Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/95079
editor'sletter From the editor... I had never heard of a beachworm until a couple of weeks ago. I grew up near the beach so I feel a bit silly not having a clue about something that has been right under my nose hundreds of times. Am I alone here? Recently, I was up at Seven Mile Beach, on the NSW North Coast, and I was lucky enough to be treated to a barbecue on the beach while a pod of whales frolicked not far offshore. Pure magic – one of those times when you just look around and think: Australia has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. After we finished our barbecued beef burgers, the local guide – a passionate fisherman – from Sundowner Tiona at Pacific Palms (an incredible tourist park amid stunning rainforest between a beach and an enormous lake) asked us if we'd like to go 'beach worming'. Apparently the worms on Seven Mile Beach are in abundance and they make for the best fishing bait around. When our man said they were big worms, and that there were thousands of them beneath our feet, I was slightly unsettled. Then I was told they had quite large mouths and had to laugh. Come on, how large can a worm's mouth be? I thought he was having a joke when he bent down to show us how the slippery suckers are captured, almost immediately getting into a sturdy crouch position and kicking off a tug of war with a worm I couldn't see. This was seconds after the worm had bravely stuck its head out, enticed by the piece of fish waved about on the sand above its hiding spot. I saw something move in the sand but was still unprepared for the outcome. Our man cursed after losing the battle and moved on to another spot on the beach. It's a very simple ritual, but a highly frustrating one. You wave a bag of dead fish across the sand to get the smell going, and when the tide goes out again, you look for worms popping their heads up in search of the food source. Then you zero in with plastic tweezers, and when the water goes out again you have a few seconds EDITOR Michelle Hespe Email: michelle.hespe@edgecustom.com.au DEPUTY EDITOR Emma Wheaton ASSISTANT EDITOR Mitch Brook SUB-EDITOR Liani Solari SENIOR DESIGNER Guy Pendlebury PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Sydney Stevenson PREPRESS COORDINATOR Tarn Mount PRINTER SOS Print & Media INTERNS Simone Henderson-Smart, Chelsea Anstee, Ana Barciela CONTRIBUTORS Christina Pfeiffer, Paula Heelan, Patrick Haddock, Matt Leacy, David Gilchrist, Jeremy Chunn, Ian Neubauer, Christine Retschlag, Gareth Thomas, Angie Willcocks, Baldeep S. Gill, Sue Webster ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Group sales manager: Nick Mason: 02 8962 2670 Email: nick.mason@edgecustom.com.au WA, SA and NT sales agent: Helen Glasson, Hogan Media: 08 9381 3991 Email: helen@hoganmedia.com.au to place a little bit of fish where you think the worm is, and up its head comes to have a munch. Then you dive in to grab it with the tweezers and pull with all your might. On the second attempt our guide pulled back with all his strength and out came a metre-long worm as thick as my little finger. I screeched. Like a big girl. A beachworm is not large. It's bloody enormous. Maybe I should try cooking one. Beachworm burgers could be the next big thing. Or maybe not. Enjoy your flight and the silly season. Drop us a line sometime – we love hearing from you. Michelle Hespe QLD sales agent: Michael Petersen, JF Media: 07 3844 5888 Email: michael@jfmedia.com.au Advertising coordinator: Kirsti Harju: 02 8962 2600 Email: advertising@edgecustom.com.au CHAIRMAN Chris Innis CEO Eddie Thomas EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Georgina Armour DIRECTOR Sarah Willmott OUTthere is published by Edge 51 Whistler Street, Manly NSW 2095 Phone: 02 8962 2600 Fax: 02 8962 2601 www. edgecustom.com.au OUTthere is published by Business Essentials (Australasia) Pty Limited (ABN 22 062 493 869), trading as Edge, under license to MGI Publishing Pty Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior written permission is strictly prohibited. Opinions expressed are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the Publisher. Information provided was believed to be correct at the time of publication. All reasonable efforts have been made to contact copyright holders. OUTthere cannot accept unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. If such items are sent to the magazine, they will not be returned. V OF THE YEAR MAGAZINE CUSTOM