We could have easily done a run to Bremer Bay in a single day, but we have gotten into the habit of paying some attention to the recommendations of fellow travellers so we decided to spend a night at Millers Point. Yes, the view was great but the really great news was that fires were ALLOWED. A roast lamb dinner in a camp oven had in an instant, gone from a drooling fantasy to…TONIGHT!!
The penalty for following the sun is you are also in a perpetual fire ban season We’d been driving round Australia for the last eighteen months with a box of wood, that had air-dried so much it would start smouldering when exposed to direct sunlight.
The excitement was palpable, the kitchen abuzz, as our fire roared into life. Aaah, to be mesmerised by the flames once more as we drank one or two in celebration, waiting patiently for the coals to appear and to get our roast on. Tamika, as you know, is the head, and only chef on this sojourn and it was a special occasion for her. The result? Like finding a long lost friend.
Bremer Bay was only a short hop away. We had ideas of free camping somewhere for a few days, but the prospect of fishing regularly required a base. The caravan park prices, turned out to be very reasonable and we had ourselves set up by lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent checking out fishing spots and the general store.
Even this far south, we still felt the effects of Cyclone Ilsa, as winds and rain squalls threatened our plans. Tamika however, was determined. Having been schooled by a pro and in the best fishing spot in the southwest, it was now or never. The next morning we rugged up and headed for Fishery Bay and its legendary all-you-can-catch pier. Of course it was deserted. All the sensible folk were in front of a raging fire with a mug of hot cocoa.
We sat in our car till the rain eased to a spit and charged down the breakwater. Within five minutes we were hauling them in like we knew what we were doing. Now, none of them broke any size records. We threw back the children and kept the ones we thought COULD be legal in some parallel universe.
We were NOT going to be denied entry to the cleaning tables! Luckily, we didn’t have to suffer the haughty derision of the regulars and, after the slice and dice was complete, we drove home singing ‘We are the Champions’ with gusto!!  While hardly filling, our fish snacks were nevertheless delicious.
The rain kept us indoors for most of the next day, however we managed a walk to the end of the beach clutching an umbrella, knowing full well there was a coffee cart waiting for us. The weather was due to clear the next morning and best time for fishing was after 8:30am.
Now, those that know Tamika at all, would be logging into their Ladbrokes account to snap up the juicy odds available against that filly even making it to the gate. But I tell you true, at 7:30 she was up and dressed before the boiling water had hit the tea bags. Must of burnt her tongue, she drank it so fast. Car packed, bait in the esky, deck chairs dragged from their hidey hole and I’m still padding around in jocks and socks. Clearly, she was ‘hooked’ (OK, two lamentable puns). Every day we caught something, mostly more than one.
In between the tides, I still managed to get some photos for you. Bremer Bay is an end-of-the-road seaside village that is starting to get the attention of the well-heeled and supered-up retirees. Wide bays and white sand with water as crystal clear as any tropical paradise. Another relatively undiscovered Byron Bay and we and can only hope it stays that way for a bit longer. We left Bremer Bay after six days thinking, “It doesn’t get much better than this.†Yep, it actually did.
Faux Tan Man and The Coconut