On Sunday, I rented a car to try out driving on the wrong side of the road. After some disagreement with the rental car agent about the damage to the driver's seat—the damage was on the seat next to the driver’s one, but I had to be persuaded of this as I was pointing to the wrong side—I got into the car to find the steering wheel next to me instead of in front of me. Eventually, I got the hang of it and ventured to the northern beaches, specifically Dee Why Beach. I first hiked through the Dee Why Lagoon Wildlife Refuge where I was before entering warned about "heavy snake infestation” but then “only” discovered several Golden Orb Weavers, spiders that have 2-meter diameter nets and look like they are out for catching birds. No picture can do them justice as all pictures invariably lack a comparison of size. Given their rather stunning dimensions, one can sympathise with the fact that nobody wants to put his hand next to it for comparison.

Dee Why Lagoon Wildlife Refuge

Golden Orb Weaver

HEI_2065

Then, I took a swim at the beach to try out the Pacific Ocean; well it was less of a swim and more like a knee-deep walk into the water as the waves were about 3 meters high and even my cautious venturing into the shallows resulted in being knocked down by one especially big wave.

Dee Why Beach

Rock Pool

HEI_1931 Dee Why Beach

HEI_1884

We visited Dee Why Beach and Lagoon again in August 2020. We saw dolphins swimming next to the surfers.

HEI_4838 HEI_4875

And here a close-up of the above. The dolphin is "in" the wave. HEI_4875-2 HEI_4865

While sitting at the Lagoon, I shot this drone video:

More pictures here.