Oysters for Breakfast on the Bradley’s Head to Balmoral Walk.
Friday 2nd - Sunday 4th May 2008.
Friday
A typical start to a weekend on Vogelsang. Yet again I invite myself over to Andrew and Monique’s for a Friday night dinner. I actually got up to Greenwich quite early in the afternoon so managed to distract Andrew from work for a while. We had a cup of coffee.
Next we headed off in the kiddie taxi to pick up Hugo from the kindergarten and Lara from the infants school. I got to meet Ms Dixon which made the trip worthwhile.
The kids dropped off a letter into the post box. Not as uncomplicated a task as you might imagine. One gets to open the hatch and the other gets to drop the letter through. We all knock on the post box to wake-up the postman and let him know there is a letter to post.
Next we pop into the supermarket to buy some lollies. I opt for a Paddle Pop. The kids opt for absurdly expensive coloured sugar lollies.
Back on the footpath, we discover that we must have woken up the postman! There he was with his van emptying out the post box.
Back at Andrew’s I pumble with the kids in the back-yard while Andrew finishes off his work day in the office.
Later on Monique cooked a delicious dinner, then I headed off to the boat. I wasn’t tired and I had a nice bottle of red on-board. So, I decided to throw the outboard onto the transom and putted off down the harbour.
I made my way over to Athol Bay (near Taronga Zoo). Unusually, there were no other anchored boats there; so, I picked up one of the public moorings and settled in for the night. I wasn’t tired so stayed up late sipping red wine and listening to the radio.
Saturday
There is no more satisfying way to spend a day relaxing, reclining, ruminating, rummaging, pondering and pottering about than on a boat. That is what I did today. I also popped on the goggles and snorkel and gave the hull a good scrub. The boat needs to come out of the water soon for an anti-foul.
Sunday
After breakfast, I inflated the rubber dinghy and headed to shore just at the same time as the Maritime Authority “environmental services” barge was arriving to give the beach a good clean-up. I noticed a big hunk of something grey under the water when I beached the dinghy. Something that was once a part of a larger piece of moulded plastic. I wondered if it flotsam from the horrific fatal boat accident which occurred just nearby on Bradley’s Head a few days ago. I let the maritime guys know about it and then headed up the hill to Athol House.
I was hoping to get breakfast in the cafe at Athol House. No luck. It doesn’t open until 11am. So I head off on my planned walk to Balmoral. This walk takes you along the foreshore and extends from Taronga Zoo to Balmoral passing through Bradley’s Head, Taylor Bay, Chowder Bay and Georges Head, where you can then either cut across to Balmoral or continue along to the end of Middle Head before backtracking to take the track down to Balmoral.
There was no shortage of other people taking the walk. It was not too crowded though. Lots of “Good morning!”s were exchanged.
There is a plaque along the track in Taylor’s Bay which describes the incident involving the Japanese mini-submarine which was destroyed and sunk in the bay (not until after it hit Garden Island with a torpedo sinking one barracks ship anchored there and killing quite a few on-board). The Japanese crew shot themselves.
I took the path down to Chowder Head not realising it was a dead-end. Instead of back-tracking I decided to hop along the rocks. Lucky the tide was not in. I am glad I did because just around the corner the rock shelf was absolutely carpeted in oysters. I grabbed a loose rock and helped myself to about eight of these fresh, salty sublime morsels. There is absolutely nothing like eating fresh Sydney rock oysters straight off the rock (even though it is illegal to remove shellfish from the intertidal zone in Sydney Harbour).
When I got to Chowder Bay I went to the little Kiosk at the old submarine mining complex hoping to get some coffee and breakfast there. The queue was quite long and the breeze is chilly here so I decided to keep going as there is a cafe “Bacino Bar” (run by the same mob) just up the road a little.
Between the two is the Sydney Harbour Wooden Boats shed. I must drop by here one day when they are open. They have a little viewing area for visitors to observe from.
Almost at the cafe now. I can’t get there before a parking officer stops me asking if the black shiny Holden Commodore parked in the bus zone is mine. Somehow I look like the kind of guy that would park his black Commodore in a bus zone.
Finally, I am at the cafe. Great I can’t wait for a coffee and some breakfast. At the counter is another woman getting service and myself. After I had been waiting for a few minutes the dopey young thing at the espresso machine turned to me to curtly state “We’re not taking orders”. Another, more mature woman, perhaps the manager, seemed to be capable of more in-depth communication and explained that they were swamped at the moment and couldn’t take more orders for a while. To this I responded with the question “That’s OK, if I sit down will you come and take my order when you are ready?”. The reply was in the positive. I picked up the Sunday paper from the paper rack and sat down at a table.
More people arrived. One other guy was turned away and told to come back in fifteen minutes. Food started coming out of the kitchen and being served. A waitress cleared the table I was sitting at. Others arrived and one asked if he could have the unoccupied seats from my table.
I sat and read my paper and watched the queue of people being served at the counter. People arriving were now leaving as there were no more vacant tables. I kept reading the paper. Eventually, I tired of waiting and tucked the paper under my arm and continued on my walk. Hungry. Thanks for the newspaper Bacino Bar. No thanks for leaving me hungry.
On the path up to Georges Head I passed The Tearoom (Gunners Barracks) which is in the old Officers Mess building. A beautiful old sandstone building with a commanding view of the harbour. There is a wedding reception going on inside. Unfortunately, I am not dressed appropriately enough (wearing T-shirt, shorts and sandals) to be able to gate crash and get something to eat. So I continue on up to the ridge and past the old “WWI Hospital”, then cross over Middle Head Rd and along the path which leads down to the football fields at Balmoral.
At last I can eat! I continue the seafood theme. Fish and chips and take-away beer, which I eat and imbibe on the beach. Balmoral is a hive of activity. Football games (one rugby, one AFL) on the oval, kids in the water, families picnicing on the grass. I watch a fisherman reel in and land a bream. I read more of the paper.
Eventually I hop up to make tracks back to the boat. On the way back I stop at the apex of Georges Head. The sweeping view of Sydney Harbour from here is fantastic.
Back at Athol a National Parks ranger had the radio blasting from his ute while he works nearby. “Is that the Swans/Bulldogs game you are listening to?” I ask. He informs me the game is almost over and the Swans are going down. It has been such a beautiful day. You can’t have everything in life.
Passing Athol House a wedding reception is under way on the lawn.
I get back onto the boat; deflate the dinghy; pack up; hoist the sails and sail off while there is still light and wind.
Once I am back on the mooring I cook some dinner before heading off.
Postscript:
What a fantastic Harbour is Sydney Harbour when experienced not only from the water, but also from the beautiful parks, paths and beaches along its shores.
More information on the Taronga/Bradley’s Head - Middle Head - Balmoral walk and Chowder Bay
- Mosman Council map of the walk (pdf)
- Notes on the walk with map and photos
- Map of Chowder Bay
- Sydney Harbour Federation Trust Headland Park
- More walks in the Sydney Harbour National Park
