Adelaide River - Daly River
Northern Territory

The drive from Adelaide River to Daly River took a couple of hours and we arrived around midday on Sunday, May 19^th (Pete’s birthday), checking into The Banyan Farm Caravan Park. We didn't want to commit to too many days until we had a chance to see what the sites were like. I hate living on top of other campers and would rather re-locate to one of the other dog-friendly parks if that were the case. The lady on reception was exceptionally friendly and took us around the available sites. The ones she offered us were all drive-through, roomy sites with trees on each side. Excellent! We booked in for a week.

The Banyan Farm is a bit of a contradiction. Some parts of it are beautifully presented (the pool for instance) and other parts are rough and ready. There's no real sense of order about it. Maybe it’s because of the recent flooding – or maybe it’s just the way it is. All around is stuff half done, bits and pieces lying around, tired amenities, weedy gardens and boggy or dusty driveways. But there's also a sense of freedom, of few rules - it's all laid back and easy going. Even James can wander around at will. The age group is massively retirees and the sole reason for staying at Banyan, or anywhere else here at Daly for that matter, is to fish. Every camp has a boat. You would either love it or hate it. I liked it from the get go!

Almost as soon as we arrived James had a visitor. The little white fluffball from next door, Wag, popped in to say hello. He was delighted! A short time later he had another lady come to call, Reba, and she was rather large and intimidating. One of the permanent residents, it was clearly her job to meet and greet all newcomers and make them feel at home. Once James came to terms with her size he became quite besotted with her gentle, but playful ways.

Late in the afternoon of our first day Brian took James and me on a tour of the local area, showing us the sights of Daly River (with the exception of the Naiuyu Aboriginal Community) - the new bridge, the crossing, the pub and the other caravan parks. There's not much to Daly. The river is the one and only real attraction, and while it is lovely, the only thing you can do on it is fish – and only from a boat at that (unless you want to be eaten by a crocodile!).

We launched the tinnie just before dusk on Sunday and took some wine and beer to sip on while we put out some cherabin pots. Cherabin are the primary bait used to catch Barra here at the Daly and they are readily harvested on the muddy banks. All along the river edges there were pieces of string with tags attached, tied to twigs or small trees. Each one had a name on it. The rule is: three nets per person, each identifying its owner, and a maximum of 10 cherabin per person in custody at any one time. As we were tying a pot to a tree on the edge of the bank opposite the mooring pontoon, a huge salt water crocodile swam idly by, its body high on the water so you could clearly see its massive size. It appeared to check out our pots so Brian decided to chase it off. I was pleased it chose flight rather than fight!

Before dinner our neighbours, Graham and Monica, along with Wag, popped over for a chat and some drinks. That made us feel very welcome and very much at home.

First thing next morning we collected half a dozen cherabin from the pots. That was the first of three outings in the tinnie for the day. The moorings at Banyan are rough and ready. It's quite an endeavour to get on to the boat carrying rods, tackle box, towels, drinks etc. The steps down to it are steep and the floating walkways are made of wire mesh that has big gaps, so James had no hope of walking on it. That meant he had to be carried along with all the gear. The whole thing moves a fair bit with wind and tidal flow, and I nearly dropped James in a couple of times. Brian suggested it might be easier for him to go alone to the pontoon and drive the tinnie around to the boat ramp while I could take the Beast with James and all the gear and load/unload everything at the bottom of the ramp, which is what we did thereafter. It proved to be much easier than negotiating the pontoon.

While we both had a hit or two on our lines while fishing during our first day on the water, we ended up empty handed by dusk. We did, however, see a stunning Jabiru standing on a sandbar in the middle of the river. What a handsome bird. Bright pink twiggy legs that seem to go on forever, a beautiful deep green head, long black beak, pristine white body and blue/black wings. We were able to get quite close and take some great photos. We also came across a fairly large snake sunning itself on a dead tree trunk midstream.  As we circled it lifted its head, watching us the whole time. It was black in colour with a small head and well over a meter in length. Our neighbour, Monica, later said it was probably a water python and harmless. A few years ago when Brian was on the Daly he had a snake swim toward the boat and he had to hit it with his rod to stop it getting in. He thought he'd better share that piece of information so I would know what to do in the event it happened again. Brian hates snakes (as does my daughter, Emma)!

Tuesday morning’s cherabin haul was better than our first day and we took advantage of the cool morning air, heading a short distance upstream to have a pre-breakfast fish. Brian pulled in a nice Barra which gave him a good run for his money. Sadly (for Brian) it was a tad too short, so got a reprieve. The fish were definitely biting but it wasn't our morning.

Before lunch we went into the local Aboriginal Community Settlement at Naiuyu, just 10 minutes drive up the river. There is a small supermarket, service station, medical centre, lovely sports facilities for the locals and a large, well-sealed airport runway right beside the town. I was surprised at how relatively well kept everything looked. It is an alcohol-free zone and the locals were friendly and presented well, unlike some towns in the north where we have seen drunken Aboriginals fighting with each other in the street. We did a spot of shopping, and then pulled up beside the airport so Brian could get online for work. There is limited network coverage at Banyan, but we have found most aboriginal communities in the NT have excellent connectivity.

Mid-afternoon Monica came over to our van and I showed her "Nomads Notes", "Drop Box" and "BlogSpot". She had been manually keeping trip data and maintaining contact with family and friends via Facebook. She seemed pretty impressed with the programs I use and hopefully will be able benefit from them as much as I do. I find a combination of all three is great for tracking everything we do and spend, keeping data and photos remotely secure, and sharing our journey with others.

Around 4pm that afternoon we took the tinnie out again and had success! I caught a 58cm Barra after a ripper battle. We had lots of good, hard hits as well. The full moon along with big tides is only a few days off, and apparently that's when the fish come on the bite - here's hoping! With enough fillets from the day's catch for two meals we shared it with Monica and Graham, who in turn shared their mango dessert with us. Our VERY fresh Barra dinner was excellent!

We were on the river first thing Wednesday morning under overcast skies with a rather miserly cherabin harvest. It wasn't long before the Barra snagged all of them, so we headed upstream toward Naiuyu to explore the river. The section of the Daly we are on is quite wide with steep banks both sides and lots of evidence of the recent flooding. Brian wanted to get up as far as the river crossing, but we came across some quite shallow areas and decided not to risk running aground and damaging the prop. It was a delightful scenic cruise, all the more comfortable without the usual hot sun beating down on us. Back at camp we got stuck into some chores, which included a bath for James. By mid-afternoon we were on the river again, this time fishing with what I call jelly beans - soft plastic fish in all kinds of colours with a big hook sticking out of each one. You drop them over the side of the boat like live bait, and then jiggle them up and down. It's a lot easier than sticking your hand into a bucket of angry live cherabin. They take great delight in latching on to your fingers with their big nippers, most of the time drawing blood.

Given how few cherabin we had collected that morning we decided to relocate the pots before baiting them late that afternoon, and fortunately did it before we started fishing. We sure wouldn't have done it at the end of our session. While we were throwing our lines in upstream of Banyan, the heavens opened up and it fairly pelted down raining. We kept fishing for a while thinking it would pass, but no, it hammered down for a good 15 minutes before the tinnie started to fill with water. We hightailed it back to the ramp, the three of us completely drenched. Brian went and got the trailer so we could pull the boat in. No point in leaving it at the pontoon to gather more rain. When we got back to the van the site was under water and wouldn't you know it...we had left the roof hatches in the van wide open and we had water everywhere, including a wet end of our bed. Bugger!

Thursday morning the river was up a good half meter, whether because of the heavy rain or the increasing high tide as we approached the full moon I'm not sure. Either way, it certainly made a difference to the cherabin. We pulled nineteen out of the pots - all a good size. It was a fun fishing session with lots of action. Between us we landed three Barra, two on cherabin and one on a poppa. The largest measured 50cm so they all went back.

In the middle of the day we took a drive to a funny little place called "Eagle View". It's a house on a hill just up the road that has a shed out the back that sells "stuff". You toot the horn as you go up the driveway and an old bloke comes out, lets you into the shed, then tries to flog you heaps of stuff. We came away $90 lighter but with a frozen loaf of bread, a new cherabin pot, some jelly bean lures, a sarong (beats me why) and a wiz-bang gadget that he assured us would keep the mozzies away - an absolute bargain at $50.  The gadget actually worked. We were able to sit outside in the evening for the first time at Banyan and not get carried away by millions of the biting little buggers!

Friday's morning activities followed our normal Daly routine - cherabin pots, fishing, breakfast. Once again we caught several Barra - but all undersize. They did give us a good fight - we certainly couldn't complain about the sport side of fishing.

We did have a couple of funny moments while tied up to a tree at a small creek inlet upstream toward Naiuyu. I had a strong bite on my 80lb hand line just as Brian's phone rang. It was an important client so the call took priority. The fish took a heap of my line then snagged me. I was standing at the front of the tinnie using my entire body weight to drag it off the snag when the line suddenly gave way hurling me backwards across the boat. I was almost catapulted out, going completely arse over, and hitting the side before ending up in the bottom of the boat with arms and legs flailing - somewhat like a beetle on its back. I was in such an awkward position between the seats that I couldn't get up. Brian didn't even pause in his phone conversation. Five minutes later when his call ended and I was still on the floor of the boat he casually asked "are you ok?". Thank god I didn't go overboard - I doubt he would have stopped talking!

A little later I was casting a poppa toward the bank using an overhead action. I was surprised when it didn't land in the water at the designated spot. I looked at Brian and said "where did that go?" and was suddenly struck on the top of my head. The line had looped itself over a small protruding branch directly overhead and then descended upon me from above, clonking me on the scone. We both cracked up.

James was really restless while we were out that morning, and a couple of times looked like he was actually going to jump ship. When we got back to the ramp he fairly launched himself off the boat before we had even come close to a halt. He ran full throttle up the ramp and made for the nearest spot available to empty his bowels. His bottom exploded - he had a good case of runny bum. Poor little bugger.

For lunch we decided to go to the Riverside Inn (the local pub) and left James in the van as we would normally do if going somewhere he can’t go. The pub is pretty shabby with a small bar and a pool table inside, and all seating outside, both front and rear, mostly under cover. There were several lists of names stuck to the wall with headings "Banned for a Week", " Banned for a Month", "Banned Forever" etc. They were quite long lists. There were groups of travellers from various Daly River caravan parks having lunch out the back of the pub on the deck above the river (the aboriginals were out the front), so we ordered fish and chips at $10.50, got our drinks and seated ourselves on one of their tables. We joined in the conversation and had a great time and a lovely feed. Not only that but the chardy was bloody lovely and the VB nice and cold.

When we got back to the van a couple of hours later however, the warm fuzzy feeling of a drink and a feed quickly disappeared as we discovered poor James STILL had a runny bum! Mmm.....we had a bit of cleaning up to do including washing all the bedding. Bugger!

The last couple of days the weather has cooled down significantly to the point where the doona has gone on the bed for the first time in many weeks. It has also been very windy. Heading into wind at full speed in the tinnie on the river just about blows James' eyes back into his head. I'm wondering if I can get doggy sunglasses. He does seem to squint when we have spent 3 or 4 hours on the water in the sun too. I'd hate to damage his vision. Google research required!

                                                                   I love to fish!

Yesterday we headed 20 odd km downstream in the morning to a place at which Brian and Blackie have always had success. Browns. Well that was a big waste of time. We didn't get so much as a nibble. On the way back we stopped at any spot that looked likely and used our day’s bountiful supply of cherabin with gay abandon. That mostly meant we got a bite, immediately followed by a snag, a broken line and a re-rigging job for Brian. With 4 lines going he spent a fair portion of his time replacing hooks and sinkers while I happily fished away until I got snagged again. Having said that, we did land three large fish which we photographed, threw back and later identified from our fish book in the van as Oxeye Herring. They have the hugest eyes and fight like crazy on the line. Along with that we picked up a couple of undersized Barra and a big, horrid catfish.

The conversation currently around the camp is all about how woeful the fishing is this year. Die hard fishermen who have come to the Daly for umpteen years reckon it is the worst season they have ever experienced. Boats are going up to 80km downstream to the river mouth and still coming back empty-handed. The Banyan Farm has more campers moving out than moving in, which means the word is travelling. This time of year they should be getting busier. Without good fishing on the Daly there is nothing to draw people in. It is really disappointing for everyone.

This morning we had no luck either but I did land an ugly, scary eel that Brian had to unwind a whole heap of my line from. He didn’t like that one bit. They are way too much like snakes! James still has runny bum so we left him tied up outside the van. If he doesn’t get better we’ll take him to the vet at Humpty Doo in the next couple of days. We plan to stay a few more days here. For one thing we enjoy being at Banyan, particularly with the freedom James is allowed. We also love the large, shady sites, the friendly people and dogs, the pair of peacocks that roam around and interact with everyone (I’m surprised James doesn’t chase them!) and the general sense of serenity this place offers. And we are having heaps of fun on the river catching fish every day, albeit for sport only. Also, our new-found friends from Berry Springs, Doug and Dione, arrive tomorrow, so we want to spend at least a couple of days with them.

Not only that, we are undecided as to where to head next!  

We are now at the pub so we can post this blog. As you can see Brian is entertaining a couple of the local kids....sooo cute!

Mary River - Adelaide River
Northern Territory

With coffee in hand we hit the river around 7am on Wednesday. It is such a beautiful time of day. The Arnhem Hwy crossed the river not far downstream from our camp at Mary River Wilderness Retreat and Brian thought the 4 sets of pylons under the bridge would be a perfect spot to get Barra. It didn't take long before I had a couple of good strikes on my lure.

                                                  Early mornings on the river are stunning

You have to be either highly skilled or bloody lucky to turn a strike into a catch and we were neither. On the way back we checked the cherabin (I have been incorrectly spelling it cherubin) pots and were surprised to find one had been totally destroyed....mmm....crocodile! There were no cherabin in the others.

                                              This is a big freshie but there were salties too   

After breaky I walked James without a lead using voice command to maintain control, even though there were dozens of wallabies in every direction. I had been working on this method of control pretty successfully and thought I had him under check - but no - the little sebastion took off like a shot out of a gun after a pack of roos and headed into thick bush. I called and called but with no response. I went back to the van and got Brian to help me search. I was in a total panic because he had been gone for a good 15 minutes and I was sure the larger wallabies would attack him or lead him to water and drown him. Or he'd attract the attention of the many crocs we had seen nearby.
Eventually we found him absolutely exhausted, wet and filthy. He got a bath, put on the lead and sent to the naughty spot for the rest of the day.

Late morning we went back out on the river with a picnic lunch (minus James, much to his chagrin) and threw some lures around where a small creek intersected with the river. We did it for a good 40 minutes with nothing and Brian wanted to move to another spot. "Just one more cast", I said ...and would you believe it ...... I hooked something pretty big. As I reeled him in Brian was yelling "it's a big Barra" and guess what... it was! I actually caught a 78cm Barra on a lure and landed it. Pure SKILL! I was so excited. You could not wipe the smile off my face. When we got back to camp Brian filleted it and we got enough fillets for three good feeds for the two of us. Brian pan fried a couple on the Baby Q for dinner. It tasted absolutely beautiful. It just melted in your mouth.

                                                              Smile, smile, smile

In the afternoon Brian gave me a haircut (my first in over 3 months). He used my Remington Professional Haircut Kit (the one that I clip James with) and an 18mm trimming guide which he just ran all over my head. The he got to work with the bare clippers and did around my ears and the back hair line. Finally he finished off with the thinning scissors around my face and through the thick bits. And you know what? It looks like crap!

                                                  Mmmmm......looks like I've had a few!

Just joking babe ...it's actually not too bad.

Thursday started as had become the norm at MRWR with a stint on the river before breakfast. We returned to camp empty handed as usual and decided to go for a drive up to Shady Creek. We left straight after a work session for Brian at the Bark Hut Inn (twice daily visits to get mobile coverage) travelling east on the Arnhem Hwy for 10km before taking a left turn to head toward Van Diemen Gulf.

                                 
                                                    The Bark Hut Inn (it is made of bark!)

Shady Creek is a well known fishing spot on the Mary River around 25km upstream from the mouth. The 50 km of road to it is half sealed and the dirt section is fine for towing a van. We did think we could maybe do a couple of cheap nights there ($3.30 pp honesty box) and potentially improve our success rate with the barra. There were two other vans camped at the quite large park which sits right on a couple of good boat ramps separated by a barrage. The barrage stops the salt water from moving upstream. One boat ramp runs down into sea water and the other, only 100 metres away, into fresh.
The camping area was not bad but it was a "No pets" space, not that we would probably have worried about that if we were only staying one night, but unless we're in transit we figure we need at least two nights to get a feel for a place. And if we're fishing we need two or three days. There wasn't anywhere the boat could be tied up to the bank either, nor was it as pretty a spot as MRWR, so we decided against relocating.

We are having a bit of trouble with the battery system in the van. For some reason the battery does not re-charge when we are plugged into 240 volt. Normally our solar panels would lift the battery charge but we are parked under a thick, shady tree so we aren't getting any power generated form the panel either. We'll make a call to Jayco to see if they can advise what the problem/solution is. We may have to book the van in at Darwin Jayco or go to an automotive electrician.

Aside from my Barra, the fishing over the last few days hadn't been that good and we were getting a bit disillusioned with it, so yesterday we decided we would do one more night at MRWR and would spend the day cleaning. The van was covered in red dust, windows and flyscreens filthy, bikes disgusting and boat smelly.


We followed the normal morning routine - fishing, breaky, Bark Hut - then we hit the scrubbing brushes and together we worked like ten men till we had everything looking shiny and new. It was quite humid so we got really hot and sweaty. Thank God for ice cold beers and swimming pools!
Later in the day James and I drove the boat downstream to the ramp at full speed. It goes like a cut cat with one up and a small dog (sitting in my chair in the front of course) and we had a play zooming up and down the river while we waited for another boat to vacate the ramp. It is so much easier launching and retrieving with Blackie's trailer.

                                              We loved the pool tho it was very warm water

                                                        We like driving the boat

Just before dark Brian and I went for a ride around the property on the freshly cleaned bikes. We were pretty happy with our day's efforts - the boat washed and stowed on top of the now clean Beast, fresh linen on the bed and windows we could see through. We decided to leave packing chairs, tables, mats etc till the morning.

Big mistake - it absolutely poured down raining all night. Bugger!

The heavy rain overnight caused mayhem for some of our neighbours - collapsed awnings, drenched bedding and washed out camps. Our outdoor stuff was saturated and we debated whether to stay another day at MRWR to dry it out. Brian surveyed the scene and made the call to move on early and get it out to dry at Adelaide River, where we would spend one night en-route to the Daly.

On the road we listened to the final few chapters of "Life of Pi". We both agreed it was a rather unusual story - entertaining but often laborious. We picked up a few supplies at Humpty Do and were set up at the (this time) very crowded Adelaide River Inn caravan park by lunchtime. Our last stay at AR had been three weeks ago and it was relatively quiet, as was the Stuart Highway. We were surprised by the huge increase in RV travellers heading north. I can see why the NT locals and newspapers talk about the "Grey Nomad Invasion".

Aside from breaking our trip into two small days of travel, the main reason for calling into AR was to fill up our tanks with water. The water at the Adelaide River Inn is absolutely delicious. It is clear and slightly soft, and sooo much nicer than water we have tasted at any other spot in the NT. We also wanted to stay somewhere we both had network coverage so as to touch base with family and friends, update the blog and so Brian could get all his work stuff in order before going completely off the radar, as will probably be the case at Daly River.

Late in the day after washing, drying, tank filling and work we had a long swim in the pool then took a bike ride to Mt Bundy Station, a few km east of the highway. Aside from our caravan park behind the pub, accommodation at AR is available at the very barren showgrounds (which we'd checked out last time and didn't like) or Mt Bundy. We rode in and around it to find what appeared to be a working farm property set right on the Adelaide River with sites dotted through it, lots of animals and plenty of space. We liked it and will no doubt try it out when next passing through. We had to pedal home hard with the power settings on the electric bikes  set on high to beat an approaching storm. We made it back to the van in the nick of time before the heavens opened up.
                                                    
This morning we are off to Daly River....at long last!

 

Berry Springs - Dundee Beach - Mary River
Northern Territory

Some of our nights have been rather restless, not only because it is hot but we have both been suffering with sand fly bites which itch like crazy at night. We've tried all kinds of preventative measures and treatments but still manage to get a bite or two each day.

 After talking to a few people and doing some online reading I have made up a concoction of Avon Skin So Soft bath oil mixed with ti-tree oil and water. I spray it on and rub it in morning and night then cover it with a layer of Tropical Strength Aeroguard. It works ok for mozzies and flies but those little midgee buggers seem to find a spot or two each day to attack. Further discussions with locals lead me to believe if I add Dettol instead of water I might have more success. We'll see. Brian just uses Bushman's which is full of Deet (not on my skin!) and he has lots of mozzie bites as well. We have found the best treatment once bitten (by anything) is to dip a cloth in boiling water and apply it for as long as you can stand the heat directly onto the bite. It instantly takes the itch away and the effect lasts several hours.

 Following on from my last blog, mid-afternoon of our last day at Tumbling Waters (May 7th), we jumped in the Beast and drove 10 km or so to Darwin River Reservoir, the main water storage for the city. It is a big dam. James loved walking along the edge of the wall. He thinks he’s a bit of an acrobat. After that we went to the "Farm Shop", which is really just a shed where you can buy mango ice-cream and smoothies. James and I had the ice-cream and Brian opted for a mango and banana smoothie. Delicious! Our last stop on our local afternoon sortie was the Berry Springs Nature Park which is a lovely tropical oasis where you can swim in three waterholes with water cascading between them. I was hoping we could have a swim but it was closed for swimming due to the presence of crocs, which was a shame, though we did have a nice walk through the park.

Back at the van I pulled up Dundee Beach on Google Earth and it did look very inviting. I also found an excellent website called willyweather.com.au which gave detailed information about forecast winds, tides, wave heights etc at Dundee. That gave me itchy feet so I suggested to Brian we head up there the following day and not worry about our dwindling supplies or lack of spare fridge. That way we could take advantage of the afternoon high tide and have plenty of room in the van fridge for all the fish we'd catch. There were still 10 sausages, packets of Deb and dried peas if all our fishing efforts failed. Brian started packing up that evening.

 By 10 am Wednesday we had bid farewell to our new-found friends, Doug and Dione, and departed Tumbling Waters for The Lodge of Dundee about an hour's drive west. We set up camp before lunch under some lovely shady trees facing toward the sea, only 100 or so metres away.

 The Lodge of Dundee which sits pretty much on the beach on an area covering a few rough acres is kinda ramshackle. The pub is a funny looking tin and timber structure which might have started as a bit of a shack and appears to have been added to multiple times. Behind it there are lots of run down de-mountable buildings, tired amenities and bits and pieces of equipment left out to rust. Having said that, there is a certain charm about the place and it was easy to settle in and feel comfortable.

Once set up Brian went over to the pub to pay for 2 nights. The lady behind the counter engaged him in conversation about what we were doing travel-wise then, to his surprise, offered him a role as caretaker for a few months of the Wet! Now that's something interesting for us to consider.....

 After some discussion about that proposal (it hasn't quite been put to bed yet), Brian put the boat on the trailer and got everything set up for us to go fishing. We checked the ramp to find the tide well out and the end of the boat ramp a long way from the water's edge. We waited a couple of hours till the incoming tide hit the bottom of the ramp and launched at around 3.30.

It was a bit daunting heading out to sea in a little tin boat and we were both a bit nervous. Brian used the depth sounder to locate a good spot a few hundred metres off shore where we dropped anchor and threw our lines in. The fish struck almost immediately but they were quite difficult to land. Both of us had our bait taken multiple times and on a few occasions the lines were completely broken off even though we were using 30lb braid with 60lb traces. Most of the ones we hooked and started to pull in bent our rods practically in two, and then got off before we could get them to the surface. It was frustrating but really exciting. In the end we only landed two undersized spotted cod.

 Within an hour or so of going out the wind blew up a bit and the water became quite choppy. Boats started coming back to the ramp from all directions - and they were boats 5 times the size of ours. We headed closer inshore to more sheltered water and waited while the $25 a pop launch/retrieve tractor pulled 6 or 8 boats in ahead of us. We retrieved our own. Back on shore we checked out the carcass bin beside the fish gutting area and there were dozens of fish that would have been a meter or so in length, many of which were Black Jewfish. We were really looking forward to getting back onto the water with stronger lines. We were determined to catch some big ones of our own!

                                                         
                                                      Heading into the boat ramp at dusk

Next morning before breakfast Brian re-rigged the four rods we were using with stronger braid and traces. We wandered down to the boat ramp to find tractor-man hard at work and a queue of big boats waiting for a launch. There wasn't a slot for small fry like us for a while. We would probably need to wait until after lunch for the next incoming tide. I headed over to the pub/post office/general store to pick up some supplies. All I managed to get was a frozen loaf of white bread. Apparently when you come to Dundee Beach you bring everything to need. The closest half decent supermarket is back at Berry Springs and even that is really just a general store.

 We cruised around the place in the Beast for an hour or so and discovered lots of holiday shacks all on huge, very tropically vegetated blocks, many with beach frontage. From Google Earth we could see there was an airstrip behind the Lodge but we could not for the life of us locate it on the ground. We did find a spot where we could drive onto the beach at low tide. The beaches are stunningly beautiful and great for walking.

 Mid-afternoon we headed a km or so out to fish - this time minus James who didn't appear to particularly enjoy the previous day's outing. He had a conniption every time the anchor chain dragged on the hull. And he got in the way. We got bites straight away and Brian pulled in two small sharks. Then my line got taken by something REALLY BIG.

This fish was huge. He dragged my line around and under the boat trying to get off for a good 10-15 minutes with me barely able to keep the rod tip out of the water. Brian was yelling at me to get control, but no sooner did I manage to reel some line in before he took out as much again. My forearms were aching and I was sweating like crazy. I lasted as long as I could before handing over to Brian. Then he took over the battle for another 5 minutes or so before the rod actually snapped in half. But we didn't give up. The fish must have been tiring and with half a rod Brian managed to start pulling him in. We were desperate to see what we had caught but wouldn't you know it, he made a last ditch stand and the line snapped. Bugger!

The rest of the afternoon yielded a couple of small spotted cod and a fingermark. All of them went back. It was a bit of an anti-climax after hooking the big one.

                                                  Winding down after a big day at the office

 Friday’s early high tide was swirling over the boat ramp with such ferocity they were using two tractors to launch. The 7 meter tides at Dundee Beach make for some fast flowing water! That was no place for our little tinnie so James and I went walking on the beach while Brian re-did some of the lines. When the water eventually did look suitable there were cops and a police boat on the ramp and we knew we wouldn't pass a safety check as our flares were out of date. So we waited. By 11 am it was low tide and we'd missed our chance. Hmmm....time for plan B.

                                                   The boat ramp at high tide
Back at camp we were visited by Colleen (who'd spoken to Brian about caretaking) and her husband John. We had misunderstood their proposal. It was an offer for us to house sit while they had a holiday in December, January and February. They wanted us to go over to their house and have a look at it, which we agreed to do later in the day. John told us about another launch area in a creek at the back of the Lodge, so we went driving along a network of tight, sandy tracks through the dense tropical scrub. We found some stunning spots where the track came out to the beach. Not a soul in sight and beautiful reef formations emerging from the pristine golden sand. The boat ramp, however, was definitely not a goer for us.

Brian was a bit over the whole boat ramp and tide thing so late in the afternoon we decided to start preparations for a departure to Mary River on the road into Kakadu. As we were loading the tinnie onto the car the winch seized up and we had to both push it up onto the rack on top of the Beast. Luckily it was almost up there when it happened. As it turned out the cable had become jammed and with a great deal of skill, ingenuity and brute force Brian was able to fix it. Around 4 we dropped in on Colleen and John, had a glass of wine, a look around and a chat, then took the rods and some drinks to a spot John had suggested to fish for salmon off the rocks.

 That was great fun. We sat high on a rock formation with the waves lapping below and as the sun went down I fished, champagne glass in hand, Brian sipped on a beer and did the job of re-baiting my line while James sat and gazed out to sea. The exercise yielded one little Mulloway which lives to tell another tale, but it was one of those magic times!

 Saturday morning we were on the road by 9.30. We had a few options around where exactly we would stay in the Mary River area including a free camp at the Corroboree Billabong boat ramp, or stay at one of three caravan parks; the Corroboree Park Inn, the Mary River Wilderness Retreat or the Bark Hut Inn, all on the Arnhem Hwy. All were within comfortable driving distance to Darwin for us to pick up the fridge Monday, yet close enough to Kakadu NP that we could leave James in the van and do day trips. We'd both gone a bit cold on the idea of kennelling him. Our preference was to free camp, but when we got out to the Billabong there was absolutely no shade and it wasn't an attractive spot. We weren’t too taken with the Corroboree Park Inn on first impressions so we continued on to MRWR. It looked really nice on the web, they took dogs and it was on the river, so we headed straight there.

 We were delighted to find it was even better than we expected. The sites were large and well shaded right beside the Mary River and we could launch the tinnie and leave it tied up on the bank less than 100 metres from our van. As a bonus, the cost was only $27 per night, which was a fair bit better than the $33-$34 we had been paying at the previous two locations. And as with all other caravan parks in NT so far, there was hardly anyone there.

As soon as we were settled in Brian put the tinnie on the trailer and we launched it. The river is apparently very similar to the Daly in size and appearance so Brian was confident we would catch a barra. We fished for a couple of hours before dark and caught two keepers of the Sooty Grunter family. The one I caught grabbed the pilchard on my hook the moment it touched the water. It was a very easy catch! While we were out there we saw a large crocodile that just floated in the water a few meters away and watched us. We departed that area with some haste and were very careful as we tied the tinnie to the bank in fading light.

We came to the quick conclusion that this would be a good place to prop for a while and enjoy the hassle-free fishing.

 Mother's Day was our 60^th day on the road and we were on the river as soon as we woke up, me with my customary strong black plunger coffee in a travel mug. It was a glorious morning (as are all mornings we have so far experienced in the NT) and the water was like glass. There were no cherubin in the any of the 4 pots Brian had put out the night before so we threw lures and trolled. I was trolling with a poppa as we passed a crocodile floating mid-stream and got quite a fright when he took after it with a flurry of speed. I reeled it in as fast as I could but that only had the effect of drawing him closer to the boat. Man that was scary! Brian sped up and the croc gave up - thank goodness. We didn't have much fishing luck - the single small bream-type fish caught by Brian got thrown back. James loved it in the tinnie - especially when we went fast. He had a huge smile as the wind blew his ears and whiskers back.

After a late breaky we took a short drive a couple of km west on the Arnhem Hwy to the Bark Hut Inn where we could get phone coverage. Being Mother's Day Brian wanted to call his mum and I wanted to ring my girls so they could all wish me Happy Mother's Day. We were pleased we had chosen to stay at Mary River Wilderness Retreat rather than the Bark Hut. It was more expensive and nowhere near as nice. After that we had a lunch time swim in the beautiful pool at the Retreat and then Brian took me onto the deck of the restaurant for a couple of glasses of Mother's Day chardonnay. Lovely! Late in the afternoon we headed upstream to explore the Mary River, threw some lures and fished with pilchards and squid, but didn't get a touch.

Yesterday (Monday) we left early to go 110 km into Darwin to pick up the car fridge from the repairer and top up on supplies. On the way in we stopped at "Window on the Wetlands", a visitor information centre on the Arnhem Hwy. It was well worth a look and provided an insight into the area from the perspective of seasonal impacts, wildlife and 20,000 years of Aboriginal culture.

 The good thing about travelling around in the NT is the 130km speed limit. In Melbourne the Beast had only done up to about 110kph and towing the van we sit on 95-100kph. On the way into Darwin however we were screaming along at a very comfortable 135kph. That was fun. The Beast was absolutely purring. Brian loves his Beast!

One of my jobs in Darwin was to return two 2 litre Box Monsters to the Stuart Park Woolworths Liquor store. I had purchased them there on our last trip in, and when I tasted the first cask it was totally off - so I didn't bother opening the second. I thought I they would simply give me replacements from a fresher batch, or a credit, and presumably an apology...but no. I ended up in a BIG argument with the shop assistant who offered me another two from the same batch (unacceptable) or I could have two with an expired use by date (What??). I cracked it so he ordered me out of the store. As a matter of principal I was not going to be so easily dismissed by Jeremy the jerk so I got on the phone to head office and we eventually picked up two fresh replacement casks of Chardy from the Palmerston Woolworths along with an apology and a little gift. We also spent just on $400 on food and grog while there. That was my excitement for the day (the fight I mean – not the spend)!

It was actually a pretty expensive day all up. The fridge cost $250 and we picked up a replacement 240 volt element for the Dometic fridge in the van (we had been running it on gas since it started playing up). That was another $105. Fuel $100, chemist $100 and Bunnings $20. That's thrown our daily average spend up a bit. In fact, when we set out on this trip we estimated our costs to run at around $750 per week. We are currently averaging a bit over $1000. We reckon however that there will be times when we are free camping, catching fish and staying put and daily costs will plummet.

 It’s now 5pm on day four here at Mary River. We’re at the Bark Hut Inn having a drink and doing work (Brian) and blog (me). We’ve been on the river again a couple of times today and Brian caught a 60cm Saratoga as well as a big catfish that went back. We are smoked in at the moment with a fire burning close by and showering us with ash. They burn cool and slow after the wet and MRWR is very green so no problems. Now we are all stocked up with food and grog we will stay put a few days. It really is a delightful spot here.

Adelaide River - Berry Springs - Litchfield National Park - Darwin
Northern Territory

We left Adelaide River around 10.30 on Tuesday April 30th. for the 50km drive north to check out Berry Springs as our base in the Darwin area.

There were two caravan parks at BS and both sounded good. We headed to the furthest one (Tumbling Waters) first and I went in and sussed it out while Brian and James waited in the car. It was right beside a river, shady and spacious with friendly staff so we checked in for one night planning to have a look at the other one (The Lakes Resort) that afternoon. It was about 10km closer to Darwin.

Once we were set up we had a chat to a long term camper (with 3 dogs) who filled us in on all the details of The Lakes and every other dog-friendly caravan park in Darwin. She had checked them all out and reckoned Tumbling Waters was the best by a mile. Not only that, but she offered to look after James for $15 a day which meant we could do day trips to Litchfield National Park as well as leave him behind when we went into Darwin Thursday. That way we could do the Casino and Mindil Markets after getting the Beast serviced.

In the afternoon we went for a drive to explore the area and ended up at the Litchfield Pub 5km or so up the road. We loved it - the locals and staff were so friendly and the atmosphere great. James was welcome and got heaps of attention. Scott (the owner??) took a real liking to him and spent ages with us talking about his bullock which was out of control and dangerous until it got really sick and he nursed it back to health, cradling its head in his lap. It now loves him.

Wednesday morning James was a little off colour and we realised it coincided with the sprinkling of ant dust outside around the van. In hindsight, when he was crook at Timber Creek we had used ant dust. On reading the packet we were horrified .... it went straight in the bin and Brian hosed the dust into the ground. Pretty toxic stuff! James brightened up with a walk and a good wash down in the river (in a wide, pebbly shallow bit where there was no croc activity) to remove any residual dust from his paws and coat.

                                                           Hurty tummy mummy!

                                                                    That's better!

While at the river we met up with a couple of locals who gave us some clues as to where to fish. Upon investigation we found some good (and safe) riverbank spots nearby. On our walk back to the van we had a delicious cappy at the park restaurant and paid for another 3 nights.

Berry Springs is situated at the bottom of the Cox Peninsula, only 70 km from Dundee Beach which looks out over Fog Bay and the Timor Sea. We decided to go driving after our coffee to check it out, thinking it would be a mangrove coast. Oh boy...how wrong! It is a stunning tropical beach with white sand and clear blue water. The Lodge of Dundee is a very rustic "resort" sitting right on the beach... indoor/outdoor pub, basic caravan park and boat ramp.

After a beer and wine we wandered over to the fish cleaning bench and chatted to a couple our age who were filleting a dozen or so BIG fish they had caught just off shore. They were in a little tinnie just like ours.....mmm....we were both thinking the same thing... next stop after Tumbling Waters could well be Lodge of Dundee!

We were in a driving mood so we kept exploring. We came across some very big termite mounds (photo opportunity) and after an hour or so we arrived at Mandorah which looks out over Darwin city from the western side of Darwin Harbour. There is a ferry service that runs across the mouth of the harbour between Mandorah and Cullen Bay to service the locals who live at nearby Wagait Beach. It also provides patrons for the Mandorah Pub which sits at the water's edge adjacent to the wharf. We had a lovely afternoon!

When we got home Brian unloaded the boat and had a play with Blackie's portable trailer that he had kindly left with us when we parted at Adelaide River. With a boat ramp nearby we planned to put the tinnie in the river and do some real fishing over the following few days.

Next day James was left in the care of our camp neighbour, Angie, while we headed into Darwin early, dropping off the small fridge at the repairer on-route to Mazda for the Beast's 10000K service.

Most of the day we spent on foot, walking 20 minutes from Mazda to the mall, then wandering all over the city precinct doing the odd bit of shopping, having coffee etc. We had a lovely lunch down at the new wharf and wave pool area before wandering back up the hill to the city centre to grab a cab to go back to Mazda. One of the most important missions of the day was to go to Gloria Jeans so I could replenish my stock of coffee beans. I was very disappointed to find the city store didn't have either Hazelnut or Italian Espresso...bugger! Next closest GJ's was at Casuarina, so we drove over there and while they didn't have a much as I wanted, at least I was able to grab a month or so supply.

Mid afternoon we went to Star City Casino to see if we could match our luck with our trip there in January last year when we inserted $15 and won $4500 on a 2c Pink Panther poker machine. Not to be, however. Our money kept us entertained for a good 90 minutes before we withdrew our original stake, coming out even.

Next stop on our Darwin Day Out was Mindil Market. This colorful market runs on Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons during the dry season. It is located by the beach and is famous for its local handcraft and diverse range of hot and cold food vendors. We had a bit of Asian, some Chinese and some mexican for dinner, followed by a freshly squeezed fruit juice. When we arrived back at the van around 7.30 James was beside himself to see us. Angie said he had a lovely time and went on a big walk with 6 other dogs, but the way he wailed when he saw us you would have thought he'd been shut in a box all day. Princess!

On Friday Brian put the boat back on the Beast, sorted his tool boxes, checked out the crook 240 volt element in the fridge and sold an aeroplane. During the day we got talking to another travelling couple, Doug and Dione from Mornington. They were camped across the track from us. Brian and Doug made plans for launching both their boats the next morning on the Blackmore River, which runs into Darwin Harbour.

Late in the afternoon we decided to ride the bikes to the Litchfield Pub. We had discovered a shortcut along a dirt track so we only had a few hundred meters along the bitumen road. Doug and Dione took their car and we got to know each other better over a couple of beers and wine. Then just before dark we went down to the waterhole beside the caravan park and put 4 cherubin pots in before enjoying a spag bol dinner.

At first light next morning we took James for a brisk walk to the billabong and collected 3 cherubin out of 4 pots - rather poor haul. By 8am we were on our way to the boat ramp at Southport, 12km down the road. It took the best part of an hour to get the tinnine off the Beast, assemble the trailer, put the motor on, put in all the fishing gear and get the tinnie onto the trailer. By this time Doug and Dione had arrived with their boat. 

There was a problem however. The tide was out and the bottom third of the concrete ramp was covered in thick black mud. Brian tied a rope from the bull bar on the Beast to the trailer and walked it down the ramp while I slowly drove forward. It worked fine and it was quite entertaining watching Brian trying to maintain his balance while sliding along beside the boat. Doug and Dione decided against launching at that spot and went off to find another ramp.

The fishing wasn't too bad.In the 4 hours we were on the water I caught a big Flathead and a good sized bream, both of which we kept and cooked for dinner. Aside from that we hooked into 3 or 4 really big ones but didn't manage to land them. It was high tide by the time we came in so there wasn't a problem with mud on the ramp.Given our success Brian left the boat on the trailer so we could repeat the exercise next day with much less hassle getting set up. By launching a couple of hours later on a higher tide we would be able to avoid most of the mud as well.

Our cherubin harvest on Sunday amounted to all of one, so we bought some squid. The supplier in Darwin is "Masterbait" and their advertising boards at boat ramps read "Good things come to those who Masterbait". For some reason we both remembered that ad....effective eh!

High tide was at 2pm so we launched the boat on the rising tide. The Beast managed the ramp even though it was still a little muddy. It was a much quicker operation with the tinnie already on the trailer. It would have been quicker still if we had remembered to load the tackle box. We didn't notice till we were heading downstream, so that required a return to the ramp. Memory loss in old age is a bugger!

Despite being the usual Darwin hot, sunny day it was very pleasant on the water as there was quite a stiff breeze. The vegetation on the river banks is thick and fairly tall so we were also able to find shade in the many little creek inlets along the Blackmore River. Without some respite from the sun I doubt if any of us, particularly James, would manage more than an hour on the water. We fished for four hours but with no real luck. All we managed to catch was a few catfish and an undersized cod so for dinner we headed over to the Litchfield Tavern where there was a band playing out in the beer garden. It was a pretty average band but they played our kinda music so we kicked back with a few drinks, had a delicious roast pork dinner and enjoyed a great night.

On Monday we left James home alone while we went into Litchfield National Park.

Berry Springs is located just north of Litchfield and the various attractions are dotted along a single road that runs through the park. The quickest way in from Tumbling Waters was on a dirt road that became sealed as we neared our first stop, Bamboo Creek Tin Mine. The abandoned mine which is now in ruins is tucked away deep in the bush. It's hard to imagine how, in 1906, pioneers would have located the ore let alone set up a mining operation there. It would have been an incredibly hard life - particularly in the Wet.

Next we visited the Cascades. The water in the deep stream we followed was unbelievably crystal clear. The walk to the Lower Cascades was only about 1.5 km but as we got further upstream the pathway became pretty tricky and we stupidly were only in thongs so we abandoned the trek and headed back to the car.

Wangi Falls was a much shorter and easier walk. It was very pretty. Two waterfalls cascade into a deep rock pool surrounded by tropical vegetation. Normally you can swim there but apparently it hasn't been de-crocked since the wet so was closed.

Tolmer Falls, a further 10 km along the route was equally spectacular. The viewing platform not only looked down over the falls, pool and caves below but out over the horizon. What a view!

I've been to Litchfield a couple of times before, though only to Florence Falls and the Buley Rockpools. Buley is my favourite spot in the park and I was really keen for Brian to see it and go for a swim. It didn't occur to me that, being a public holiday in NT (May Day), the place would be literally swarming with day-trippers from Darwin. Bugger - we could just as easily have gone there last week or later this week. Anyway, we did have a swim and Brian loved it. We might have to go back there on a school day when it is more peaceful.

We left Buley around 2 pm, deciding to skip Florence Falls and head home as James had been in the van for a while (albeit with the air-con on). It was quicker from the Buley end of Litchfield to go home via Batchelor and the Stuart Hwy, which we did, completing our tour loop in 5 hours. So we have now done Litchfield National Park - another box ticked!

Today is our 8th at Tumbling Waters. It's a lovely spot and we are really enjoying it. The plan (I use this term very loosely) is to go on to Dundee Beach for a couple of nights and do some fishing in Fog Bay. We will need to head toward Darwin to stock up first and we are hoping to get the little fridge back from the repairer in the next day or so. We think we'll need the extra cold storage for all the fish we are going to catch at Dundee.