Down to the Daly
We didn’t get too far when we left Darwin, just over to the next harbour to the west - Bynoe Harbour, and a place called Crab Claw Island Fishing Village. It was a lovely spot, apart from the sandflies. Despite being incredibly cautious (two sorts of burning repellents, about three sorts of spray/roll-on repellent, and covered up clothing) we both got bitten and Nic (who responds poorly to insect bites) was devoured.
This was our chance for a bit of saltwater fishing, and some exploration of the really tidal, mangrovey harbour. This was all good, but the fishing wasn’t so great. Once again, it wasn’t just us, everyone was complaining of the same lack of fishing joy. The most exciting thing was when Nic had something big (a blue salmon?) on her line but lost it at the boat.
From there we went on to the beautiful Litchfield NP – having a swim in every cold, green rock pool we could find. These NT freshwater swimming holes, at the base of lushly vegetated waterfalls, have been a bit of a revelation! On a dusty 35C day they are just the ticket!
To get down to the Daly River we took a short cut through on a great track that involved a few deep-ish creek crossings. It also crossed through the some really scenic flat grassy plains dotted with termite mounds. Some were the enormous buttressed kind, and there were also acres of the magnetic kind, where they are built on a North-South axis, to maximise the heating and cooling. It still spins us both out that termites can be so clever.
And then to the famous Daly River! It is a big wide river, with huge overhanging trees, that at times look like they wouldn’t be out of place on a Tasmanian river. Lots of crocodiles, which already don’t seem such a big deal – Nic is, incredibly, becoming just a little blasé! Along with the mobs of other people in tinnies, we spent a bit of time fishing in the Daly, and the only thing that worked was fishing with live bait, with which Tim had some success.
As an indication of how much the barra like the big cherabin, we pulled up one trap to find a small barra caught inside it, obviously having feasted on the cherabin that would have been inside.
In the end Tim caught quite a few barramundi, but only one was (just) legal. Again, this was the same story that everyone had – and the unseasonally cold weather that the north experienced a few weeks ago is being blamed!
This was our chance for a bit of saltwater fishing, and some exploration of the really tidal, mangrovey harbour. This was all good, but the fishing wasn’t so great. Once again, it wasn’t just us, everyone was complaining of the same lack of fishing joy. The most exciting thing was when Nic had something big (a blue salmon?) on her line but lost it at the boat.
From there we went on to the beautiful Litchfield NP – having a swim in every cold, green rock pool we could find. These NT freshwater swimming holes, at the base of lushly vegetated waterfalls, have been a bit of a revelation! On a dusty 35C day they are just the ticket!
To get down to the Daly River we took a short cut through on a great track that involved a few deep-ish creek crossings. It also crossed through the some really scenic flat grassy plains dotted with termite mounds. Some were the enormous buttressed kind, and there were also acres of the magnetic kind, where they are built on a North-South axis, to maximise the heating and cooling. It still spins us both out that termites can be so clever.
And then to the famous Daly River! It is a big wide river, with huge overhanging trees, that at times look like they wouldn’t be out of place on a Tasmanian river. Lots of crocodiles, which already don’t seem such a big deal – Nic is, incredibly, becoming just a little blasé! Along with the mobs of other people in tinnies, we spent a bit of time fishing in the Daly, and the only thing that worked was fishing with live bait, with which Tim had some success.
As an indication of how much the barra like the big cherabin, we pulled up one trap to find a small barra caught inside it, obviously having feasted on the cherabin that would have been inside.
In the end Tim caught quite a few barramundi, but only one was (just) legal. Again, this was the same story that everyone had – and the unseasonally cold weather that the north experienced a few weeks ago is being blamed!
posted by Tim and Nic at
11:41 am
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