After the festivities of Xmas in July, life at Kurrimine Beach slipped into its usual routine....early morning walks, fishing off the beach or at the distant mouth of Maria Creek, shopping and other sorties into Tully, Mission Beach or Innisfail and so on. The only thing missing this year was the daily saunter up to the pool, a good swim and sunny lounge about on the lawns. We did manage to soak up the sun on a few days, but they were the exception rather than the usual rule......I'll do my best not to bang on about the weather...you'll see more of what I mean later.
Even gloomy and leaking skies cannot do too much to interfere with one of the reasons we come here....to catch up with old friends. This year we had the added pleasure of the company of the Sydney based Banninks and the Taintons, names I am sure you will remember from Mudgee and elsewhere. They were newcomers to KB and we were delighted to see them.
Following are a few somewhat self-indulgent snippets (and snippets only) of our 2016 social life here at KB.
Following are a few somewhat self-indulgent snippets (and snippets only) of our 2016 social life here at KB.
Trish and Silvio, unlike the Banninks and the Taintons, are old hands. We first met them here four years ago. They pulled into the park two days after we did. What a pleasure it was to join them under their awning on one of our few fine afternoons for nibbles and drinks.
Within a few more days Troisie and Hens also made it to KB. Unfortunately the popularity of our park at this time of the year meant that they had to camp a few hundred metres down the road at the King Reef Caravan Park, but that was no impediment to hosting them Chez Marshies for a shared meal (or three) under our awning.
As invariably happens here, friends of one become friends of all....whether around the camp kitchen BBQ where the problems of the world are solved,
or later sharing a meal and a few quiet libations.
This particular evening was topped off in fine style.....'real' coffee and liqueurs in the comfort of Trish and Silvio's mobile lounge room. Hens and Troy's schedule meant that they only had a couple of days here, but we did make more than the most of it.
Because of the comparatively rotten weather this year, we made much more use than normal of the the shelter and comforts of the camp kitchen, where, on one particular afternoon we had a real surprise. Denyse and Tony Allsop had arrived at KB. They are a couple who have been travelling the country for years (in their spare time...she is actually a GP) and who write for the magazine 'Caravan World'. We have read many of their articles and have stayed in several places on their recommendation.
What a charming and delightfully down to earth couple they are. They only spent the one night here (they are good friends of the park owners) and joined us for a most entertaining Friday night 'soup night' happy hour. (here shown in this shockingly blurred photo with Liz chatting animatedly to Tony) It was lovely to meet them.
This photo also includes Lyn and Warwick Tainton (left of shot), one of the 'Sydney couples'. I've known them both for over forty years (Wok is a recently retired Qantas 747 skipper). By this stage the Bannincks had left and they had arrived to spend a couple of weeks at KB. It was like a revolving door of good friends.
The dizzy social whirl continued! We introduced them to the Finis over plates of Chef Pierre's famous tuna pasta
and happily joined them a few evenings later for a very tasty lamb BBQ under the shelter of their awning.
In of those happy coincidences of the road, it turned out that Lyn and Leslie (of Bill and Leslie...Bremer Bay, Esperance, 80 Mile Beach etc) both share a passion for painting, and both are no slouches when it comes to wielding a brush. They spent many a productive hour at their easels with some high class results.
It is always gratifying when mutual friends click so readily and we all join in as one big happy family. This is exactly what happened. We shared many a convivial meal, in the camp kitchen
(after a couple of us slaved over a hot stove!)
at the local King Reef Hotel (where the smile on your scribe's face is something of a pretence....more of this later)
and at one of the extraordinarily cheap BBQ nights at the Kurrimine Beach Motel ($10 per head for soup, BBQ, veggies, salads and sweets.....we still don't know how they do it).
But then, sadly, the time came for them to move on. We congregated under continuing leaden skies to to wish them a fond farewell and safe travels.
By now 'the season' was drawing to a close. Many of the winter regulars had folded their tents and were heading back south. But just as some left, others arrived, including two couples with whom we have previously shared some very good times here.
The regular Friday night formal camp happy hours in the camp kitchen had come to an end, but our social whirl continued unabated. The finale came in the form of a select but cheerful group who assembled for fun and games to celebrate Father's Day (our good mates Yaja and Jerry are at the left of shot...they used to live in the apartment block opposite the Glenelg Surf Club)
As the afternoon progressed, more and more arrived, until by about 1630 hours we were joining tables together to accommodate the swelling crowd.
The dizzy social whirl continued! We introduced them to the Finis over plates of Chef Pierre's famous tuna pasta
and happily joined them a few evenings later for a very tasty lamb BBQ under the shelter of their awning.
In of those happy coincidences of the road, it turned out that Lyn and Leslie (of Bill and Leslie...Bremer Bay, Esperance, 80 Mile Beach etc) both share a passion for painting, and both are no slouches when it comes to wielding a brush. They spent many a productive hour at their easels with some high class results.
It is always gratifying when mutual friends click so readily and we all join in as one big happy family. This is exactly what happened. We shared many a convivial meal, in the camp kitchen
(after a couple of us slaved over a hot stove!)
at the local King Reef Hotel (where the smile on your scribe's face is something of a pretence....more of this later)
and at one of the extraordinarily cheap BBQ nights at the Kurrimine Beach Motel ($10 per head for soup, BBQ, veggies, salads and sweets.....we still don't know how they do it).
But then, sadly, the time came for them to move on. We congregated under continuing leaden skies to to wish them a fond farewell and safe travels.
By now 'the season' was drawing to a close. Many of the winter regulars had folded their tents and were heading back south. But just as some left, others arrived, including two couples with whom we have previously shared some very good times here.
The regular Friday night formal camp happy hours in the camp kitchen had come to an end, but our social whirl continued unabated. The finale came in the form of a select but cheerful group who assembled for fun and games to celebrate Father's Day (our good mates Yaja and Jerry are at the left of shot...they used to live in the apartment block opposite the Glenelg Surf Club)
As the afternoon progressed, more and more arrived, until by about 1630 hours we were joining tables together to accommodate the swelling crowd.
We even had the park management team on board. Marcus (the owner) was resplendent in his working kit of check shirt and tracky dacks.
Within no time the platters of various nibbles, hot and cold, were adorning the tables. Cheese and biscuits, meat balls, dims sims, pastry puffs.....they just kept coming. Marvellous blotting paper!
This was one party which just grew legs.
The bash had been formally announced as a 'cricket match', and indeed all the gear was on hand, but by the time the potential teams had enjoyed a drink or two and a fine munch, there was general agreement that the continuing showers meant that a 'rain delay' was unavoidable.
Mind you, the odd sprinkle did not deter the F1 drivers who managed to circumnavigate the park at a more than respectable clip.
What a great end to the formal social season this had been. One particular couple, who had only arrived that morning, could not believe what they had stumbled into. I strongly suspect another KB Boomerang pair has been born.
Throughout our stay the camp kitchen had been the focus of various sessions of assorted nonsense and good fun each Friday evening. I'll have a bit more to say about that later, but before that, a tale of near disaster.
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