Avoca Beach (November 17)

To be honest, I'm scratching my head trying to figure out when was the last time that I paid a visit to Avoca Beach. The last walk with the camera around the beachside suburb was Aug 2014, and I know for sure I haven't been there since Covid struck in December 2019. As for the occasion, well I would have to say that it would have to have been for the same reason that I ventured there last Friday – to see a movie. It's one of the delightful little places to go to on the coast – a large room with comfy chairs, old-fashioned movie memorabilia and arguably the best (and cheapest) choc tops on the Central Coast.

The only problem is getting there. For me, on public transport, taking the easier way of bus/train to Gosford then the 66A to the lovely venue takes me around 90 minutes, if my connections are good. (Catching it from Woy Woy didn't sound like a good idea, seeing the trip planner had me getting off the 64 somewhere near Kincumber then grabbing the next 66 service from a random street.) Car would definitely be easier for this trip.
And it was worth the effort to go see what could well be the only film that I'll see at a cinema in 2023 – the remastered edition of Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense concert from 40 years ago. To think I was in high school when that happened.
Anyway, I wanted to get there well before the 1.25pm session (the only session I may add) and have a wander around, fully knowing that trips there are rare indeed. The camera got a good workout, and I had a good walk around the beach, though I managed to lose a pair of sunglasses whilst doing so. It started overcast, grey and cool, but by the time the movie started the tempreture went up a few degrees, the sun was out, and my jacket was in the bag.
Before the movie though, I dined at one of three beachside venues – my preferred choice of Avoca Beach Seafoods, where I ate the last time that I was there. It's a simple little takeaway, which does offer a few outside tables for dining, though you have to retrieve your meal when the order number is called out. Naturally, I was able to get my preferred meal of a chicken schnitzel burger with just lettuce and mayo this time, in a meal deal with chips and a drink. I received the order in around ten minutes. Though I polished off the burger, a few chips got discarded and it was a slow walk across the park to the cinema on the other side where I had a chunky vanilla choc-top for desert for just $5. The burger BTW, wasn't as good as the previous one that I had had in Woy Woy, but it was just what I wanted at the time. Next time I might even try the grilled version rather than the crumbed.

It was doing a good trade whilst I was there with a variety of people ordering meals ranging from dog-walking old-age pensioners to Asian tourists. There was a warning notice in the outdoor area – Beware of the Kookaburras. It was a necessary - these big-beaked birds had obviously scared off the local seagulls and had claimed this piece of the beach. Don't leave any fish lying about...

Cheers!

Links correct at time of posting.

Pictures by Geoff G Turner (c) 2023.

Woy Woy (October 28 & November 2)

Well, the first time a suburb gets repeated here. I had an opportunity to have a night out recently at the nearby Everglades Country Club (a five minute walk from my front door), starting it with a meal and a drink. I had previously wondered what watery site I was going to include with this, but the answer was quite simple in the end – the actual Everglades Public Reserve, which contains a large swampy area and is home to several species of birds, various small reptiles and amphibians, and mammals, such as seasonal fruit bats.

The second was an opportunistic selection. I was returning to Woy Woy from a few nights with mates at Ourimbah (the highlight being the most recent Matildas' match against Chinese Taipei), and decided at some point that I felt like a burger for lunch (seeing I hadn't had breakfast yet) rather than chicken pad thai, and opted to go to Batty's Better Batter, a takeaway cafe on Blackwall Road, the main street of the well-known suburb. On that occasion, it would be the monthly meeting of the mental health support group that I'm a part of, which regularly meets at the Woy Woy waterfront during the spring and summer months.

First, the Everglades. The club is located on Dunban Road and neighbours Rogers Park, which has sporting fields for league and AFL during the winter months and cricket during summer. The club itself also has a bowling green and a golf course. The boundary borders the public reserve and I occasionally find golf balls from poor shots in and around the laneway where my unit is located. One of the first things I did when I moved here was to take up a three-year social membership. I still go to the Leagues Club in Gosford more, because of the football, but I find the local quite convenient if I feel like a meal and a drink, and/or to take visitors. It's a cosy little place, with friendly staff and multiple areas to dine within the venue.

On October 28, I was there for a show. Australian band Dog Trumpet, lead by two former members of the Aria Hall of Fame band Mental As Anything, my favourite Australian band and one that I managed to see live three times in Tamworth and do the door for one of their shows whilst working at a local club. So I arrived around 5.30pm, had a delicious chicken schnitzel dinner, served with chips and a small salad which was all washed down with some Canadian Club on tap. Since I started doing these reviews, I haven't really had a bad schnitzel at all. This one was quite juicy and sticking with a top five is becoming quite hard. The show started around 8pm and finished around 11pm. All-in-all it was a good night out.

So, less than a week later I found myself once again in Woy Woy, having purchased a schnitzel burger with salad. (The 'salad' was lettuce, beetroot, carrot and tomato. Naturally, being a finicky eater, there were items in it that I had to discard. However, seeing they have plenty of variation on the menu I won't make the same mistake twice.) With a small chips and a bottle of water, the cost was $14.50. It was a short walk to the waterfront, past the Thai restaurant that I like, where for once I beat the rest of the group.

The burger was large and delicious, which I barely managed to finish. The chips were presented in a small open cardboard tray and I just couldn't quite complete eating them. I felt quite stuffed, but satisfied that I had received my money's worth. I should add, though it wasn't as good as the burger that I had at Pearl Beach earlier in the year, it was quite adequate for what I wanted at the time. 

 

Links correct at time of posting.

Pictures taken by Geoff G Turner (c) 2023.

 

 

 

 

East Gosford (7 & 14 October)

A suburb that I got to know quite well in my 16.5 years of residency there. The unit I once lived in faces Russell Drysdale Street and every school morning and afternoon it was the noisiest and most congested street in the area, with buses retrieving and dropping off students to four schools within two blocks of my front door, as well as helicopter parents adding to the ruckus with visits to the day-care centre across the road. I either tried to block out the noise with my own (or ear plugs) or tried not to be there at those times.
The suburb does have its advantages. Regular bus services from two providers so that you could travel to all the compass points, eight coffee shops, a pub with a very popular dining area, a variety of restaurants, an art gallery and a waterfront walk where I've taken several of my best photographs, including a trio of award-winning shots. For a birder such as myself, it was delightful wandering around there at different times of the day because something unexpected might flutter in to get your camera whirring. One of the best things though was that I could walk to Central Coast Stadium to watch the Mariners play, which I did repeatedly through the spring and summer months.
Again, it is quite possible that this suburb will get multiple posts due to the amount of dining venues there. The five places which I frequented the most were (not in any order) the Elanora Pub, Cafe Jam, the Golden Lantern Chinese Restaurant, the Top Point Cafe and Crust, a take-away gourmet pizza place. The Chinese restaurant was a particular favourite, seeing I used to regularly order take-away when returning home from playing soccer in Sydney between 2011-2019. It was a nice treat after a match, conveniently located near a bus stop and a short walk back home.

For this post however I'll talk about the Top Point Cafe which is based inside the Gosford Regional Art Gallery on Webb Street. The gallery itself is partially enclosed by a small rainforest on two sides and a large dog park on another, whilst inside the gallery grounds is a delightful Japanese garden, complete with a large pond containing a multitude of colourful koi and resident ducks. The gallery has regular exhibitions in the main room as well as an auxiliary gallery for smaller displays, including the annual Art Works! Mental Health Exhibition which I've participated in over the last ten years. Every year the MH support group that I'm part of has an October excursion to the event to view the entries and have a spot of afternoon tea. It would be a busy day for some – it was the same day for the recent national referendum and the opening match for the Central Coast Mariners' women's team in Gosford for the 2023-24 season, which I was attending later on. I had taken the option to undertake a pre-poll vote a week before and got that out of the way.
The cafe itself is quite popular with visitors and often caters for functions at the gallery, such as the opening ceremony for this year's MH exhibition on October 7. On the second instance, the cafe was closed to the public at 3pm due to a wedding that they were catering for – the gardens being a very popular spot for this.
For the casual morning or afternoon tea visitors there is a wide selection of pastries and cakes. Hot, cold and alcoholic beverages are available, and I was pleased on this occasion with a hot chocolate that was made correctly – with milk rather than hot water. Despite the cafe being busy when my group (of eight) visited on the 14th to view the entries in the MH display, and somewhat understaffed as well, the order was filled within a few minutes. I went for something simple on this occasion – fresh scones with jam and cream. In previous visits to the eatery, I have enjoyed a chicken burger and their bacon and egg roll and have been satisfied with both of them. As for the opening ceremony there was a variety of muffins, fresh sliced fruit, juice, tea, coffee, etc. There was so much to eat I'm sure plenty of guests, including myself, took a few muffins for the road. If you so desire, you can walk it all off with a stroll through the gardens (inside or out), stroll around the shore of Caroline Bay or let the kids run around in the neighbouring park. The venue itself is less than a five-minute drive from Gosford, and for those on public transport, any number of buses can drop you off within easy walking distance. The best spots on the highway being the pub on the way to Erina Fair, or the beauty salon when heading back into Gosford.

Links correct at time of posting.

Picture by Geoff G Turner (c) 2023.