A perfect day

What a great day to start my blog. It's 6.15am, it's 26 degrees and there's no wind. What a great day to be out on the water.

First I'm off to Shark Island which is between Point Piper and Steele Point in Vaucluse, the island is right in the middle of the Sydney Harbour. Port Jackson is the natural harbour that contains Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour and North Harbour. It covers an area of 55km and has about 10 different estuarine tributaries, so there's plenty to explore.

There's a couple of beaches on Shark Island either side of the jetty. There's perfect view of the city from here.

Bradley's Head is next. Named after William Bradley a lieutenant on the 'Sirius' of the First Fleet. He surveyed Sydney Harbour in 1788. Before a gate was put on the walkway, the lighthouse used to be a favourite spot for brides in to be photographed with their grooms.

It's so quiet out here, all I can hear is my paddle going in and out of the water. Amazing there's no one around. There's more than 4 million people in Sydney, but they're not out here.

My favourite spot - Taylors Bay. It's hard to remember that there's a city just around the corner. This is also a favourite place for white cockatoos and parakeets. This is national park - there's a couple of sandy beaches and a resident iguana. There's a bunch of yachts moored in the bay and a few houses perched on the slope on the opposite side, It's all very idyllic. Who needs to go to a tropical island when it's all here!

Another beach, at Chowder Head. Normally this is under the water, it's a very small bay and today any sound echoes. Chowder Bay next. There's a good scuba diving operator here www.plungediving.com.au. And, a nice little place to get a coffee, just pull your kayak up onto the beach and the cafe kiosk is just there.

Back to Shark Island. I'm on the other side of it now heading to Rose Bay. It's 9am and I can hear the city rumbling with traffic. People are heading to work, doing their make-up, listening to their music and eating their breakfast in the car. I'm hungry now...