South of Watonga rocks is a leash free beach all the way to Lake Cathie.
To the north of Watonga rocks is the beach patrolled by the Tacking Point Surf Club and during the summer months there is a flagged section in a protected area which is a really nice swimming spot.
Last summer, a dog got into difficulty playing in the surf just south of these rocks, the owner jumped in to the surf to rescue his friend and both were caught in a rip and drowned.
A couple of years ago when fishing on the beach, three Indian tourists were cooling off in the waves close to me. One of them got into trouble and was being quickly washed out as the sand bar was fast eroding. Luckily my 4WD was parked fairly close and a quick sprint to gather up a couple of lengths of rope and lashing the end to the bull bar I was able to get in and get him back to safety.
The most tragic incident occurred in 2002.
The Story
FOR the past decade leading up to this event, the Collins family of Port Macquarie had enjoyed swimming at a secluded section of Lighthouse Beach that on one Saturday evening tragically claimed the lives of two of them and that of a family friend.
Bridie Meddemmen was swimming with Mrs Collins's six-year-old daughter in the unpatrolled area about 1.5km from the Tacking Point Surf Club.
The nine-year-old, who was not very far from the shore and got into difficulty when she was caught in a rip. Mrs Collins' daughter ran back up the beach to alert her mother.
Mrs Collins had her baby in her arms, and when she saw the young girl in trouble, she panicked and didn't want to leave her two-year-old child alone on the beach. She thought she could drag the other girl in with her arm,
Mother of three, Susan Louise Collins, 33, holding her youngest daughter aged 2, drowned while heroically trying to save Bridie but the sand gave way and she and the baby were also swept away.
A teacher of Technical and Applied Sciences at Camden Haven High School, Mrs Collins was a much-loved and respected member of the school community.
Four Sydney police divers scoured an area 100m out to sea, directly east of where Bridie got into difficulties however their search was unsuccessful.
Bridie was a nipper with the Port Macquarie Surf Club and Bridie's competitiveness earned her the most points in club championship rounds in the previous year. She was named the under eight age champion.
A Port Macquarie Surf Club spokesperson said Bridie was a very competitive nipper who always tried very hard. She was a really friendly little girl. She had a lot of girlfriends at nippers, they all stuck together each Sunday, and she was always in the top three in the flags and sprint events. Bridie was a great runner and she always joined in the team events.
The bodies of Mrs Collins and her daughter were found by surf lifesavers about 6.45pm the same evening, however an extensive air and water search failed to find Bridie. A search of the ocean and beaches between Tacking Point Surf Club and Lake Cathie continued for a couple of days with surf lifesavers using inflatable rescue boats to aid police. The Port Macquarie Sea Rescue vessel was put on stand-by while police divers searched the ocean floor. Rain and cloud slowed the search with limited visibility for the police divers, however, conditions had cleared later in the day. The seach was officially called off on the Monday which was three days after Bridie went missing.
At this time I was doing some work for a local charter company and flying school as an electrical engineer and ferry pilot. The family approached one of the directors who offered an aircraft and fuel for further search and I offered my time as the pilot.
Over the next few days I flew over fourteen hours in a grid pattern search from the river mouth to Bonny Hills and miles out to sea with family observers on board and the Tacking Point Lighthouse surf club boat on standby.
We were unable to locate a single trace of Bridie and to date, nothing has been found of her.
From this time on many of the locals refer to this location as Bridies rocks.
There is a plaque in commemoration of Bridie's life at S 31° 28.797' E 152° 55.726'.
Be careful if you would like to see this, at times it can be under sand or under water and in those cases this area is dangerous.
Here is a word of warning for this area. Many people and families often frequent this stretch of beach and children enjoy scrambling over the rocks. However rips and undertows are common along the beach here and to the south and due to this a fairly solid feeling sand bar that you might be standing on will just disappear. Many people have fallen prey to these situations.
To find the cache Go to the co-ordinates and there you will find signs placed by council. The signs here will give you the required information in order to locate the cache.
A = The number of letters in the two words under the red pictogram on the bottom sign divided by 2?
B = The number of red pictograms on the top sign?
C = The sum of the last two numbers before MOB.co
D = The number of all of the yellow and red pictograms on the top sign?
E = The number of pictograms on the top sign depicting a dog?
F = The number of times that the council logo appears on all the signs?