The Entrance, March 2011

March 3rd, It does take awhile to set up at Dunleith Caravan Park, especially when you know that you will be here for 7 weeks, so no need to hurry and the weather hasn’t been great. Lots of showers and strong winds are always a good excuse to do nothing. Yesterday I finally got the boat off the car and into the water and set up for use. I decided that I should take it for a trial run and did a bit of drifting the other side of The Entrance Bridge and came back with a 40cm Flathead. A nice start to add to the fish, caught in the last few days at Sussex Inlet, that Val already has in the freezer. Joan and Robert came down today from Cardiff, for lunch and to bring us our mail. After lunch Robert and myself went out for a fish and after a slow start eventually found a good spot where the fish were biting and came in at 7pm with 6 flathead, a flounder and 2 bream. I had to start cleaning and filleting some of the flathead as Val was waiting to cook it for their dinner while I had “heated up leftovers”, curried sausages, very nice.




March 4th, We went to the Bateau Bay Bowling Club with Gwen and Neil (our neighbours) for Dinner and raffles. Gwen came away with 2 meat trays and Val won a leg of lamb, so a good night out for all of us.



March 10th, The fishing has been good, since last Friday I have caught 3 flathead, all between 40 – 42cm long, plus 2 bream, so considering that I don’t take the boat out on the week-ends ( leave that to all the visiting weekenders) I’m happy. We went to The Entrance Diggers Club tonight, with a large group from the Caravan Park, for dinner and raffles. The group collected a good share of the prizes and Val came home with a meat tray and a veggie tray.



March 17th, Another relaxing week, fishing, reading and generally doing very little. Val has started to knit a different style of scarf, which Joan’s daughter (Jacyln) will sell for her at the Markets, for $20 ea. Last weekend was the Country and Western weekend, which attracts huge crowds to the Entrance. We enjoyed the music, which we can hear in the Caravan Park from across the water, and on the Sunday went over to soak up the atmosphere and look at all the stalls in the Park. We went to the Diggers Club tonight with the Caravan Park Group, for raffles and dinner, and had another good night with Val coming home with a meat tray and a spaghetti bolognaise tray.



March 19th, The weather has been pretty poor, overcast and windy and today, when we had Steven and a group of his close Turkish friends and family coming for lunch, it decided to rain on our parade. Luckily, we had a few nice breaks in the rain and Val’s lunch of tempura battered flathead with her now famous Changs Noodle Salad and a green salad were enjoyed by all, with some nice wine, while I had a great beef snitzel. The meal was finished off with , Val’s also now famous, English style Trifle dressed with fresh cream and strawberries. I can feel the weight piling on and wont need to eat for a week. It was a great day and it was good to catch up with Nikos and his Mum, Jandan, and meet Ilkare’s now expectant wife, Lutfeya. Our guests left around 5pm and Steven stayed on till 8pm. Time does get away when you are having a good time.

March 21st, Yesterday we had strong southerly wind with driving rain, all day and night. Everything was rattling and keeping Val awake. I went for my hearing test today and was told that I didn’t need a hearing aid just yet but I would now be tested every 2 years, as I am now registered on the Governments list. Went out for a fish late afternoon and caught a nice flathead. I was sent scurrying in to shore when a huge Electrical Storm was heading toward me.







March 22nd, The water was at least a foot higher today, following all the rain we have had. I went fishing in the morning and came in with a flathead and a flounder. I took Val out late afternoon to see if we could catch a few blue swimmer crabs but no luck.






March 23rd, I decided to try the North Channel today and see what I could catch. I took a fish head with me so I could drop a crab line while I was fishing. I was sitting quietly in the tinnie, fishing away, when suddenly there was a loud splashing/flapping noise behind me, I turned to find a Cormorant with my fish head in it’s beak, trying to fly off. I grabbed the paddle, stood up and was now beating the surface of the water to chase this annoying bird away. It worked, but anybody watching would have thought I had lost my marbles or worse. The only thing that saved the complete crabbing reel, line and fish head was that I had used a spring clamp to secure my line to the top edge of the boat. I came in for lunch wit a flathead and a great story about the “Cormorant’ THIEF. I was enjoying a nice fresh ham sandwich for lunch when, Crunch, I bit into a hard spot in the ham and broke a front tooth off, bugger! Not only did that spoil my homely good looks but I now had to find a local Dentist to fix the problem. I was thankful to get an appointment at Pacific Smiles at Erina fair tomorrow.






March 24th, Up early this morning and off to Erina Fair for my 9am appointment at the Dentist. No problem with the broken tooth, simply dress off the stump (nerve already removed) and add a new tooth to my existing plate. I decided to get 3 other front cleaned up to remove some stains around the old fillings. The quote for all this dental work was $780. No such thing as a cheap Dentist these days, especially as the HCF refund will be $354. My appointment is next Wednesday to do the 3 filling replacements and the 7th April for the denture work.






March 30th, The weather has been very ordinary, very windy, not great fishing weather all this week. Val has been busy planning a Lambs Fry Dinner for tonight. Our dinner guests are Gwen and Neil and Carole and Rob, all friends in the Park. It was a great meal, enjoyed by all and the night was finished off with a game of “Sequence” with Carole and Rob.






April 5th, The bad weather is still continuing. Sandra came down today, so we met at The Entrance Hotel for lunch and to catch up. It has been 12 months since we last caught up, so we have made tentative arrangements to see her again when we are at Coffs Harbour, at the end of May.
April 7th, Up early this morning to get to my 8.30am Dental appointment, at Erina Fair. Today I’m having an extra tooth added to my existing plate, so it’s only for impressions this morning and back at 4.40pm for a fitting. The teeth are now good and welcomed the delicious roast lamb dinner that Val put on in the Camp Kitchen to-night. Gwen , Neal, Carole and Rob joined us for dinner and we all had a great night.




April 8th, The weather hasn’t been suitable for taking the boat out for a fish, so late afternoon, I got the urge to throw a line in off the bank and try out my new fishing rod. Within 15minutes I had pulled in 3 flathead then the fish just stopped biting. Strange but True. After I filleted my catch and cleaned up, we went to the Bateau Bay Sports Club for raffles and dinner. We came home after Karaoke with 2 meat trays and shared it out among our group.



April 9th, Joan and Robert came down from Cardiff for the day, bringing our mail. After lunch we decided that the weather was slightly better, so Robert and myself set off in the tinny to try our luck. The fishing wasn’t great, no keepers and when we had a fish up the North Channel, the swell was bad and the boat bounced around badly, jolting the bolt loose from the anchor shackle and when I went to pull up the anchor, all I had was the rope in my hand and only one half of the shackle. Bugger, now I have to buy a new anchor. We introduced Joan and Robert to “Sequence” and they now like this new game as much as we do.



April 10th, Greg and Dianne brought Jessica and Annaliese up to spend the first week of their Holidays with us. This is a time we look forward to each year and the girls always have a great time.



April 11th, I took Jessica and Annaliese out for a fish in the boat, Annaliese caught the first fish (a small throwback bream) and Jessica reeled in a 41cm Flathead. I didn’t catch a keeper but enjoyed the company. Once again shown up by the Girls, why me?



April 13th, This was my revenge day, it was windy but I decided to go out fishing. The girls were busy playing with their friends and didn’t want to come out with me. That’s OK, I’m a big boy, so to my delight I was happy to show my catch on my return, 4 Flathead and 2 good sized Bream. My best ever fishing day, without a doubt.



April 16th, It rained all day yesterday and through the night. The only bad weather day since the girls arrived. The girls have had a great time on holidays with us, playing with their friends from 7am to dark, eating well, sleeping well, active all day, fishing, sand painting, air tattoos, kids bingo and lots more. When we had a break in the rain, I pulled the boat out of the water and put it up on the car, ready to leave in the morning for Sydney

Sussex Inlet, Feb 2011

January 31st, Travelled to Sussex Inlet and booked into the Riverside Caravan Park, for a week. After setting up we walked around the Park. They have a small waterfront area where I can tie up the Tinnie, the amenities are old but clean. We’ll see how the fishing goes and will probably stay here until it’s time (27th Feb.) to go to The Entrance. We were hoping that the temperature would be cooler than Sydney but not so! It’s just as hot down here.




February 1st, Another scorcher today, went into Town to look around and checked out the RSL & Bowling Club. The RSL had raffles and Lucky 8 Bingo on tonight, so we went for dinner and, you guessed it, raffles, bingo and a flutter on the Pokies. The meals were good, didn’t win at the raffles or bingo. The Lucky 8 Bingo was a new game for Val, so she was shown how to play their games by one of the Clubs Directors, also a player herself.



February 2nd, Put the boat in the water today and tied up at one of the moorings. It was another very hot day but I went out, in the tinnie, to investigate the river and do a spot of fishing. I caught a couple of puffer fish and 2 small bream. The water is shallow and being close to the outlet to the sea, was very clean and I could easily see the bottom of the river. I soon discovered that this river is infested with these little puffer fish, to be referred to as “pf” in future, who race to take your bait as soon as it hits the water. I have no idea how I will be able to catch a big fish with the pf around. I guess time will tell!



February 3rd, Nice breeze blowing today, so a little bit cooler. Went out for a fish, determined not to come back empty handed, took plenty of bait (prawns & squid) and finally caught a 37cm Flathead. That was obviously, the bait that the pf missed. Time had got away from me and I was feeling a bit peckish, it was 2.45pm when I arrived back at the Van. Val enjoyed a nice fresh flathead fillet for her dinner.



February 4th, Went out for a fish after lunch, while Val went to the Hairdressers. It was muggy and very windy and only caught a PF. Around 3pm I made a hasty retreat into shore, as a Thunder Storm was heading my way and we had washing on the line as well.



February 7th, We drove down to Vincentia today to do a bit of shopping at Bi-Lo. It’s a much larger Supermarket than we have in Sussex Inlet.



February 13th, The weather has been bad, either raining or just cloudy and windy. I caught a 45cm Flathead last Tuesday and Val came out fishing with me on Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately we didn’t catch any keepers. She enjoyed the trip and I’m looking forward to taking her out again. I’m sure she will like it better when she catches her first fish. By the end of the day she had mastered the art of casting, very promising. We filled in a few wet days doing Jigsaw Puzzles.



February 16th, More wet & windy weather up till today. We went to the RSL for dinner and raffles last night, didn’t win anything but meals were great. We went fishing this afternoon, Val 2nd time out with me, but didn’t catch anything. To top off our day, when I had tied up at the mooring post and was assisting Val out of the boat, her legs gave way and she fell backwards into the boat, pulling me off balance and into the water. Fortunately, I landed on my backside in 30cms of water and was up quickly to check on Val. I was concerned, as she landed back first across the bench seat but thankfully she was shaken up but OK. Val went straight to the Van for a stiff drink while I headed straight to the shower with a change of clothes. This was not a good way to get anybody interested in boating or fishing. I was expecting that this would be the end of our fishing trips but Val surprised me by suggesting that she gets in and out of the boat at the boat ramp, a lot safer.



February 17th, Dinner and Raffles at the RSL tonight, $3000 worth of Electrical and household goods. I won a “Rockwell” 12 Volt Battery Drill.



February 18th, Today we drove to Nowra, about a 25 minute drive, and did a bit of shopping. I had been told by a fellow caravaner and fisherman that I should fish at night in the river, bound to catch something. So, after dinner I set off to put his advice into practice. It proved to be bad advice, no fish, not many channel markers lit up and after running into a weedy shallow area, gave up and went home, very disappointed.



February 22nd, No improvement in the weather over the last few days. Last Sunday I did venture out for a fish, on dusk, and caught a good plate sized Flounder. We filled in Monday by taking another shopping trip to Nowra. We went to BCF to pick up a Birthday present for Roberts 60th party, next Sunday in Belmont. Tonight we went to the RSL for dinner and games, Val won an $8 Voucher.



February 23rd, I was told about another fishing spot, favoured by a regular visitor to this Park, so, out I went in the morning a came in for lunch, a very “happy chappy”, with 2 Bream (27 & 30cm long). Spurred on by this success I went out on dusk and drifted along the same spot and came in with 2 Flathead (37 & 54cm long).



February 24th, Had a quiet day but we went out for a fish late afternoon, to my now favourite spot. Val caught her first fish, a 28cm Whiting and followed that up with a 29cm Bream. She has now joined the “Happy Chappy Club”. I kept pace with her with 2 Bream (28 & 34cm long).



February 25th, Last day in Sussex Inlet, so went out for a last fish before bringing the boat in and caught 3 Bream (25,26 & 29cm long). I packed up all our gear ready to leave for Belmont, in the morning.



February 26th, Our navigator (Doris) is programmed to take us by the shortest route, directed us through the southern suburbs of Sydney to get to Pennant Hills Road on to Belmont, much to my utter disgust. We were caught up in all the Saturday traffic through Bankstown but once committed we could not easily change our course. We finally reached our destination and booked into Spinnakers Tourist Park, at Belmont, and Val made a rice salad and 3 slices for Robert’s Party tomorrow.



February 27th, We had a late checkout from Spinnakers and then around 12.30 pm towed the Van to The Belmont Yacht Club, where the party was held. It was a great venue with a BBQ area overlooking Lake Macquarrie. The food was great, everybody enjoyed themselves and Robert received some very nice presents. Joan did a “This was your Life” presentation for Robert which was very well put together and very funny. He was a wild lad in his younger days. Around 4.30 pm we left the Party and travelled down to The Entrance to Dunleith Caravan Park to start our 7 weeks stay, on the waterfront, of Tuggerah Lakes