Lake Merimbula

We set out on a bit of an adventure today - to attempt two things we would rate as being 'pre novice' on a scale of experience! The first was driving a boat, the second was fishing.

We drove to the Top Lake Boat Hire, around the shores of Lake Merimbula. It was a lovely, sunny, calm day. The kids were sized up and fitted with life jackets - a fishing rod was hired and a worm was purchased. Jet got a quick run down on how to work the fishing rod, Daz had a quick run down on how to start, run and stop an outboard motor, plus directions on where we could and could not go. Then with a familiar tune in mind, we boarded our little boat 'Tiger'...

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this lakeside port aboard this tiny ship.
The mate wasn't a mighty sailing man,
The skipper nervous and unsure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,

The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The 'Tiger' would be lost, the 'Tiger' would be lost!

Well, it didn't quite end up as tragic as Gilligan's Island... but it was equally as comical! We skirted around the edge of the lake, admiring the views. The wind was very still, the water was like a mirror. We cut the engine and baited up the hook - each of the kids had a go at fishing, but severely lacked the patience... hey, they don't have the patience to stand and wait in the fish and chip shop, much less wait for who knows how long until a fish bites your hook!

All three kids got to drive the boat - Ethan was in fits of laughter as he drove around in circles!

We tried fishing again in a different spot, as the wind got up... it began to get quite choppy. We moved on again, into the chop was the best way to go, but we all got pretty wet with the spray and splash. The water was very cold and the kids were thinking this wasn't such a good idea after all! After just over an hour we decided to head back in (we only intended to be out for an hour or two anyway).

(before it got choppy & we put the camera away)

The choppy waves now had white caps and the wind was blowing behind us, meaning we basically surfed towards the jetty - which made it interesting when we got close as we could not slow down too well. Now, I'm sure an experienced sea dog... (maybe any old dog) could have pulled off a better docking... but we slid in sideways into another boat and then had to try and reverse in the ever increasing chop as the boat guy tried to grab our rope and tie us up!

This part was actually a little scary, and Gemma, in particular got a little upset. Although not very gracefully, we managed to get tied up and get out... a little cold and wet though!

It was quite an adventure - one that the kids enjoyed until the wind suddenly picked up!!

It was rather pleasant heading back to the warm apartment for hot soup after that, knowing that we'd not ruined any poor fish's day!