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
The beauty of the Avoca Lake lagoon system
Just a quick shout out to the paddlers of Avoca, and the magnificent lake that I had the luck to paddle over Easter. Just sensational!
Tags: avoca, avoca beach, avoca lake
