The holiday crowds at Monterey / Botany Bay got me a bit frustrated, so I decided to go up and check out Old Bar over the weekend. Of course it happened to be the weekend of record rain and the Manning River starting to flood. I'm a beginner, and I was alone, so it was more about just checking the place out. As I scoped out what seemed to be a launching point from Mudbishops Point Road, I envisioned my kite ending up on the trees there. Major item of note: bird nesting September to February, which is pretty much Australia's summer. The sign on the fence says little terns; which seems to be an endangered species. The fenced area runs from the south end, northward up the ocean-side sand dune that creates the lagoon. I would imagine that kites might make nesting birds a bit nervous; think large hovering birds of prey. So it would be ironic if the birds survived 4WDs and dogs, but fled due to kites! There is a local birdwatching club that might know more about the birds. There was a bit of dumped garbage in the picnic area at the end of Mudbishops Point Road. Someone dumped a couple of tires at the grassy spot that looks like a potential launching point. At the south end of the lagoon was a peculiarly isolated burned area.

The water was brown due to tannins - I'm not sure if it's always this way or the situation was enhanced by the previous 48 hours of rain. I am convinced there was a nice huge expanse of shallow water, but the murkiness made it difficult to tell. I waded out to my knees, which put me far enough out from the trees that I could probably drift-launch a kite in the wind of that morning, though again, as a beginner, had some concern that in the wind of that day, might end up back in the trees.