Friday, March 12, 2010
Saturday, August 1, 2009
The Road In!
Hi Mikhala & JordanaA Great Trip so far! The real driving starts over this hill into the Pennyfather system. Very remote and a beautiful area.
We really are the 'Lucky Country".
Love Dad!
Our Camp On The Pennefather River
The Pennefather is the oldest known European landing site in Australia.Willem Jantz in the 'Duyfken' landed here in 1606.
James Cook didn't claim Australia for England until 1770.
A good camping site with great sunsets and easy conditions, once you get here!Roads are pretty good until you go bush and then you work to get through. The sand is very loose, slow, hard going in most places, but it is worth it! Too short a trip this time to enjoy it, but lots of great 'local aboriginal' contacts and invites to film the local culture etc.
All the gear traveled well and the Engel freezer & gen set keeps the ice up.
Oysters Off The Rocks!
Plenty of fresh oysters here.Not much luck fishing, by the time we finished looking around and got organised we had neaping tides.
Plenty of time next trip. Mainly getting the 'lay of the land' on this trip.
The Pennyfather System... A Perfect Spot
A great camping spot, with good safe boat anchorage in the lagoon that is protected by the sand spit and lagoon with a small entrance, facing upstream. See boat photo.About 10pm one night, I checked out where the boat is anchored and had a 5/7 foot croc. casually swimming around it. The spot light didn't bother it.
2 females live in the lagoon and a big male sleeps on the outer
bank (2nd photo) , never saw him, but others say he is much larger.This sand point forms the outside of the lagoon. The lagoon is right at the mouth, around 9+ feet in places and full of good bait. It is about 3 acres in size and the best 'protected' natural anchorage if ever seen.
Truck & Boat Survived!
Blew a radiator hose out of Weipa and no spare... I know!!Just serviced and they left the radiator hose sitting on the hose bracket. vibrated through!
RACQ back to Weipa and customised a Toyota one to fit... back in business.
Split the boat hull because of the rough track conditions. You had to go flat out to beat the sand, but it knocked the hell out of the hull. Fixed with a couple of plates, rubber, silicone and 2 bolts through the hull. Only drilled where the hull had split, so no big issue. Worked well for the rest of the trip!
Paperbark Stands & Video Offer At The Pennyfather System
Lots of Paperbark lagoon areas on the way into the Pennyfather. Some 3/4 feet deep in the wet and full of pigs etc.I met Peter when I was bogged, a local aboriginal ranger and he's invited us back to do some videos with him on a very rare turtle egg protection program they manage, fishing, pig hunting and some local aboriginal knowledge stuff. Should be good material!
Dingo In The Camp
Had a Dingo in the camp the other night. He ripped open a bottle of Bacardi, but I guess he couldn't open our Engel to get the coke out :-)He also chewed 2 fingers off my fishing glove and sat near the camp howling for about 5 minutes. This guy was not your normal dingo experience. I couldn't chase him off - no fear!
This guys actions makes "The Dingo took the Baby" story pretty believable! :-)
GPS Device For Camera
This Mini GPS Photo Tracker easily Geo-Tags your photos with the GPS location of where you took the photo.Simple to use... just remove the little GPS device from the cradle, turn it on and attach it to the camera. Later you sync the camera memory card by putting it into the dock.
Works well, but died towards the end of the trip! Will replace it and order another for you to use in the Kimberlies, Mickie!
Red Beach Area
Red Beach is an easy 4X4 45 minute drive from Weipa. Popular spot with the locals and good camping area.
Green Ants
The Green Ants are still as aggressive as ever.When I was cutting down scrub to get out of a sand bog, they had a field day! All the trees are full of them.
Bit the hell out of me! You'd love it here Jordie :-)
Eco Tourism in the Cape
Eco tourism has come a long way in the last 5 years. This 4X4 Bus is taking a group of elderly people around through the cape.Some of these people are in their 80's and they are certainly not roughing it!!
Naturally, they are limited to where they can go, but at least they can now get to see it! Big $'s in it!!The Resort provides all the comforts they need and you can sit on the deck, have dinner, a drink and watch the sunset.
Albatross Resort at Weipa
After 5 days on the system, a long shower and a real bed went down well.END OF PHOTOS FROM THIS TRIP!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Send a FREE Personalised Post Card
Just 'Click' on the image below to send a personalised Post Card!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Fishing Hook Removal Techniques
Below are two similar ways to remove a fish hook!
Both work , but it's wise to remove the other hook from the lure before using either technique.
Both work , but it's wise to remove the other hook from the lure before using either technique.
They Are There!
Don't forget the Crocs!They are there, even when you don't see them - they see you! This one is a baby, perhaps 5 foot.
Last trip I saw a 20+ foot one, from the air, whilst helping on a food drop to the Robertson River!
You can "Smile at the Crocodile", but always watch out for him!
Great Fishing Here!
Plenty of action here!These landing nets are great for Salmon, but they don't work well on big Gropers!
But, that's another story!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Two Great Sites.. Well Worth A Visit!
I recently found both these sites and they have a wealth of useful, local knowledge.It's well worth checking them out if you are visiting the Kimberley or Central Australia area.
Visit:
http://www.kimberleyaustralia.com/
http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/
Enjoy!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
King Ash Bay Camp Site
King Ash Bay is hardly a bay, in fact it's well up river, but it is a great long or short term, well provided camp site with lots of interesting people to meet in the evening at the fishing clubhouse.Good company and a great meal!
The second photo is on the river, at sunrise, in front of the camp site.
Moon Rise on The River
It doesn't get any better!Just relax, enjoy the experience and perhaps catch a Barra as the moon unfolds!
Avoid Driving At Night
It's simply not worth the risk driving at night!On a very major road, perhaps you can get away with it, but you need to reduce your speed, it's best to get a good night's sleep and start tomorrow.
On a minor road, don't even consider it, cattle, pigs, roos and even large flocks of birds make it too dangerous!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Borroloola Crossing
The Borroloola river crossing is a popular Barra fishing spot with all the locals.In flood it is one powerful river!
4 Wheel or 2 Wheel?
We travel with both, but in winter, a 2 wheel drive will easily get to many good fishing areas with no problem.Just a little common sense!
Reflective Back Water
This still, reflective water was an unexpected surprise in the midst of the dry countryside!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Bush Fire on a 60 km Front
An evening lightening strike soon had this bush fire ablaze!It was still burning 10 days later on our return trip!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Barkley Homestead At Dawn
The 'Barkley' is the gateway to the NT, and most likely your first night's stop, assuming you got an early start from Townsville.You can camp or stay in the motel, but book ahead and be prepared to pay a higher price for everything!
This isn't downtown Sydney prices, but be fair, everything has to be trucked inland around 1,500 kms!
Be sure to camp well away from the truck stop, if you want a good nights sleep!
Mt. Isa
If you're headed to the N.T. from the East Coast, it's likely you will pass through Mt. Isa.It's worth spending a little time there to get a feel for outback Queensland.
Go down the Mine & visit the Tourist Information centre, if only to see the paintings on display!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
You'll Catch Everything up Here!
You'll catch everything up here, perhaps even a Cold!
In the NT and wearing a ski jacket, fishing!
The unique, the pests, the strange and even a good breakfast, caught in just a couple of hours!
Hot Springs
A small hot lagoon in the remote bush!
No one has been able to measure how deep it is, at the output spring, or where the water goes!
It isn't connected to any river system!
It just gushes out from the top of the cliff and goes straight back into the lagoon and then on to "Who knows Where!"
They suspect it has an under-ground ocean connection, 50km's away!
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