Salt Water Injection

I've just come off the back of a busy week finalising a tender response, getting two large scale software development projects ready for implementation and basically staring at the walls of my cubicle going slowly insane.  The murky waters of the bay weren't going to cut it this weekend.  I needed an injection of deep blue water that only ocean kayaking can give you.

With perfect conditions predicted, we took off from Mooloolaba to paddle out to Mudjimba (Old Woman) Island which is a 20 km round trip if you stop off for a surf along the way. 

We took off at the top of the tide to head out to the island with a plan to do some rock gardening and surf into a rock lagoon which is sheltered behind a rocky outcrop on the north-western corner of the island.  If you can make it in behind the rock wall then you have access to the island.

The island is surrounded by a rock reef which is one of the best reef breaks on the East Coast when the swell starts to wrap around the island.  The swell that was running today was missing the island and building onto the coast which gave us a somewhat easy access into the rock lagoon.

The Shearwaters (Mutton birds) have been in residence, clearing out their nests ready for their nesting season.  You can only walk around the rocky edge of the island as the middle of the island is a mine field of Shearwater nests.  After visiting the island residence, we did a walking circumnavigation before jumping in our boats and heading off for a surf on some north shore beach breaks.

We had a great surf on the way back with some very nice peaky waves forming on the outgoing tide.  I had a first today as I slotted my sea kayak through a barrel that was forming, prepared my high brace for a thrashing, but somehow came out the other side of the barrel onto a clean wall - should of towed my surfboard along!

Thanks to Gaza and Jonathan for keeping me company - we were like stoked grommets by the time we headed in for lunch!