Port Hacking
Summer in Australia is great time to get together. This is group of my friends. We come over to Bonnievale every year for a big camping weekend - touch footy, boating , fishing, waverunners, the works.
All up, 17 families congregate for our annual adventure. That's about 30 adults and 50 kids - which adds up to total mayhem!
Luckily - there's plenty to keep everyone busy…
Bonnievale's part of the magnificent Royal National Park south of Sydney. Royal National Park was established in 1879, and it's the world's second oldest national park after Yellowstone, USA.
It has a huge sand spit.. which means very safe swimming for the kids.
Up behind the campground is a huge lagoon, with some of the clearest water holes you've ever divebombed. At low tide, the water rushes out into a fast-flowing creek that gives most water parks a run for their money.
And Port Hacking itself provides plenty of open water if you want to amp up the action.
We've got a stack of kids lined up for a go. I'm going on this new Yamaha 4 stroke cruiser. Great thing is 4 stroke means nice and quiet.
Bonnievale's
surrounded by clifftop mansions, but we've nabbed the prime waterfront
position for less than ten bucks a night each!
And the great thing about communal camping is that everyone pitches
in…
Well, we've managed to fill the kid's stomachs. Time to fill their stockings - with a little help from the bloke with the beard.
Next morning and I'm out early. Schooling up some baitfish. I'm gonna see if I can catch a kingfish.
Now you don't have to go far to catch a kingie. Less than a km offshore from Cronulla - and the sounder's looking good.
Kingfish used to be scarce in these waters - in fact, fish traps in the early years nearly wiped them out right along the east coast.
These days, its great to see kingies back in plague proportions.
Now kingfish swim in schools - so if you get hit once, you'll usually hook into a barrage of 'em.
A double hookup ! I'll have to put this guy in a holding pattern, while I deal with his mate out the back.
Time to head
further afield.. a few more kilometres offshore.
Off Sydney there's plenty of marker buoys out wide. I've stumbled
across a heap of dolphin fish, and I've hooked up on a little
rapala lure. These guys put up a mighty fight, and charge off
with bit of aerobatics.
Warm currents bring these pelagic species right down the south coast of NSW. And dolphin fish of up to 25 kilo are caught off Sydney every year.
Dolphin fish are also cunning opponents. They often turn themselves side on, making them mighty tough to land.
More fun and games this afternoon back at base camp. The BonnieVale Beach Volleyball Classic. The competition is tough - and the crowd's even tougher!
The other team's getting pretty serious - and my mate Stuey Raper's on a roll. But my skyhigh serves give us the upper hand…
Uh oh - time and tide wait for no team.. and looks like our opposition is saved by the waves coming onto centre court.
I reckon we'll try using nets of a different kind. And this time, the kids can join in. These sand flats hold hundreds of yabby holes - and they're the perfect bite for a whiting.
Sand whiting swim up into the shallows to feed, so the kids can cast right where we're pumping.
Whiting are a great species to catch with kids, because you can use nice light gear - and even the little ones put up a tussle. They're also one of the best eating fish.
Bonnie Vale Camping Ground is in Sydney's Royal National Park. Camping in this wonderful spot costs just $7.50 a night for adults and $4 for kids. For details on Bonnie Vale and other great NSW parks, log onto the national parks website.
Our camping gear came from Coleman - who have everything from tents to coffeemakers. To check out their fabulous range and pick up some great camping tips and recipes, take a look at colemanaustralia.com.au
If you want to try the Yamaha FX140 cruiser… head to the website or your nearest Yamaha dealer.
In Sydney, the Escape crew stayed at Rydges Cronulla. For the month of April, they're offering our viewers a fantastic special. Just mention "Escape with ET" and get any room half price.So a standard room that's normally $290 will cost just $145. And they'll even throw in a bottle of champers.
And whether
you're fishing for kingies or sand whiting, you can pick up a
great selection of tackle and fishing gear from your nearest
Big W store.
