A GoPro had quite the trip up the coast.
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It all began when Adelaide's Rachel McDermott and Tom Baddeley lost the underwater camera while on holiday in Port Stephens. The couple were diving at Fly Point near Nelson Bay at the time.
"It must have floated out past the heads and taken a 40-plus kilometre journey up the coast, where it washed up at Yagon a few days later," said Brian Hughes, a Hunter Local Land Services marine officer.
Rangers from a Taree Indigenous group found the camera during a rubbish collection survey on the remote Yagon beach on the Mid North Coast.
The group was collecting litter as part of a state government survey to monitor the impact of the NSW Container Deposit Scheme and other initiatives on the type and volume of marine debris found in estuary and marine environments.
Brian downloaded some photos off the GoPro to try to track down the owner.
Along with some selfies, he found photos of divers on a boat looking through some material with "Adventure Bay Charters" printed on it.
The company, from Port Lincoln in South Australia, identified Rachel as the owner of the camera.
Hunter Local Land Services runs a number of marine debris projects with local and state governments, Aboriginal organisations, community groups and volunteers.
Data collected from the clean-ups and surveys is used to trace common litter items to the source and develop collaborative programs to prevent those items entering waterways and the ocean.
GoPro litter, though, isn't so common.
Quarantine Surfing
How do surfers practice while in quarantine? They use a skateboard on hotel floor tiles, of course.
Brazilian pro-surfer Alex Ribeiro showed his skateboarding prowess in quarantine on a video on the World Surfing League's Instagram page.
"All fun and games until the board shoots into the wall," one commenter quipped.
The World Surf League surfers have been in 14 days quarantine before they head to Newcastle for a tour event on April 1.
They landed in Sydney on March 8, so they should be out of quarantine on Monday and on their way to Newcastle.
Hopefully the surf will be up and COVID-19 cases down [as in no cases!].
Urban Myths
Scene: An ice cream van is doing the rounds through suburban Newcastle.
Mate 1: I'm gonna get a choc-top soft serve, you want one?
Mate 2: No way, they've got pig fat in them.
Sounds like an urban myth, that. Just like the deep-fried rat at KFC that you heard about from a friend of a friend. Or the five-second rule for a dropped piece of food.
Send your urban myths to topics@newcastleherald.com.au.