Octagon January, 2016

fishing, we headed to Norman Point for morning
tea followed by the wetting of a line or two.
We were informed by locals this is definitely
the place to catch bream….. ‘Get there on
the turning tide and just cast out amongst the
adjacent mangroves…..caught a stack yesterday
doing that.’
Fishing done and dusted, it was off to Poona, a
100 km round trip north of Tin Can Bay, for an
afternoon run and the obligatory coffee. Poona
is one of those sleepy seaside villages that is off
the beaten track but is well worth a visit.
The Tin Can Bay Motel has an excellent BBQ
area, so the decision for the evening meal was
fairly easy. Given that fishing was on the agenda
today, the meal choice was easy. Fish and
salad with an entree of freshly cooked prawns,
complemented with a fine white wine; sounds
good doesn’t it? Was the fish freshly caught?
Of course it was. Did we catch it? Of course we
didn’t!
Day 4 in Tin Can Bay
Day 4 and yet another morning walk!
While the ladies indulged in some retail
therapy…even though the shop range was
limited…. the men headed back to Norman Point
to drown some more bait. We were confident
we would improve on the catch of the previous
occasion and enjoy a quiet, relaxing and
uneventful day. What is that old saying about
living in a fool’s paradise?
cold coffee consumed, it was back to the motel
to relate the story. Speaking of relating stories, I
must tell this one.
It just so happens that the owner (female) of the
motel has a 1973 left hand drive Mustang Pony
which is her pride and joy. She offered us the
opportunity to take it for a run down the highway.
Rob Fraser put up his hand as the pilot, John
Boland volunteered to ride in the passenger seat
(right hand side remember) and I decided that
discretion was the better part of valour and opted
to stay at the motel. I was soon to discover this
was a very wise move.
It appears they were both enjoying the
experience of the ‘big yank tank’ until John
realised that he was actually in the same lane
as the oncoming traffic. While I cannot quote
the conversation verbatim, I understand John,
with eyes like dinner plates and white knuckles
gripping the dash, turned to Rob and politely
asked ‘would you mind putting me on the same
side of the #@$ centreline as you are?’, to which
Rob replied as he slowly acceded to John’s
fervent request, ‘it’s all under control; don’t know
what you‘re worried about; you can’t see the
whites of their eyes yet can you?’
As you can well imagine, as we sat around the
BBQ that night enjoying dinner and beverages,
John’s car experiences for the day were high on
the conversation list.
The strong winds and rain scuds soon chased
us to a local coffee shop; and that is when the
day went downhill. We were sitting peacefully
sipping a nice hot coffee when a voice from the
adjacent table says ‘I am sorry to have to tell you
but a lady has just reversed into the side of one
of your MGs’.
If you have ever wanted to see grown men about
to cry, this was certainly the moment!
As it turned out, John Boland was the only one
who approached this outpouring of human
emotion with the realisation it was his MG that
was now sporting a modified driver’s door and
mudguard. Luckily the damage was not severe
enough to have to call in the tow truck.
With the formalities of the accident sorted and
Day 5 to Wondai
After the excitement of the previous day, the
run from Tin Can Bay to Wondai via Gympie,
Glastonbury, Widgee, Kilkivan, Goomeri and
Murgon, with stops in Gympie for morning tea
and retail therapy for the ladies and Goomeri for
lunch was incident free.
The Octagon - November 2015 49