The Swordies visit the Scratchies (travel blog)

[mrsswordfisherman]

Hope you enjoy this travel report/bit of fishing report. 

We needed to breakout of iso and lockdown and all the other things we had endured over the last six months or so. 
Top of the list was a visit to see Stewy’s Mum who lives in a Nursing Home in Forster - Tuncurry area. 

We had a week in Belmont on Lake Macquarie, four nights in Shoal Bay to visit our old mates Jeff, Jodie and the 4 kids followed by three nights at BIG4 Tuncurry. 

BELMONT - The week at Belmont was very restful and we went out fishing in out tinny 3 times, enough to provide lunch twice. One of my whiting was memorable (see pic). This area has lots of eateries and big shopping centres. A tacklo was close by. The fishing was tough by all around the camp.

Sunset was great to watch each afternoon and the weather stayed good except for one day and we did a drive around to Redhead. This is one of 4 beaches in Australia that is a "smartbeach". Use of technology is keeping these beaches safe. Link below.

https://www.smartbeaches.com.au/ 

We had a great stay and spent a bit of time helping others in need. Stewy back a few people's vans onto their site including a man who jackknifed his car and van into bushes and side of the amenities block ugh. He was REALLY happy when Stewy offered to help. A 6 yr old boy on his bike came off into the gravel and his Mum came running with him. I cleaned him up applied a small dressing, calmed Mum and sent them off for stitches into his chin.

SHOAL BAY - we arrived there on Friday and it happened to be the 21st Wedding Anniversary of Jeff and Jody. They asked us to join them for a Chinese feast at the local. We had a great evening laughing and reminiscing over a banquet meal of delicious Asian cuisine and a few bottles of nice red . Plans were made for a breakfast of bacon and egg rolls on Sunday morning with the family and some other raiders. @Berleyguts baz I can't believe you chose "chores" over coming to join us!! I am sure your wife would have loved it! Jeremy aka @quintrex52 we met up with the next day as he booked into the same CP at Shoaly. Nice to meet you Jeremy and hope you had some good fishing. Of course there were plans for the big fishing trip on Monday.

Saturday the guys came to look at the van and talk about the fishing trip for Monday. Stewy was very much looking forward to it and well prepared. It was not to be that day for getting fish but swordie enjoyed it and was greatly appreciative of the trouble Jeff went to. It was so nice to see Jeff and Jody who have been our mates for many years. Jeff is a Senior Moderator here and has been my right hand. I can never repay his dedication to this forum and we are lucky to have him and his wisdom.

Sunday at the park. This park will be a perfect place for a raiders meetup when it eventually can take place. Great views, bbq's, lots of covered seating and toilets. The best part was meeting Tyran's partner Maddi and beautiful 4 month old baby girl Hope. Well done guys she is adorable. We all enjoyed breakfast and thanks Jeff.

FORSTER/TUNCURRY - A couple of days here to see swordie's Mum. The family took her to a pub that overlooks the lake. She enjoyed it after 6 months locked down in the Nursing Home. She had a haircut and then arrived and she looked fantastic. She loved being with her family. Grace has been to our socials in the early days. She loves fishing almost as much as her son! She is a very good angler in her own right. 

The CP is a great one and on the waterfront site is fabbo. There is even a valet "marriage saver" that puts your van on and off the site. 

GREAT SITE 

SUNSET WAS SUPERB

 

FISHRAIDER TINNY

 

MY BEST WHITING 

 

HAVING A CUPPA AT THE VAN 

THE LOVELY COUPLE 21 YEARS AGO - WELL DONE GUYS

AFTER DINNER TO CELEBRATE THE ANNIVERSARY

TALKING LURES

LOOKING AT COLLAPSIBLE TRAILER

REDHEAD BEACH

 

 

ENTRANCE TO PARK (good for fr meetup)

 

 

BREAKFAST AT THE PARK

SHOAL BAY

 

 

QUINTREX52 

 

 

TUNCURRY

MARRIAGE SAVER

VIEW FROM OUR SITE

 

[mrsswordfisherman]

Enjoyed this catch up @Scratchie

Can't wait for the Raider meetup - perfect place for it 

[JonD]

That marriage saver is the way to go😃 looks like a wonderful break.

[big Neil]

Great to see you guys reaping the rewards of a lifetime's commitment to jobs, family and Fishraider. Enjoy your travels in safety and good luck with the fishing. bn

[Little_Flatty]

Great to see everyone looking well and having a great time!

[mrsswordfisherman]

2 hours ago, big Neil said:

Great to see you guys reaping the rewards of a lifetime's commitment to jobs, family and Fishraider. Enjoy your travels in safety and good luck with the fishing. bn

Thanks @big Neil we are trying to use this senior time in our lives to enjoy new journeys. Get out there and push through the health issues. 

7 hours ago, JonD said:

That marriage saver is the way to go😃 looks like a wonderful break.

It is very helpful for those that are not confident in towing. There are many out there that find it a huge challenge 😂

4 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

Great to see everyone looking well and having a great time!

Thanks we were very happy to see swordies Mum looking ok and the Scratchie mob doing well

[kingie chaser]

Looks like a great trip & catch up 

Great whiting to 

 

Baz, you gotta stop living under that thumb mate 🤣

 

[zmk1962]

Wonderful write up. So good to see everyone is well and life is returning to so semblance of normality.  
thanks for sharing! 
cheers Zoran 

[mrsswordfisherman]

22 minutes ago, kingie chaser said:

Looks like a great trip & catch up 

Great whiting to 

 

Baz, you gotta stop living under that thumb mate 🤣

 

Thanks kc my first whiting believe it or not!

14 minutes ago, zmk1962 said:

Wonderful write up. So good to see everyone is well and life is returning to so semblance of normality.  
thanks for sharing! 
cheers Zoran 

Thanks Zoran. It felt a bit normal too!!

[Scratchie]

Awww, great write up Donna. It was so good to see you and Stewy as it has been way to long! Time always seems to slip away and looking at some of those photos, so does age! (Except for Stewy who’s still 16 lol 😝) 

You both really seem to be enjoying retirement and travelling with your awesome caravan has inspired Jody and I for our latter years. 
 

Hopefully, things will return to normal soon and we can have that “meet up” and you’ll be back up this way before you know it! 
 

cheers scratchie!!! 

[frankS]

Good read Donna and thanks for sharing with us.

It's nice to see you both out and about and catching up with friends etc. Nice to see you were able to spend some value time with Stew's mother.

Nice Whiting for your first.

Frank

[61 crusher]

Great read & photos of your getaway nothing better than catching up with friends, family & meeting others in similar pursuits. As Frank said great whiting for your first  

Keep sharing & living the dream Swordies 😎

[mrsswordfisherman]

2 hours ago, frankS said:

Good read Donna and thanks for sharing with us.

It's nice to see you both out and about and catching up with friends etc. Nice to see you were able to spend some value time with Stew's mother.

Nice Whiting for your first.

Frank

Thanks Frank and it made a nice fish sandwich

47 minutes ago, 61 crusher said:

Great read & photos of your getaway nothing better than catching up with friends, family & meeting others in similar pursuits. As Frank said great whiting for your first  

Keep sharing & living the dream Swordies 😎

Thanks and appreciate your comment

[Rebel]

Great story and Super photos. Well done.

[Berleyguts]

On 9/19/2020 at 4:58 PM, mrsswordfisherman said:

Plans were made for a breakfast of bacon and egg rolls on Sunday morning with the family and some other raiders. @Berleyguts baz I can't believe you chose "chores" over coming to join us!! I am sure your wife would have loved it!

She may just have, Donna, but I did not choose “chores”. I got a surprise SMS from Scratchie at 9am on the Sunday for a 10am breakfast and we had already booked the restaurant for our long overdue brunch date together and we were about to head out. It is rare for us to get a day off together, so it was important to my wife that we made this happen. We also don’t like to cancel bookings on the small businesses we are trying to support. If I’d had earlier notice, I could have juggled things around. 🤷‍♂️

Sorry I missed seeing you but thanks for a great report! 😎

[mrsswordfisherman]

17 minutes ago, Berleyguts said:

She may just have, Donna, but I did not choose “chores”. I got a surprise SMS from Scratchie at 9am on the Sunday for a 10am breakfast and we had already booked the restaurant for our long overdue brunch date together and we were about to head out. It is rare for us to get a day off together, so it was important to my wife that we made this happen. We also don’t like to cancel bookings on the small businesses we are trying to support. If I’d had earlier notice, I could have juggled things around. 🤷‍♂️

Sorry I missed seeing you but thanks for a great report! 😎

A brunch date is wayyyy more important than chores!!

I am quite sure we will catch up somewhere down the track Baz  

[kingie chaser]

53 minutes ago, Berleyguts said:

She may just have, Donna, but I did not choose “chores”. I got a surprise SMS from Scratchie at 9am on the Sunday for a 10am breakfast and we had already booked the restaurant for our long overdue brunch date together and we were about to head out. It is rare for us to get a day off together, so it was important to my wife that we made this happen. We also don’t like to cancel bookings on the small businesses we are trying to support. If I’d had earlier notice, I could have juggled things around. 🤷‍♂️

Sorry I missed seeing you but thanks for a great report! 😎

My apologies Baz.

Here I was presuming you were pruning the roses & cleaning out the gutters.

Hopefully we will all be able to get together soon for a group gathering & a fish.

Edited September 21, 2020 by kingie chaser