Spooky Beach and its kooky inhabitants

 

Paulie and I are really in Yamba for quiet, sunny, peaceful, lazy ... work. I tap away at this machine, in my flat, turning out deathless prose and theatre articles which no one will ever read; across the courtyard in my other flat P has installed a musicians studio where he is turning out compositions and arrangements ...

We only really go out for marketing, massage and the odd meal. 

However, today dawned so bright and fair that we decided a little jaunt to the adjacent village of Angourie was called for. I haven't been there for a while, since its classy retaurant moved out, and we had joyous memories of our last visit, where we ran into a very large and sleepy snake curled up in the tree over the path down to the beach.

It is a little more difficult for me to clamber down to the sands these days, but with a strong left arm to aid me, I did it ...

And oh! was it worth the effort!

Spooky is one of the scenic joys of our area. From there, you look across the waters back to Yamba ...

Or out to sea where, far off, the yachts dip and dive, and the occasional whale does a splashy somersault ...

Yes, see those steps? I climbed them right up ...

Well, there was no snake this time. Yes, I checked carefully. But there was a most wonderful floor show. Ornithological. As we reached the car park, this little feller came up to greet us ...

Followed by his slightly larger companion.

What a show. Camera clicked fifty times... every time you thought 'that's a super one', they posed a little better, came a little closer ...

Nature is truly wonderful.

We trundled on out to the Angourie lookout. Delightful. But no floor show. 

Time for a wee snack, then back to base.

The snackeries in the village have shrunk in recent years. All three places at which I have eaten in the past have gone. Closed and empty. Looks a bit sad. But in the 'ruins' there is another arisen. So we sat down and had very nice toasted sandwich (me) and salad taco (P) ... and another little visitor came to sing to us

Apparently he's figbird. But he's not as trusting or as pose-perfect as the kookaburras!

He flew off as we departed and headed back home to Yamba ...

Thank you, Angourie, and specifically Spooky and kookys ... a gorgeous wee adventure!

PS Back in New Zealand, with a souvenir of the day ... he sits on my bedroom windowsill, and of course he is named 'Spooky'