Firstly a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. No real excuse as to the rarity of our postings other than that we have settled into a form of routine that leaves little new to report.

Our life at Crab Claw Island has settled down and we are very much enjoying the environment and now feel well and truly part of the team. CCI (Crab Claw Island) has a team of 15 or so staff many of whom are young travellers and the rest are drawn from Darwin or have been ensconced at the resort for a number of years. The new owners (18 months now) David & Jackie have quite a vision for the resort and have plans for upgrades that will see the resort get a new lease on life. It will be quite exciting to see the plans come to fruition over the next several months.

Fiona and I have been quite active not only with our CCI responsibilities but have been doing a number of consulting projects including developing a marketing strategy for a tour operator on Darwin Harbour (http://www.mangroveroute.com/) and we are continuing to do volunteer work for ICV.

One of the reasons for us staying up in the NT so long is that we wanted to experience the wet season and boy are we doing that. It is fascinating to see a dry and somewhat desolate landscape turn (almost overnight) into a green and verdant semi rainforest scene. You can easily see that if the NT had a longer wet season it would quickly become tropical rainforest. It will be interesting to see the reverse of this when things start drying up. One aspect of the wet that isn’t exciting is the exodus of all things creepy crawly that decide that our caravan is nice and high and dry and one that they want to make their new home. It is a constant battle to keep the miniscule ants out of all our electronic items (sat receiver etc) which they seem to like as a place to nest.

David & Jackie handing out staff presents (Pimple city)

Our new home (with tarp to survive the wet)

The team enjoying Christmas

Jamis (CCI Chef) Showing his fishing prowess

Ran out of time (and bandwidth) to post images in the last post. So consider this catch up!

Nadia and Daniel on the Long Boat

Nadia on Monkey Beach (We had a few great days catching up in Thailand)

Singapore Zoo. (well worth the visit)

One of the many meals in Singapore. (Steam Boat)

View from Pi Pi Island

Long Boat off Pi Pi (great way to get around)

Singapore. Raffels Hotel with city in background. (Amazing contrast)

Corroboree Billabong (another boat hooking up)

Corroboree Billabong (with Captain Geoff)

15 minutes of fame?

Corroboree Billabong (maybe swimming is out?)

Corroboree Billabong

Fog Dam

More Fog Dam

A trip out to Fog Dam Darwin

Black Cockatoo at our caravan park in Darwin

Hi All

Our posts will most probably slow down a bit over the next six months as we will be staying around Darwin till after the wet and we will only report on highlights (and of course fishing conquest shots).

Since our last post quite a lot has happened but before I go on, our new home for the next six months or so will be Crab Claw Island http://www.crabclawisland.com.au. Crab Claw Island is an hour and a half drive south west of Darwin. We have a three day a week job helping at the resort (cleaning etc) which leaves us plenty of time to do some consulting work (more about that later) and still volunteer with ICV.

Speaking of ICV, we have been taken under the wing of an ICV project coordinator named Andy Peart who has been wonderful and understands our skills set and what we are hoping to do in the way of volunteering. Andy is a mad keen bushwalker and invited us on a cross country walk through Litchfield Park which we enjoyed immensely.

In terms of ICV projects, so far we have only undertaken one submission writing gig that applied for funding to restore a hall at Numbulwar on the Gulf but we are hoping for others soon.

Andy also has been introducing us around town and from those introductions we look like picking up some paid consulting work as well, which will help the budget somewhat. Our first consulting project up north will be for a tour operator Mangrove Route Tours who we will be working with to develop a marketing strategy and reviewing their overall direction.

Oh…Nearly forgot some exciting news! If you recall I had to fly to the east coast from Ningaloo to assist with a project for a friends company AccesPlus. The project was to prepare a tender for a major IT project and Neil informs me he won!!! Great news for a great company and a great team.

One of the wonderful things about Darwin is its proximity to Asia. Jetstar regularly runs cheap flight sales and we just couldn’t resist when they were offering $99 fares to Singapore. So after a nanosecond’s thought we booked. (Why drive to Darwin for Singapore noodles when you can fly there instead!).

The timing was great as Nadia and her partner (Daniel) were traveling to Phuket so we could kill two birds with one stone. We had a great time with four days in Singapore then flying to Phuket and staying at Patong. I will do a more robust description of the trip in our next post and add some photos.

 

Before we start we have a new toy which updates (live) where we are. It’s on the links page of the blog and the “where are we page”.

http://www.instamapper.com/ext?key=202554739176523405

How time flies. We are now well ensconced in Darwin after a very impromptu and fast trip from Ningaloo. The catalyst for the quick departure wasn’t eviction from Ningaloo but a project we were offered through ICV (Indigenous Community Volunteers) as house parents on Melville Island (part of the Tiwi Islands). So we packed and headed off as we were asked to be available for the ferry across to Tiwi on the 30th of September.

As is always the case with things mechanical the air conditioning decided to die just as we were heading north and without time to get it fixed we just enjoyed the luxury of a free steam bath for 3000 km. All was going well (and sweaty) until we hit Kununurra where we were informed that there had been a miscommunication between ICV and the Tiwi College and we were not needed until January! Bugger!!!! As compensation ICV have offered to pay for our fuel costs which is about $1,200 so we were somewhat mollified.

A willy willy in the road to Darwin

Jodie and Rod. Fellow Trailer Trash Travelers : )

Serendipity came into play again (as always) and exactly two minutes after hanging up the phone to ICV I got a call from NT Cricket inviting me to an interview for the position of Communications Manager which I had applied for several weeks ago. You may ask: why we are looking for work? It’s more about being keen to experience the wet season in Darwin and would prefer to spend the time in a unit (comfort, space, air etc). Anyway the job didn’t eventuate (I came second) which Iam happy with as the last interview I had was over 15 years ago.

Fiona has had much more luck on the job front (yes I know, sounds like a well thought out plan for me to fish while Fiona brings in the money : ). Fiona has a Scribing job on thursday and and interview next week with a Government Department for a six month contract.

We are still keen to spend the wet up north so we see what happens. Darwin has grown and is still a fascinating town. Its been great to catch up with old friends and so far we have caught up with Ian Bodill (who we met in Gove), Deb and Geoff (who we met at the Daly River and we have met some lovely people in the park we are staying at. We had a great day with our new found friends on Mandorah which we finished off with dinner at the trailer boat club…. time for the dialysis machine and the diet!

Yes, we are still at Ningaloo but not for long. Since our last post our vegetable garden has grown, my beard has grown and unfortunately our girths have grown as the wind has stopped us doing our usual walk and outdoor activities! The station is slowly emptying of travelers as most know that this time of the year the wind is less than pleasant and the toss up of going south into the colder areas wins over.

Last week I had a call from a mate on the Sunshine Coast who needed a hand with a project. He was keen to get me over there as he wasn’t confident we could work productively remotely. So it was on to a flight from Exmouth to Perth then to the Sunshine Coast. All up I spent two weeks back on the Coast and boy what a culture shock! Going from desert to vivid green was an eye opener not to mention having to hold a conversation with more than two people at once. I felt like a country hick going back into the bright lights of the city. Fortunately Neil And Ros my hosts and clients looked after me on their stunning property out at Woombye and we were able to work from their kitchen table which was not as harsh as heading into an office.

All went well on the project over the two weeks and I even had a chance to catch up with Nadia and her new boyfriend Daniel in Brisbane. While staying in Brisbane I was fed and watered by old time friends Max and Sally and even spent Fathers day in their wonderful company.

Some bays in the bombing range towards Exmouth

When jack walked into camp the average IQ for all of us goes up 20 points

Note the Aaron fishing team on Ron’s shirt!

Ron and Jack (Ron is the one with the fish)

So you ask “what happened to Fiona while you were jetting across the country?” Well…..Fiona was ably looked after by our Ningaloo friend Ron Goodlad aka Wolf Creek  and of course Jack his wonder dog!  Ron won’t like us posting his picture (something to do with several ex wives and a misunderstanding between him, a bank, a balaclava and a shot gun. (just kidding…even though he looks the part!).  Ron suitably was a knight is shining armour and took Fiona and Jack for several drives and made sure she had enough water etc. Thanks Ron!

Well, we are still here. It’s been over two months and we can’t seem to drag ourselves away from this wonderful place. Aside from the wind that limits us to the caravan every now and then we are having a ball. We are so settled that we even have a vege garden growing out the front. (We inherited  some of the plants from a couple that was heading home). Having fresh salad and herbs is a real treat.

Over the weeks we have met some lovely people and look forward to catching up with them all again. The social network at Ningaloo is a fascinating study in human nature. The center piece to this is the UHF radio which works across the sheep station as the manager (Phil) has installed a repeater station with financial assistance of some of the campers. Everyone has a call sign (we are Daffy) and everyone keeps in touch especially when heading out fishing. A great safety feature.

The station has several camping areas. Some are formal (set sites) and others are more flexible. There is South Lefroy where camping is mostly behind sand dunes with some on the beach. This was quite crowded when we arrived and not our cup of tea. North of the is North Lefroy where we are and we are quite pleased we chose this area as it is relatively high and has great views across the bay. Equally it is a large area and we are not at all crowded with hundreds of metres between each camper  (only recently did we get someone a tad too close but all was OK until he fired up a generator every evening…oh well).

Further north of us are other sites such as the ‘locked gate’ the ‘caravan park’ and Windebrandi Point. All have their pluses and minuses, each to their own but we are happy where we are.

The fishing is still great and like everywhere we have been, ‘local knowledge’ is everything. I have been mostly fishing in one hundred meters and bagging out quite quickly. The only issue is this is too deep for Fiona who is exhausted just winding in the line!

 

Early days but saves a trip to Exmouth

What can you do. You gotta scratch your nose sometimes!

Mum and little one

Morning fog coming off hills

Albatross hanging around my boat for a free feed

Some feathered visitors.

Free power for us… Shade for him… Win Win!

New camera: Sunset (with some mucking around with image modification)

Coronation Trout (incredible colours)

 

Over the last few months we have come to the realisation that our camera is not up to scratch and we are missing out on some wonderful opportunities that especially needs a telephoto lens. As both of our birthdays are due in September we have bought a combined present of a Canon 1000D SLR with two lenses so we are running around shooting everything. Thank God we don’t use film anymore! Anyway we hope you enjoy our new photographic experiments. 

One last note before we wrap up this update. A few days ago we were asked by some passing travelers where the old whaling station was. Instead of attempting to give them directions that could have had them lost for weeks, I decided to lend them my portable GPS with the track stored on it. You would think this was a big risk with a gadget worth over $600 but we have found everyone on this trip has been wonderfully honest so I didn’t hesitate. A few hours later they were back and returned the unit and even left us with a few lemons (at least we wont get scurvy). Once again faith in human nature won out. Today we received a comment on the blog from guess who? Yep, it was the very same people who I lent the GPS to. They found our blog on the net while researching a project for their kids’ school work. How cool is that?

 

Until next time I hope you enjoy the shots.

It’s hard not to rave about Ningaloo Homestead. Just to give you some idea of one of those very special days…. we woke to a beautiful morning, light breeze and just enough warmth from the sun. Even though it’s winter the temperature is perfect with pleasantly cool evenings and warm days. We had breakfast (freshly baked bread) I will post the ‘no knead recipe’ soon and then jumped in the boat to catch the evening meal.

On our way out through the reef we saw another huge manta ray which was the first Fiona had got to see. Just before hitting our fishing spot several whales headed our way and often fully breaching out of the water. After a few minutes we had caught a feed and decided to troll for something larger, more for fun than anything else. During the troll we were smashed on both lures but unfortunately we couldn’t stop the freight train and lost both fish and our lures!

The day wasn’t over! We saw a sail fish (like a marlin) that decided to do acrobatics right in front of the boat, I looked closely just to see if the bugger had our lures but it was impossible to tell.

One of our neighbors snooping

Our camp site (with new wiz bang satellite dish)

Back from another days fishing

Cod

Scared fish eye view of the boat

Some of our fishy friends

Just like Tasmania where I said to Fiona we were not stopping until we found some place without rain, the same policy applied heading north from Perth with the exception that we were chasing sunshine and warmth. Initially we were headed to Coral Bay but due to the busy season getting a caravan park was difficult so we instead opted for Ningaloo Station between Exmouth and Coral Bay. I had heard so much of the place we were excited to pitch camp and boy we were not disappointed!

As we travel we seem to becoming less likely to stay in caravan parks and more often opt for free camps. This is not just about cost savings but adds an element of adventure. These camps are often more remote and offer space and privacy.

Ningaloo Homestead is wonderful. We are camped just a few meters from a beautiful turquoise bay fringed by a coral reef just a few kilometers offshore. The property runs sheep and goats and abounds with kangaroos and wallabies all of which have no qualms about walking (or hopping) through our camp at any time of the day or night. 

The fishing has been excellent with coral trout, north west snapper and wrasse our staple diet with a few squid thrown in for good measure. On one trip I caught a 65 cm coral trout which after boating it I decided to bleed it. Using the fish grips I held it over the side ready to cut it’s throat and you guessed it …. a few hard kicks and he was headed back to the deep blue sea…BUGGER!

The sea life around here is wonderful each boat trip is full of sightings of whales, manta rays, dolphins and turtles. The manta rays are easily three times the size of my boat and the whales seem to love playing chicken with the tinny, diving and doing tail flaps under the boat which results in a boil of water all around the boat!

Ningaloo has the advantage of fresh water through sand spears just  a few kilometers up the track. This is accessed by a small pump dropped down a well in the sand. 

North West Snapper

A toothy fella (Wrasse)

Fresh water from the sand spear

Old whaling station

Two old whales ready to be pushed back into the sea

Old machinery (winches)

Well we made it across the Nullarbor in record time searching for that elusive warmth! On our trip 12 years ago we met a lovely couple Peter and liz who invited us to stay with them in Perth. Over the intervening years we kept in intermittent contact and we very much were looking forward to catching up again face to face. Peter and liz still live in the house we stayed at last time in Landsdale. Peter and Liz now have two children Callum and Cara who were a true delight to spend time with. It’s always lovely to see how good friends seem to just slip into a special comfort zone irrespective of how long the absence has been.

It was great to once again cook for a large (er) group and other than interfering with Peter’s steak cooking I think our visit wasn’t to much of a burden on the family routine. Peter even brought out the scotch collection for a scotch degustation evening which none of us remember!!!

We spent a week with the Darch clan and again craving warmth decided to head north before the scotch ran out : )

Pater and Callum

Liz and Cara

A day trip to Freo

Callum at Freo

Still in SA dodging the bad weather and having a work life balance of fishing and consulting. Have been busy with a few projects for Sajen and Huxbury Quinn which gives us something to do when the wind is screaming outside. The temps have been getting down to six degrees which is making us pine for the north but a big trip west is ahead of us first.

These beach camps (see photos) are lovely and quiet if you can escape the other campers who like to use generators!!!

Minlacowie and Perlurbie are lovely spots with Perlurbie having the advantage of being only 30 km from Streaky Bay.

 

Bringing the boat in for the evening

Our humble beach camp

A shadow of my former self

How the locals do it