Imagine living on the water's edge in a quiet setting, with balmy breezes and no traffic for just $6 a day!

Even with restrictions it must be Bermuda's best real estate deal and Bermudians are getting in line to snap up the best spots...if only for a maximum of about 105 days each summer.

The Island has returned to normal after the Cup Match holiday, but for the die-hard campers, living in tents and braving the elements, life couldn't be better. Even the discomforts pale in comparison to the advantages of sleeping under the stars at designated camp grounds...fishing for your food and learning a few survival skills.

“Nothing's better than camping, it's peaceful, I knock off, relax, put my feet overboard and that sets the night right,” said Ferry Reach camper Antoine (Squid) Smith, who is in his second year of camping and loving the experience.

“I'll be out here in May next year and all the way to September. There are no drawbacks, it's just perfect. Sometimes I go home, but mostly when I knock off I come straight out here.”

Shannon Tuzo and another camper more known by his nickname “Mr.. Gilmore”, are camping near each other at Coney Island. They see camping as the chance to get away from civilisation. Living in the outdoors, cooking on portable stoves and just roughing it for a few months makes for a nice change to routine.

And the recent heavy rain and the threat of a hurricane only brought more adventure to the lives of the campers who refused to budge.

“People can play their music, but everybody has to enjoy it, not music with a whole bunch of swearing,” said “Mr. Gilmore” as he washed dishes. He has been camping every summer for about 13 years.

“I prefer it here at Coney Island, I wouldn't go anywhere else.”

Another neighbour is Debra Bascome, who likes camping so much she travelled all the way from Somerset to spend her two-weeks' vacation camping at Coney Island.

She would prefer to camp closer to home, but available sites are scarce in the West End. Chaplin Bay is the only site for designated camping in the West End, she claimed.

“But there aren't many trees to work with,” she pointed out. “You need trees to keep the tent cool.

“I have petitioned the MPs to get some land on the base (former Naval Annex). I catch the ferry mornings with my bike and there is a lot of land there, old derelict houses that could be used for showers. I've spoken to my MP Walter Lister about it.

“I don't like to have to come all the way down here to camp. This is my fourth year down here and I just came in yesterday for two weeks. I'm a Cup Match person and I stayed in Somerset for the game.”

Ms. Bascome admits the other campers look out for each other and their belongings.

“I've gotten to know everybody, I don't have any problems with anybody stealing,” she said. “A lot of the people here are gone to work. I went to work from here last year but this year I decided to take some time off. “I have my daughter, granddaughter and some friends who come in. Next week is a big game (Eastern Counties cricket) down here and I will have some friends coming down.”

She added: “Some of these guys cook out of the ground, but I have everything modern. They really camp, but I'm one of those modern people. Down here it seems to rain everyday, they say the trees draw the rain. But it doesn't rain long and it doesn't seem to rain anywhere else.”

The recent heavy rain did not deter the die-hard campers who braved the elements in tents designed to withstand wind and rain. And even when the centipedes come out in search of water, the campers take it in their stride.

“I've been bitten twice, both times in the week of Cup Match, but it doesn't bother me,” said Danika Gibbons, who was introduced to camping by her mother as a child and looks forward to it every summer. Ferry Reach is their preferred spot.

“It's very relaxing, weekends is probably the best time. I know a lot of women who wouldn't even spend a night, but to each his own.

“All women think about is the insects but I don't see any spiders. I'm right near the water and you do get water rats running through the trees. Nothing bothers me!”