Member story: RTBU Holiday Park, Sussex Inlet

Recently my family and friends travelled to a holiday location which we like to call our piece of paradise which is situated on the NSW south coast at Sussex Inlet where the NSW RTBU have the RTBU cabin park for members and families. My family who have travelled to the cabin park for the past 12 years, consists of my wife and 4 kids, my parents, Brother and family and friends who have travelled for the same period of time.

We meet at the same time every year which has seen us grow very close friendships, we even have a Sussex Inlet fishing competition we started several years ago for fun.

Whether you have a boat or not, you can still catch some trophy fish by fishing the beach or in the inlet itself.

We have all seen our children grow, run around and play together which you don’t see too often these days. They too have grown strong friendships and they all keep in contact all year around Via facebook.

Every afternoon there is either a game of cricket or football starts up in the middle of the park which sees everybody from  Cabins join in.

About three years ago I upgraded from a 12 foot tiny to a 5 ½ meter centre console which opened up more variety of fishing, so of an early morning or late afternoon fishing time kicks in which, has seen some very nice snapper, shark, morwong, flathead, Tailor, Kingfish, Salmon and bream being caught.

There has been some stories of the one that got away and stories of fish that snags you up and feels like you have got a massive fish on, that soon disappoints when you realise that it’s a Rock cod (other known as poor man’s lobster). A funny story this year was a mate of mine Troy F_th_______m caught a cracker of a Flathead 60 plus centimetres so I opened up the esky for him to throw it in and I turn around to see what he was doing, and you wouldn’t believe it he was so worried about measuring it to see if it would win the trophy (which it would have) it decided to whip the tail and give a little dance and done a summersault into the water, my father and I were in absolute hysterics.

Of a night time, is another time we all look forward to, heading across to the BBQ area to have a few drinks and cook the your catch of the day or some meat on the BBQ. After tea is over and done with sees the marsh mellows come out. While the parents are sitting around having a laugh and a chat the kids are off exploring, playing hide and seek, spotlighting the wild life etc.

Of a morning you wake to the freshes air you will ever breath with a morning walk along the beach seeing the sunrise, with wild parrots flying and kangaroos bouncing all around the park, I Kid you not you see all this within the first 24 hours.

Out on the boat in the ocean I have seen whales, dolphins, this year I hand feed a seal 6 slimy mackerels Caught a 2 meter hammer head shark off a live bait which was awesome. One day my family and I and friends in their boat were coming back up the inlet from an afternoon of the kids riding on the biscuit when a dolphin appeared my eldest daughter got to pat a wild dolphin while it swam around the boat, it was only too happy to get a pat, it also spat water at the kids, my eldest and mates kids jumped in and swam with the dolphin hanging on to its dorsal fin, This was a chance in a life time and the kids didn’t miss the opportunity the dived straight in regardless of what we said, only later on to find out the dolphin was pregnant and the local waterways wished people to stay clear of the dolphin.

I took the kids to surface paradise 2 years ago and SeaWorld wanted $396 for my eldest to do this, but I do say to others be careful they are wild animals.

This year had to be the best year we have all had and when it comes to an end you just never want to leave, but when you say you’re good byes you always finish with see you in 11 and ½ months.

OUR PARADISE.

BY ELIOTT HACKETT