My Coast - St Huberts Island
The A-Z of the Central Coast, NSW, Australia
Welcome to the ninth installment of my fortnightly photo blog exploring my local area, the Central Coast. This week's destination is St Huberts Island.
I-St Huberts Island
Ok, so I cheated a bit this week with "I" as there are no suburbs beginning with it in the Central Coast. I decided to go with the "I" in "Island" this week!
Looking across to St Huberts Island
St Huberts Island is a canal estate in the middle of Brisbane Water situated at the south end of the Central Coast, about 20 minutes drive from Gosford. It is dubbed "The Central Coast's Island in the Sun" by the local newsletter. It reminds me more of a small scale Australian equivalent to Venice!
View across the water back to the mainland
The island was developed in the 1970's and has some very exclusive homes, with many of them backing onto the water. Plenty of them have been rebuilt or renovated since then and the place has the real feel of a millionaires row. It is also a boating haven and many of the residences have pontoons or jetties in their backyard. We noticed how quiet the island was, as there is very little traffic. You are more likely to hear the hum of a jetski or an outboard motor!
Looking back from the bridge
The island is home to approx 1000 residents. It is separated by a bridge from the mainland going over to Deepwater Point on the island. It can lay claim to being one of the first locations discovered by the First Fleeters, after their settlement was established at Sydney Cove, as Captain Philip explored further north up the coast way back in 1788 looking for flat fertile land to farm.
Boats moored out the back of properties
St Huberts Island is almost completely residential. The only business premises are a real estate agents and a boat shed, which must be very busy given the large amount of boats owned on the island. Places to relax on the island include a waterside picnic area at Merritts Wharf on the east of the island and Solstice Point park on the west side.
Private Jetty
We had a walk around the north side of the island. There are mangroves backing onto the water here and we managed to see lots of crabs disappearing into their holes in the sand. No matter how quiet we all kept they wouldn't reappear for a photo opportunity though! It is a really nice place for a Sunday stroll and great for the kids to explore.
Mangroves on the canal edge
Thank you very much for reading. If you would like to be notified of my next post in two weeks time, where the destination will be Jilliby, please click the link on the right.