously, what an awsome woman?? I’m such a lucky man! Cheers – FP

Mrs FP - like a sparrow on the deck of an aircraft carrier!

Tags: avoca lake, Bec, Mrs Fat Paddler, Mrs FP, Rebecca

Canoes - great for paddling, relaxing, photography and more...

Whilst out testing my new Mad River Explorer 14TT last weekend, I got to spend a fair bit of time relaxing on Lake Avoca on NSW’s Central Coast. One of the great joys I discovered in the canoe was the ability to pull out a decent sized camera to take photos of the wildlife around me. On this particular lake, that amounts to a vast array of water birds. So here’s a little taste of the birdlife I got to explore – cheers, FP.

Lonely tree full of birds

water foul

Fly away!

Here birdie birdie birdie!

Mr Percival the Pelican

A black swan amongst white friends

Ok, not a bird, but a bloody big jellyfish!

Tags: avoca lake, bird watching, Mad River, Mad River Explorer 14TT

Sunset on Avoca Lake from the kayak

Dawn and dusk are two magical times of the day, and there’s nothing better than witnessing either from the water. In this case I’d gone on a family holiday to Avoca beach, on the NSW Central Coast, and had snuck off from the fam for a cheeky kayak before dinner.

The light at this time of the day just never lets you down. The deep purplish hues are fleeting yet too beautiful to lose forever. That’s why (waterproof) cameras were invented!

Purple dusk over Avoca Beach. Magical.

Tags: avoca beach, avoca lake, kayak, Sunset

All the Fat Paddler tribe in one kayak

Bless my wife, she organised a weekend away for Fathers’ Day at Avoca Beach, a sensational spot on the NSW Central Coast.  Apart from an amazing beach, it also has a great set of paddling lakes known, funnily enough, as Avoca Lakes. And there is a kayak hire place on the lake that does a range of boats, including stable bath-tubs for the most unsteady paddler.  Perfect also for taking out my little girls for their first ever paddle.

A bath-tub full of girls (and one fat bloke)

My eldest daughter (Grace, 3 years old) sat with me and marvelled at the pelicans, and jelly-fish, and anything else we saw in the lake system. My youngest daughter (Ella, 1.5 years old) was enjoying dipping her hands in the lake until my wife demanded urgently she remove them, which set Ella to tears for the next 15 minutes.

You see, I had failed to point out to my somewhat paranoid wife that this lake is land-locked and free from noahs, so in her mind Ella was tempting the sharks to rise up and bite her hands off. My wife was so worried in fact that she asked me to let her and Ella out early, leaving Grace and I to paddle for a while longer. It wasn’t until she was out and chatting to the kayak hire man that she realised there weren’t any sharks at all!

Grace and Daddy, now paddling solo

Needless to say we all had a good laugh a bit later. Importantly however, Grace hasn’t stopped talking about how she went paddling with daddy and saw jelly-fish and pelicans, so I’m guessing she can see why I love it. Unlike her mum, she may even go paddling with me again. 

The Engine Room

Tags: avoca, avoca beach, avoca lake, Fathers Day

Glassy perfection on Avoca Lake, looking towards Avoca Beach

I really can’t stop raving about this place. The whole lagoon system is about 6.5km to do a lap, so pretty small in the grand scheme of things, but every part of the lagoon system is different. Look at the glassy expanse of the main lagoon area (above), now checkout the tree’d wetland area of the harder-to-find north west lagoon (below).

Paddling through the trees at Lake Avoca

And then just to be different, the lagoon stretches right up to Avoca Beach itself, with just a sand-bank separating the lake from the sea (below).

Avoca Beach, just over the sand ahead

All in all I just love this area. An interesting paddle amongst the pelicans and herons, skipping fish jumping out the water all around you, and the friendly faces of locals also out enjoying a paddle. If you get the chance to visit, get out there!

Tags: avoca, avoca beach, avoca lake, gosford, nsw central coast, paddle