ANZAC Long Weekend in Robe

When we arrived at the Stuart shack in central Robe one of the first things I did was start flicking through the old guest book perched above the fireplace. I found what I was looking for after a bit of digging: my entry at age 10 in the summer of 1990, the last time I visited the shack. The shack has been in the Stuart family for roughly 70 years, a generous gift to the family during time when wool prices provided the patriarch of the family the wherewithal for a beach house. The Stuart abode is one of the few original remaining shacks in town, surrounded by more modern holidays homes with the town of Robe’s main street built up around it. Such amazing character to the old place, with beds for seven spread across three quaint bedrooms and an absolutely magic waterfall shower in the shed that all of us fell in love with. We spent the late afternoon hours each day enjoying nibbles, card games and a few beers around the fire after daylight hours at beaches to the north and south of town. Such a perfect way to spend a weekend, great to be making new memories with the next generation at a spot where I enjoyed a trip or two as a youngen.

Sky Seafoods – the local fish wholesaler that had an adjoining fish and chip shop – deserves special mention. Without a doubt the best fish and chips we’d eaten since Cornwall, the fresh, locally caught gummy was absolutely exquisite. Had we not felt our hearts struggle with the onslaught of oil, I think we would have gone back for another lunch or two whilst in town!

The beaches surrounding Robe were just magic… We put the Hilux through its paces in the dunes of Little Dip Conservation Park to the south of town, enjoying a morning at one of the remote, secluded beaches on the stunning white sand. The turquoise colour of the water had us all thinking back to the Aegean a few months ago. We all loved Little Dip so much that we went back twice, the second time with fishing gear to snag some of the mullet and salmon from the trough along the beach. Good times. Long Beach – the extensive stretch of sand to the Robe’s north – was also a fun afternoon, where the kids enjoyed a surf while I tried to reel in some salmon. So awesome to be able to enjoy such stunning beaches on a long weekend without any hint of crowds. Max commented during one of our visits to Little Dip, “These beaches would be absolutely packed if we were in California!” Too true.

One morning Max and I teed up with Col MacLean, a friend of Dave’s who starts each day between November and the end of April with a 7AM putt out to his crayfish pots off the coast of Robe. He was kind enough to allow Max and I to join him on his boat, the Isle of Skye, where we both enjoyed watching him and his deckie retrieve their six pots for the last haul of the 2021/22 season. Five crayfish landed in the boat, three of which were keepers, a fun start to the day.

We can’t thank Dave and Angie enough for allowing us to use the shack for the weekend, we could have stayed there for twice as long and still not wanted to leave! We’ll have to get back down there to some of those magic beaches once the weather warms up again…