Have you been deep sea fishing? We got on the Hammerhead to fish! [The Mad Nomads]

After two weeks in the Port Stephens area it was time to see the place from “out there” so we were going to sea. We had enjoyed the Bay and its delights but we hadn’t been “outside” so we were heading north up the coast to the islands where fish were sure to be found.

It’s six o’clock in the morning… Everything is fresh and the seagulls are making their morning noise. The good ship Hammerhead is elegantly floating at her marina berth in Nelson Bay waiting to take us for a seven-hour trip into fishing heaven…

The Hammerhead is one of many charter vessels in the bay… A lovely fly bridge boat, spotless and offering everything a fisherman/woman needs no matter if you are a beginner, which some of our fellow passengers were, or experienced, which my hubby Geoff is… Everyone was gong to find fish today!

There was the safety talk that gave us clear instructions that were destined to keep us all safe. They showed us the gear and it was all very thorough, which was impressive. We motored out into a waving ocean to catch our bait and hand lines were issued. I prefer to fish with hand lines because you can really feel what’s happening but if I hooked a shark I guess it’d take my hand off. However we did well with the baitfish.

Our Korean visitors (we were 8 on the boat that day) were clearly happy with just catching bait and totally beside themselves when the real fish were caught later… Such excitement is catching and we all benefited from their infectious joy. The three Korean girls were obviously out of their comfort zone but determined to have a ball and they did.

Lunch was delicious but one gentleman wasn’t that interested. I don’t know what he was looking at but he had his head over the side a fair bit so there must have been something interesting down there. He did catch some good big fish though so maybe he was just looking for more. Although Geoff said he was great with the burley.

The catch was varied and impressive and the crew assisted everyone who needed help in any way. One guy took his own gear and was pleased with his catch. He didn’t need help but when one small lady hooked something quite large the crew made sure she had the joy of bringing it aboard without being pulled into the sea.

Hammerhead gave us a great cruise and the scenery was fantastic and everything was up to the high standard we have found in all the Port Stephens attractions we have tried.

The next day we had to go to Dungog and into the towering Beech rainforest of Telegherry and Fryingpan. The hinterland is in easy reach of the coast and well worth a few day trips.

Dungog is a lovely little town that offers some beautiful old buildings and the hugest hamburger I have ever seen. We had driven just over an hour from Nelson Bay to re-shoot the forest for a magazine article and we were a bit hungry but that burger defeated me.

We drove out of Dungog and up to Chichester Dam, which supplies some of the water used in the Hunter region. It has great picnic areas and sits in dense greenery below the Barrington tops area. Because of its position it has pristine water catchments.

Then it was down into the valleys below to two camping areas that sit on the Telegherry River… Telegherry and Frying Pan.

The camping there is for both caravans and tents and despite the mountainous dirt roads they are very popular. The rainforest around them is ancient but many of the tall trees are only 100 years old due to logging. The real forest giants lie on the forest floor and when you stand next to them their girth is as round as I am tall and they run out of sight through the dappled light.

Many huge stumps have logging marks on their mossy sides… I am sure these monster trees were left behind because they were too huge to move.

This area is only a few hours north of Sydney and deserves a visit if you like exploring wild places… What sort of wild places appeal to you?

This coming week three members of our family are coming to Nelson Bay to stay and this will be the last time we will see them for a while as we will soon continue on our nomad trail going God knows where… But then, when we left Sydney a month ago we didn’t think we see them for a while, so you never know… Do you enjoy life’s surprises or do they frighten you? I think I sit on the fence for this one!

What sort of wild places appeal to you? Where would you like to adventure to?