It's officially spring now as September came.
Last winter was weird in terms of weather.
It was extremely cold and wet initially but later on too dry without much rain.
It's unbearable to face coldness and wetness at the same time but too droughty was dreadful.
It was a bit worrisome
I've never had this kind of long lasting winter still hovering over your shoulder with its awfully
cold hands in early September too.
The last day of August and Winter of 2018 was our 27th wedding anniversary.
We went a short 3 day trip to Hawks Nest to celebrate it.
Or rather to have a break from daily routines.
We left home around 10 am with a most relaxed manner.
It's only about 2 hour's away from home so we didn't need to rush.
After an hour's drive we arrived at Awabakal Nature Reserve for a light walk which was just before
Newcastle on the way to our destination.
As predicted from the weather forecast it was a sunny warm day with the maximum temperature
of 22 Celsius degrees.
We ended up at the bottom of a steep cliff near the sea after a short distance of flat path between
short and crowded trees tangled together quite thickly which looked well sustaining from strong winds
and harsh soils.
It had a small patch of sands and rocks( including tessellates) and even we found a small corner of shades
where we had our picnic of home made sandwiches along with warm teas.
There were a few people who came and enjoyed the beautiful and impressive spot too.
We drove on and arrived at our accommodation before 4pm.
Hawks Nest and Tea Gardens are neighbouring towns north of Port Stephens.
Around 4 years ago we went to Tea Gardens and we fell in love with this small cosy place facing a lake.
And then we were impressed with wildly and endlessly spread unpopulated beaches around Hawks Nest.
The first touristy place I've ever been to since I came to Australia was Port Stephens or Nelson's Bay.
They are more popular and crowded but in my opinion Hawks Nest and Tea Gardens are much better for us
like a hidden gem.
Especially it was quiet and peaceful at this time of the year blissfully.
This time we stayed at Hawks Nest next to Jimmys Beach.
With more sharpened eyes through experiences so far I was able to appreciate the value of this area even more.
Australia has millions of beautiful beaches with beautifully coloured fine sands.
Every beach has its own charms but here beaches were just nature itself.
Before we went Eddie was excited with this idea of climbing up onto top of Yacaaba Headland where we could enjoy sun rises two mornings.
After settled in our 3 day home we headed into the west to see the sun set.
The sun was setting above the lake around 5:30 pm and the lake water colour which was bright blue a minute ago darkened instantly.
Sometimes Eddie wanted to linger long moments to capture gradual dramatic changes in the aftermath but it all depended on the delicate combinations of wind direction, cloud formation and moist status even.
I was glad it was time to go home and nestle under the warm roof.
Even though it was one of the magnificent sun sets.
