Having fun …BUT

 
These very noisy mechanized wave runners are obviously have fun, albeit in a high risk way BUT they certainly didn’t impress the other beach one users. The fishermen were muttering about yoboos, the pipi gathers were yabbering about the strong smell of the spilt fuel and the tradition board riders shaking their heads in despair, What I notice is their wasn’t a single bird to be seen anywhere close by. Yet up at beach five there were plenty.
 
Is this a case of NIMBY over-reaction or is jet skying one of those recreations that really does needs to be controlled in national parks?

Recreational Pressures

Whilst the rest of the nation celebrates Australian Day, maybe the beach at Venus Bay is getting just a little more stressed each year. Certainly the number of “pipi tourists” peaks on public holidays like Australia Day. There are strict guidelines for pipi collection and hopefully we can avoid the fate of Port Stephens in NSW.

This year has also seen the common sighting of jet skis on the beach. Whilst these particular craft were used sensibly and away from swimmers, others where spotted “hooning” around over summer. It is worth remembering it not just beach goers, the fish and birds will also be distributed.

Once upon a time (just a few years ago) I seldom saw any rubbish on the Venus Bay beaches. Other than typical ocean flotsam and jetsam. Now a short look at the accumulations above the summer berm will show a surprisingly lot of litter, particularly plastic bottle tops, disposable bottles and plastic bags.

All of these stresses can be easily minimized by us, the beach users, so that Venus Bay can remain the wonderful stretch of beach it is today,