Paul Tombleson

Pindimar @ Low Tide

Loaded up the borrowed Odyssey van with people, luggage and Titus we head North for Pindimar on the shores of Port Stephens. We take the long way out of Sydney so we can pickup dinner on the way at a little Thai place. As I’m driving I know I won’t be able to drive and slurp noodles at the same time so it will be finger food for me. Brad has thought the same thing and pops next door to the Indian place and gets me pakoras and samosas… he is a good lad. One hand on the wheel and one rapped around the best finger food in the world what more could a driver ask for?

Shag Sunrise Pindimar

We stop for petrol and hear playing on the PA system above the pumps the big Rugby League game back in Sydney. Our favorite team formerly known as the Balmain Tigers now renamed Tigers/Wests are playing. Featuring arguably the best player in the world right now Benji Marshall and is a Kiwi of course! Anyhow we listen to the rest of the game on the vans radio as we rock down the highway. And yes the Tigers beat the Rabbitos who are incidentally owned in large part by the actor Russell Crowe. Once off the main highway and now on a backcountry road we see a few wallabies and two large Kangaroo’s one of which stands to face us as I point the headlights at him and stop. Titus pokes his short little nose out the window for his first encounter with the endearing symbol of Aussie. The Roo didn’t seem impressed and turns slowly and hops off into the brush with Titus still sniffing the air and getting excited. A short drive later we arrive at the Brogans for the start of an intense couple of days.

Pelicans of Pindimar

The weather is clear and the sun is coming up as Titus and I walk the sandy flats left by the receding tide. The area was once a bustling oyster farming community with the old oyster beds still visible at low tide. Titus meets his first Aussie Pelicans who are larger than him and keep a watchful eye on his movements as he runs freely in and out of the water and small pools left by stingrays. Seagulls are more his thing and he chases them over hectares of wet sand.

After lunch at high tide the gang gathers on the beach for swimming and throwing the ball for the dogs to retrieve while prissy Rosie looks on from her perch on a rock.

Rock of Rosie

After dinner as the sun is going down I go out again to look for the massing of solider grabs that swarm in such large numbers you can hear them before you see them. After walking the entire beach we found one whom quickly

dug a hole and disappeared.  In all our digging and chatter to see ONE crab we miss the thousands running off behind us until it is brought to our attention by Jenny who comes upon us bemused that we are paying attention to one lone crab when the hordes

Soldier Crabs

are making their escape. These creatures really are like soldiers, able to march quickly in unison. Using others to direct them in the dark and the help of an f2.8 lens I managed a few shots of the little buggers evening pilgrimage.

Marching Orders

Next morning Janette, Titus and I go out for a morning walk to greet the new day, stop for a few breaks and converse with other early risers. The walk ends at an old fallen tree were I get one pic of Titus sitting in it. I step back a few paces to get a long shot and my left foot finds an oyster and I slice myself. It a long hobble back to base and a few painful moments cleaning the cut and getting patched up. My Fault, my Karma, and now my limp…

Romp in the Mangroves