 |
Mitsubishi 4WD Owners Club of Qld (Inc) |
|
|
|
Chinderah Crabbing - Mar '09 |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
||
| |||||||||||
Chinderah NSW - Mudcrabbing weekend (7 – 8 March 2009)
I think the mud crabs must have known. The word was out. RUN, HIDE, DIG DEEPER into the mud as the Mitsubishi 4wd club was heading into town. Wow, what a turnout. I guess being so close to Brisbane everyone must have decided to attend. The weather was just picture perfect and the campsites at Homestead Holiday Park were green and grassy with fabulous views over the tweed river. Those lucky enough to bring a tent or camper trailer had the prime spots along the river whilst those with nana vans were relegated into the main park. Either way it was a top-notch spot (In fact you could tie a fishing line on your toe and have a nap in your tent – that is how close you were). Friday saw the main bulk arrive and those with boats quickly set to the water after setting up. Social Secretary Alan (that man is soooooooooo organized) already had the bait organized and gave us all a lesson on how to bait up. Plan of attack was to drop pots at 4.00pm, fish for a while and get back for happy hour. Sounds simple to me!! And then he said “ of course we have to be on the water by 6.00am the next day to pull them up”. I mean I like mud crabs but 6am! Oh well, anything to get a feed. Did you also know that crab pots come in many shapes and sizes? Mine was a nice shiny one that had “crawl into me all over it” but looking at the ones Greg Paulson had it paled into significant. Friday night happy hour was great with views over the water and the anticipation of a big Saturday morning feed of crabs for our pots. In fact, Alan P was so excited that he started banging on his pot until someone realized that he and Greg Dunstan had camped under a fruit tree that was attacked in plague proportion by bats at dusk ( he was trying to scare them away). Splat, splat. Ohh it was not a pretty site in the morning. For tea that night many went to the local fish and chip shop just to get away from the bats and the noise they were making. Saturday morning saw the first flotilla take off (canoes, skis, tinnies, bigger tinnies and far bigger tinnies) to check to pots. But wait a minute didn’t we hear a secret boat take off at 3.00am in the morning? Have they pulled our pots? Are the muddies more clever than the combined skill of the Mitsubishi club? Yep!! Not one size crab was caught ( Alan P did catch the sole undersize one though). Damn, we could have all slept in! Even the fish were scarce. After reflecting on the “secret boat”, Alan and Lorraine lead everyone on a leisurely Saturday morning drive down to Brunswick Head for the markets passing through areas that many of us have not seen for a number of years. A very scenic drive. Brunswick Heads was also very busy but we still managed to find the pie shop and a great coffee spot to watch the flow go by. The return trip saw us go past Murwillumbah and a small historical town called Tumbulgum where some of the groups stopped for lunch. Saturday afternoon was spent fishing, reading, catching up with members, relating fishy/crabby stories and basically doing your own thing (Alan P and Greg D also shifted out from under tree). Late afternoon a few went back out to rebait the pots ready for a big Sunday morning pull as others got ready for happy hour again and the big Communal BBQ Hamburger tea. Now, some will remembers Alan’s Pie making competition last year but this was a beauty as basically Alan & Lorraine had everyone bring an ingredient for the “Tweed River Burger ” making night. We booked out the camp kitchen, fired up the hotplates and pans, collectively cooked, peeled, diced and sliced and it was the best burgers tasted for a long while. All a lot of fun and laughs galore. Sunday morning saw some groggy heads but nothing was going to stop the keen crabbers as away at 6am some went. This time YEAH!!!!!! The first legal muddy was caught by Rob Ellis and Greg Mattan followed by one by Gary Prickett. After the mandatory photos it was time to pack up which was unfortunately as we were just starting to get the hang of this. Oh well. It was a fantastic time and full credit to Alan and Lorraine. Great spot, good company and everyone is going to comeback next time for this new annual event. Tips for next time
John Veling Back to Top
|
|
|
