Who doesn't love a good camp oven dinner, particularly when its preparation is in very good hands.
Max (Glenda's dad) has spent much of his life on cattle stations and proved to be a past master when it came to camp oven cooking.
Quite a number of us had signed on for this festivity. 'Uncle John' was tasked with keeping a wary eye on the second of the two ovens in which the meat was sizzling its way to a succulent brown while the spuds were beginning to roast.
As darkness enveloped the park, the hungry horde had assembled, chatting away over pre-dinner drinks as the mouth watering smell of the roasting meat and potatoes had us all salivating
And then the lids came off the roasters
and Max demonstrated his consummate skill with the carving knife
whilst pots of lesser veggies (the roast potato will always be king!) bubbled away on the BBQ.
Liz had volunteered to assist on the serving line and joined Glenda, Brad, Max and Doc for a 'staff' photo
before getting down to the real business of the evening....feeding the multitude.
They just kept on coming....and with very good reason. This was an absolutely sensational feed. Max is indeed a magician with a camp oven. Thank goodness there were seconds!
After every good meal there are still the dishes to be done, but in the true spirit of Kurrimine Beach, volunteers were plentiful. All us regulars are now hoping that this special event will become a fixture on the winter social KB calendar.
One much anticipated event which has been a feature over all the years we have been making this delightful park our winter home, is Christmas in July. 2017 was no exception, and, as is customary, many gathered in the mid afternoon to decorate the kitchen
with baubles along the rafters, tinsel entwined about the roof posts and other Xmas decorations on the tables.
Our party of old KB hands had chosen red and white as the theme for our section, and whilst 'the boys' had made some effort (well let's face it, pink is almost red)
'the girls' did far better in the 'red and white' dress stakes.
Mind you, even on this festive occasion, you don't mess with 'The Matron' when she is in full flight!
True to the tradition of the past years, roast beef and pork and slices of succulent ham (all provided by the park for a more than modest charge of $5 per head) were soon gracing our plates. Also in keeping with tradition all who attended this marvellous evening contributed with a vegetable plate or a desert, and we were soon seriously engaged with knife and fork. This was indeed a festival of fabulous food shared with fine friends. Oh, yes, and there had been the odd bottle or two gracing the table from time to time!
As the evening drew to a close it fell my lot to propose a most heartfelt vote of thanks to our wonderful park hosts after which the decision to eschew a karaoke session meant that we were able to chat on well into the evening over a few more after dinner nightcaps.
This one break with previous Christmas in July tradition was well received and although this year the entire bash was not quite as frenetic as has been the case in the past, the universal comment from all who participated, new and old, was that this did not detract one jot from the pleasure we all shared.
The second of the highly anticipated KB social events for the season was the Wine Tasting night. Again, Doc and Glenda wisely decided not to attempt to emulate their predecessors (which would have been a seriously tall order in any event as all who have seen my previous offerings on this subject will be able to attest) but to do it 'their way'.
But some things never change, including the fact that just about all who were in camp on the day gathered expectantly.
Whilst others were nibbling on community snacks and sipping on their preferred tipple whilst awaiting the grand entrance of our hosts for the evening, your scribe was tasked with encouraging my fellow park guests to stump up for tickets in the raffle being run to raise funds for Variety, that wonderful organisation which does so much for sick kiddies. I was more than happy to cajole, shame, hector and otherwise brow beat all assembled into parting with their cash.
And then here they were, Glenda and Ian all tarted up (a fetching cap, Doc!) and set to do the rounds of the tables with sample after sample of the local Murdering Point tropical wines,
but only after the official stamp of approval had been given!
Again, like Christmas in July, this traditional KB social event went off like clockwork, a little less rowdy than in the past, but none the less enjoyable. We had a hoot of a time.
And whilst on things 'traditional', I am pleased to report that of Wednesday morning scones has been maintained.
Apart from anything else this is a gathering when newcomers can be made to feel welcome and the park owners have the chance to regale all and sundry with announcements about forthcoming events and other matters of interest while we savour hot offerings from the oven smothered in jam and cream. What a good way to get everyone on deck!
Before I leave the camp kitchen for other festive frolics, I have to mention another bash which came out of the blue, and which like so many 'impromptu' events, was (the pun is completely unavoidable) a real sizzler.
Every year the park guests include a chap who roams the country assessing and accrediting various primary producers as being suitable to supply their products to the major supermarkets and others. Pete is a corker bloke whose company Liz and I have enjoyed now for several years. Well, this time around Pete suggested we should celebrate his last day in camp with a goodbye gathering.
'Was I prepared to cook snags and onions if he supplied them?' What a silly question. "Tuck in folks, it's time for the chef to quench his thirst!'
This was a great bash when all who usually filled the circle of chairs in the Naughty Corner beer garden changed venue but continued with all the normal noisy nonsense. Cheers Pete...see you next year!
Whilst the camp kitchen and the Naughty Corner were the prime social venues, we did venture further afield on a few occasions. To our utter amazement, the Kurrimine Beach Motel was still offering their Friday fish night for $15 and the Sunday BBQ for $10.
Both are ridiculous value. The price charged has not changed in all the years we have been coming here nor has the range and quantity of food provided, as we soon discovered
when a small group of us 'early arrivers' graced the motel dining room for our first 'fish night'. Battered fish, crumbed fish, poached fish, calamari, excellent chips and a great array of 'sensible' salads were all ours for the taking.....followed by apple crumble and ice cream no less. That's right...$15!
The Sunday BBQ is even more extraordinary value for money when minute steak, snags, and chicken pieces are augmented by pasta (usually lasagne), chips and potato casserole, fried rice, and all the usual (good) salads, preceded by soup and followed by sweets. Thee courses for $10.....as I said before ...ridiculous!
Needless to say, many who make KB their winter home at any one of the three caravan parks here flock to the Motel on Sunday evenings. This group from our park was no exception.
Apart from all this 'group' stuff, we shared some delightful social occasions with our very good friends the Vogts during their occupation of the site next to ours.
At least one Sunday breaky with John at the helm has become something of another KB tradition for us, one which we are more than pleased to be involved in.....JV does a mean breakfast!
And of course, one good meal deserves another. It was a pleasure to reciprocate 'Chez Marshie' with a fine boccincini pasta bake, one of our specialities
All too soon the Voggies were on their way back to Victoria. 'Bob the Dog' was all set
and after the obligatory farewell photo they were on their way. We are very much looking forward to spending a week with them at their Mornington Peninsula home at Mount Martha en route to Tasmania in October and some travel around Gippsland and beyond when we return to the mainland.
Let me conclude this year's KB snippets with a social event which is completely different, is unique to this town and which, oddly enough, doesn't include a drop of alcohol!
Less than a kilometre offshore from the beachfront the large, flat rocky plate of King Reef has been the cause of the doom of more than one passing vessel. The most well known of these wrecks is the schooner the 'Riser' which in 1878, whilst northbound out of Cardwell, came to grief on this treacherous shoal which, even at high tide, lies just below the surface of the sea.
Two of the crew who managed to struggle ashore were later killed and eaten by the local natives, an event which spawned the name 'Murdering Point'. Although the sand spit which was 'the point' has long since been washed away, the name lives on in Murdering Point Road and the Murdering Point Winery.
But these days the reef is well known for far more savoury reasons. About once a month, when cycle of the moon produces a very low tide, the reef stands completely high and dry for an hour or so. More than that, the very shallow water between it and the shore allows those so inclined to wade out to it.
And they do so in numbers...large numbers. The population of our caravan park inevitably swells significantly when the required low tide coincides with a weekend.
Unfortunately these photos do not accurately show the distance out to the reef, which is actually just shy of a kilometre.
And the attraction of this reef walk does hide a potentially nasty trap for young players. Any who linger too long before making the return wade can easily find themselves in unpleasantly deep water. More than once we have watched folk who have either mistimed their return or have ventured out onto the reef ignorant of the fact that 'time and tides wait for no man' struggling back to shore in water up to their necks. But I am pleased to report that on the day we took these shots all went well and even the real stragglers made it back to shore in no more than thigh deep water.
And so folks, on this odd little nature note we come to the end of our Kurrimine Beach winter for 2017. And of course we'll be back, but not for two years if all goes to plan. When we return to the 'big island' in February 2018 (after our Tasmanian adventures) we intend to make a return (and last) visit to the West where we have some unfinished business.
No comments:
Post a Comment