One of the wonderful aspects of life on the road is the renewal of old acquaintances and meeting and making new friends. At Bremer Bay we did both, with gusto. The Bremer Bay Sports Club, the park camp kitchen, our annex and that of Cate and David, were the scenes of many a fine 'knees up'.
For those who wish to drink or dine out, Bremer Bay has two venues on offer.....the pub and the sports club. We made the most of the sports club on three occasions for the very good reasons that its patrons were super friendly, it maintained very reasonable bar prices and served excellent meals.
Apart from that, the venue was something more than average. The sporting life of Bremer Bay is concentrated on a hillside overlooking Back Beach and the distant boat harbour. Here we find the town oval (the roof of the cub is mid-shot)
and the nearby nine hole golf course, which I am told is as challenging as it is picturesque.
For those whose thing is to trundle a biased ball on its curved course down a flat green, they can indulge their passion at the bowls rinks which are adjacent to the club car park.
To complete the sporting picture, a good set of well lit tennis courts can be found behind the kiddies playground.
One of the real selling points used to encourage patronage of the club is the outlook, and indeed the views over the Back Beach bay to the marina do provided a wonderful backdrop for various social activities.
The front entrance leads directly into the club BBQ area,
beyond which we pass the open kitchen servery
and move on into the club proper.
At this time of the year, meals are served at the club on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Sunday was our day of choice. The bar was advertised as being open from 1600 hours. Guess when we arrived?
Within short order, those who had been enjoying the regular Sunday round of competitive golf would congregate at one of the long tables when 'Shorty', the club captain, would reward the day's winners with various modest prizes (usually a golf ball).
Those who had spent the afternoon whacking their small white ball around the links would indulge themselves with a session of robust recall during which shots of excellence (or sheer luck) were usually replayed with appropriate verbal embellishments (and challenges as to the truth of the tale). Even for those of us for whom a round of golf is nothing more than an excuse for a very long walk, back and forth across the fairways (chasing down errant shots) as well as along them, this was entertaining stuff.
It soon became apparent to us that the club on a Sunday afternoon is a hub for not only for the golfing fraternity, both local and visiting, but attracts many other visitors. And there is no such thing as sitting on your own. Invitations to join other groups are de rigeuer at the Bremer Bay Sports Club. We made several new friends as a direct result, including Yvonne and Les, pictured here with Liz, Cate and David.
Apart from the chef and his wife, both on contract to provide the meals, the club is staffed entirely by volunteers. My mate Darcy is a champion, and with stubbies of beer to be had for $4.00, a glass of good wine for $4.50 and a bottle for $18.00, this was a drinker's Mecca....as cheap as anywhere we had found in WA to date.
We had been told that the meals were large, reasonably priced and included a most excellent salad bar. Never a truer word spoken. They were outstanding, and, in addition to the usual steak, chicken and 'parmy' options, usually included a 'chef's special' or two. How often would one expect to find double cooked, slow roasted pork belly with light Chinese spices on a small town sporting club menu? And the salads were as good as any we have ever come across. As Richie Benaud would say...."marvellous".
On our final Sunday evening we had the pleasure of sharing a table with Kerry and Graham Black (who have generously invited us to spend a few days with them on their Kalbarri property en route to Carnarvon) and three of the club luminaries, including 'Shorty', the club captain.
With a venue like the Sports Club, how does the Bremer Bay Resort hotel/motel fare?
From what we had seen driving to and fro, it seemed to be doing pretty well, despite the fact that here the usual exorbitant WA hotel prices prevail. Mind you, given that this is the only facility of its type in Bremer Bay, it does acquire a captive audience of bus tours patrons, visiting workers and upper market touring types, and does have the advantage of operating throughout the entire week.
Our first sighting, as we drove into town, created some real confusion in our minds. What on earth is that thing?
Looking from the opposite direction, the answer is obvious....a mermaid, of course. The only remaining question.....why would you? This must rate as one of those 'it was a good idea at the time' additions to the local visual amenity. God only knows what chemicals were in the systems of those who made this decision at the time!
Given the value of the Sports Club, we only made the one visit to the pub, on the afternoon prior to the departure of our great Darwin friends Cate and David (English ex-pats who used to rent the house opposite ours in Oleander Street many years ago...long story!). It was within comfortable walking distance of our caravan park and we decided that the outdoor area could accommodate our friends' travelling companions, their two little dogs. Apart from this rationale, we couldn't leave Bremer Bay without at least one visit.
The outdoor setting was the obvious spot for us.
From here we could take in the advertised views over the waters of the Wellstead Estuary and the roof tops of the township, and, notwithstanding the apparent 'poh-faces' in this candid shot, we had a jolly good time.
Now, that's more like it...."cheers", but don't step on the dogs!
Enough of this carousing....back to camp. Here, as I have previously mentioned, we made very good use of the camp kitchen. A chance meeting during our first visit to the sports club resulted in a joint decision to gather for a camp BBQ later that week.
I was more than happy to share the finer production points of Chef Pierre's famous caramelised onion and potato mix with Les,
before going on to offer the assembled company an entree of grilled herring and, finally, the main course.
And who said that a meal in the camp kitchen had to lack panache? That being said, I have to admit we did raise the eyebrows of a few fellow park residents with our red table cloth and 'real glass' glasses.
But as we have always maintained, if you are going to do it, do it properly....it doesn't take a great deal more effort.
This was one of several social occasions we shared with Yvonne and Les who were resident in the same park as we were. In fact, our annex became the venue for several occasions on which Liz had to remind us that 'quiet time' (after 2200 hours) was nigh!
This became even more of a problem with the arrival of Cate, David and the dogs. During the five nights they camped opposite our site, David and I shard the culinary duties between us, and dining venues. And let me say here, there are few mates to whom I'll doff my cooking hat, but David is one of them.
We kicked things off with a meal of crumbed fish (freshly caught herring of course) on the night of their arrival. Our plans for an 'annex' meal were flummoxed by a particularly nippy evening breeze, so it was 'cuddle up inside' for us. Ours, like most caravan dinettes, allegedly seats four with comfort.....it does seat four, but it is important that you are all good friends!
The fully erected annex of Cate and David's camper trailer provides a surprising amount of room. We took full advantage on several occasions, on one of which we sat down to a delicious Baby Q roasted chook and the best, crisp roasted spuds we have enjoyed for many a long month.
David, you're a bloody marvel....forget about fishing old mate, stick with what you know!
This particular evening did develop legs. Before we knew it David had invited a couple camping next door to join us. Andrew and Shirley proved to be a most entertaining addition to the gathering. And, in one of those extraordinary 'meetings on the road', it transpired that Shirley, a Canadian, was very familiar with the small Canadian Army garrison town north of Toronto where I had spent time with my Canadian UN colleague who was living there during one of my visits many years ago. Can there be any more surprises?
Well, actually, yes. On our very first walk through Bremer Bay we spied a caravan being towed along the road towards our park, and, at this point, let me cut a long story short....it was none other than Margaret and Andrew, the couple who had been managing the Big 4 Plantation park in Carnarvon when we had first arrived there in June last year. In fact, it had been Andrew who had offered us the job there. He and Margaret completed their time there and went on the road again shortly after we returned from Exmouth, and, until now, we had lost touch. But here they were, now taking up a position in the very park in which we were staying. As I have said in the past, just thinking about the statistical probability of such and encounter is scary.
Apart from the fact that it was terrific to see them again, they proved to be a veritable mine of information about many of the places through which we'll be journeying in the coming months.
'The Annex' was the venue for several more 'jollies', but, on the night prior to their departure, when David again served up another of his kitchen triumphs, pasta with a very tasty Italian sausage based tomato sauce, the weather allowed us to dine under the stars.
All too soon Cate and David were on their way. I'll not bore you with a continuing parade of 'party snaps' or further commentary, other than to note we had had a very, very good time and that it did take us a while to dry out!
But before we farewell these very good friends, I must mention their two travelling mates, Coco the Chihuahua and Louis the Jack Russell, both of which were rescued 'pound dogs' who now live the life of Reilly.
We have never before seen the likes of Coco.....she is a meerkat in a dog's skin. This is not begging behaviour....she does it all the time, and looks all around her just like the real thing.
Mind you, it does suck one in!
Louis is a real terrier. He huffs, hauls and heaves on his lead like a sled towing husky....one of these great little hunting dogs who, in his own little mind, thinks he actually has the size and clout of a rottweiler.
Liz offered to babysit the canine couple on one occasion to allow Cate and David to visit the nearby Fitzgerald National Park where our four legged friends are decidedly unwelcome. "You'll have your hands full", was my immediate reaction. Hah, what would I know?
This was the scene which greeted me on my return from fishing. Liz, the dog whisperer!
But not for long. Coco was soon 'on guard' again.
What a pair of characters these two are, and if ever two little dogs fell on their feet after a very rough trot, this is the pair!
It was wonderful to catch up with our Territorian friends again. Plans are afoot to do the same when we reach Katherine some time in late June or early July. We should be ready for another drink by then!
Our stay in Bremer Bay was a standout period of our Western Australian adventure to date, for all the reasons I have shared, and more. Beautiful beaches, stunning coastal scenery, great fishing, a large, grassy site in a good caravan park, wonderful company and a town venue which allowed us to eat out at prices which did not make The Treasurer blanch. Was it any wonder we extended our stay by a week?
Hopetoun, Esperance, Cape Le Grande and beyond that, the Duke of Orleans Bay, have something to live up to....the height of the tourist bar in this part of Western Australia has been well and truly set!
For those who wish to drink or dine out, Bremer Bay has two venues on offer.....the pub and the sports club. We made the most of the sports club on three occasions for the very good reasons that its patrons were super friendly, it maintained very reasonable bar prices and served excellent meals.
Apart from that, the venue was something more than average. The sporting life of Bremer Bay is concentrated on a hillside overlooking Back Beach and the distant boat harbour. Here we find the town oval (the roof of the cub is mid-shot)
and the nearby nine hole golf course, which I am told is as challenging as it is picturesque.
For those whose thing is to trundle a biased ball on its curved course down a flat green, they can indulge their passion at the bowls rinks which are adjacent to the club car park.
To complete the sporting picture, a good set of well lit tennis courts can be found behind the kiddies playground.
One of the real selling points used to encourage patronage of the club is the outlook, and indeed the views over the Back Beach bay to the marina do provided a wonderful backdrop for various social activities.
The front entrance leads directly into the club BBQ area,
beyond which we pass the open kitchen servery
and move on into the club proper.
At this time of the year, meals are served at the club on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Sunday was our day of choice. The bar was advertised as being open from 1600 hours. Guess when we arrived?
Within short order, those who had been enjoying the regular Sunday round of competitive golf would congregate at one of the long tables when 'Shorty', the club captain, would reward the day's winners with various modest prizes (usually a golf ball).
Those who had spent the afternoon whacking their small white ball around the links would indulge themselves with a session of robust recall during which shots of excellence (or sheer luck) were usually replayed with appropriate verbal embellishments (and challenges as to the truth of the tale). Even for those of us for whom a round of golf is nothing more than an excuse for a very long walk, back and forth across the fairways (chasing down errant shots) as well as along them, this was entertaining stuff.
It soon became apparent to us that the club on a Sunday afternoon is a hub for not only for the golfing fraternity, both local and visiting, but attracts many other visitors. And there is no such thing as sitting on your own. Invitations to join other groups are de rigeuer at the Bremer Bay Sports Club. We made several new friends as a direct result, including Yvonne and Les, pictured here with Liz, Cate and David.
Apart from the chef and his wife, both on contract to provide the meals, the club is staffed entirely by volunteers. My mate Darcy is a champion, and with stubbies of beer to be had for $4.00, a glass of good wine for $4.50 and a bottle for $18.00, this was a drinker's Mecca....as cheap as anywhere we had found in WA to date.
We had been told that the meals were large, reasonably priced and included a most excellent salad bar. Never a truer word spoken. They were outstanding, and, in addition to the usual steak, chicken and 'parmy' options, usually included a 'chef's special' or two. How often would one expect to find double cooked, slow roasted pork belly with light Chinese spices on a small town sporting club menu? And the salads were as good as any we have ever come across. As Richie Benaud would say...."marvellous".
On our final Sunday evening we had the pleasure of sharing a table with Kerry and Graham Black (who have generously invited us to spend a few days with them on their Kalbarri property en route to Carnarvon) and three of the club luminaries, including 'Shorty', the club captain.
With a venue like the Sports Club, how does the Bremer Bay Resort hotel/motel fare?
From what we had seen driving to and fro, it seemed to be doing pretty well, despite the fact that here the usual exorbitant WA hotel prices prevail. Mind you, given that this is the only facility of its type in Bremer Bay, it does acquire a captive audience of bus tours patrons, visiting workers and upper market touring types, and does have the advantage of operating throughout the entire week.
Our first sighting, as we drove into town, created some real confusion in our minds. What on earth is that thing?
Looking from the opposite direction, the answer is obvious....a mermaid, of course. The only remaining question.....why would you? This must rate as one of those 'it was a good idea at the time' additions to the local visual amenity. God only knows what chemicals were in the systems of those who made this decision at the time!
Given the value of the Sports Club, we only made the one visit to the pub, on the afternoon prior to the departure of our great Darwin friends Cate and David (English ex-pats who used to rent the house opposite ours in Oleander Street many years ago...long story!). It was within comfortable walking distance of our caravan park and we decided that the outdoor area could accommodate our friends' travelling companions, their two little dogs. Apart from this rationale, we couldn't leave Bremer Bay without at least one visit.
The outdoor setting was the obvious spot for us.
From here we could take in the advertised views over the waters of the Wellstead Estuary and the roof tops of the township, and, notwithstanding the apparent 'poh-faces' in this candid shot, we had a jolly good time.
Now, that's more like it...."cheers", but don't step on the dogs!
Enough of this carousing....back to camp. Here, as I have previously mentioned, we made very good use of the camp kitchen. A chance meeting during our first visit to the sports club resulted in a joint decision to gather for a camp BBQ later that week.
I was more than happy to share the finer production points of Chef Pierre's famous caramelised onion and potato mix with Les,
before going on to offer the assembled company an entree of grilled herring and, finally, the main course.
And who said that a meal in the camp kitchen had to lack panache? That being said, I have to admit we did raise the eyebrows of a few fellow park residents with our red table cloth and 'real glass' glasses.
But as we have always maintained, if you are going to do it, do it properly....it doesn't take a great deal more effort.
This was one of several social occasions we shared with Yvonne and Les who were resident in the same park as we were. In fact, our annex became the venue for several occasions on which Liz had to remind us that 'quiet time' (after 2200 hours) was nigh!
This became even more of a problem with the arrival of Cate, David and the dogs. During the five nights they camped opposite our site, David and I shard the culinary duties between us, and dining venues. And let me say here, there are few mates to whom I'll doff my cooking hat, but David is one of them.
We kicked things off with a meal of crumbed fish (freshly caught herring of course) on the night of their arrival. Our plans for an 'annex' meal were flummoxed by a particularly nippy evening breeze, so it was 'cuddle up inside' for us. Ours, like most caravan dinettes, allegedly seats four with comfort.....it does seat four, but it is important that you are all good friends!
The fully erected annex of Cate and David's camper trailer provides a surprising amount of room. We took full advantage on several occasions, on one of which we sat down to a delicious Baby Q roasted chook and the best, crisp roasted spuds we have enjoyed for many a long month.
David, you're a bloody marvel....forget about fishing old mate, stick with what you know!
This particular evening did develop legs. Before we knew it David had invited a couple camping next door to join us. Andrew and Shirley proved to be a most entertaining addition to the gathering. And, in one of those extraordinary 'meetings on the road', it transpired that Shirley, a Canadian, was very familiar with the small Canadian Army garrison town north of Toronto where I had spent time with my Canadian UN colleague who was living there during one of my visits many years ago. Can there be any more surprises?
Well, actually, yes. On our very first walk through Bremer Bay we spied a caravan being towed along the road towards our park, and, at this point, let me cut a long story short....it was none other than Margaret and Andrew, the couple who had been managing the Big 4 Plantation park in Carnarvon when we had first arrived there in June last year. In fact, it had been Andrew who had offered us the job there. He and Margaret completed their time there and went on the road again shortly after we returned from Exmouth, and, until now, we had lost touch. But here they were, now taking up a position in the very park in which we were staying. As I have said in the past, just thinking about the statistical probability of such and encounter is scary.
Apart from the fact that it was terrific to see them again, they proved to be a veritable mine of information about many of the places through which we'll be journeying in the coming months.
'The Annex' was the venue for several more 'jollies', but, on the night prior to their departure, when David again served up another of his kitchen triumphs, pasta with a very tasty Italian sausage based tomato sauce, the weather allowed us to dine under the stars.
All too soon Cate and David were on their way. I'll not bore you with a continuing parade of 'party snaps' or further commentary, other than to note we had had a very, very good time and that it did take us a while to dry out!
But before we farewell these very good friends, I must mention their two travelling mates, Coco the Chihuahua and Louis the Jack Russell, both of which were rescued 'pound dogs' who now live the life of Reilly.
We have never before seen the likes of Coco.....she is a meerkat in a dog's skin. This is not begging behaviour....she does it all the time, and looks all around her just like the real thing.
Mind you, it does suck one in!
Louis is a real terrier. He huffs, hauls and heaves on his lead like a sled towing husky....one of these great little hunting dogs who, in his own little mind, thinks he actually has the size and clout of a rottweiler.
Liz offered to babysit the canine couple on one occasion to allow Cate and David to visit the nearby Fitzgerald National Park where our four legged friends are decidedly unwelcome. "You'll have your hands full", was my immediate reaction. Hah, what would I know?
This was the scene which greeted me on my return from fishing. Liz, the dog whisperer!
But not for long. Coco was soon 'on guard' again.
What a pair of characters these two are, and if ever two little dogs fell on their feet after a very rough trot, this is the pair!
It was wonderful to catch up with our Territorian friends again. Plans are afoot to do the same when we reach Katherine some time in late June or early July. We should be ready for another drink by then!
Our stay in Bremer Bay was a standout period of our Western Australian adventure to date, for all the reasons I have shared, and more. Beautiful beaches, stunning coastal scenery, great fishing, a large, grassy site in a good caravan park, wonderful company and a town venue which allowed us to eat out at prices which did not make The Treasurer blanch. Was it any wonder we extended our stay by a week?
Hopetoun, Esperance, Cape Le Grande and beyond that, the Duke of Orleans Bay, have something to live up to....the height of the tourist bar in this part of Western Australia has been well and truly set!
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