Houseboat for Dad’s 60th

Posted on 6 June, 2013 by stuart

Dad was up in Darwin for his 60th, so we decided to surprise him with this houseboat trip. If you live n Darwin you definitely have to do a trip out here, the wetlands are stunning. We got to have a fish, but didn’t get any barra. Fishing is really difficult in Corroboree Billabong, at least it has been since I arrived in 2012.

Highlight was getting (someone else’s) fishing line wrapped around the prop, which took a while to sort out, and course we were stuck against the bank after that. We somehow managed to get free by pushing a broom against a tree, this pointed the point around enough that we got the houseboat moving.

Gunlom in May

Posted on 23 May, 2013 by stuart

We decided to take a few days off during the week and head down to Gunlom. Claire had just come off nights and has an amazing ability to sleep in any car in any condition, including corrugated roads. We met up with a lot of her uni friends who had been down at Edith Falls for the night. This was the first time that we had been to Gunlom, and the scenery certainly didn’t disappoint.

It was May yet Claire and I decided not to bother setting up the outer canvas on our tent. The weather was great the first day, but the rest of the camp decided to pack it up and go home early. We stayed until late arvo on the second day, we packed it up and headed back… and got absolutely belted by a storm! Lesson learnt, don’t trust Kakadu until July!

Claire and me at the upper pool

The lower pool, the waterfall still flowing freely with all the rain they’d had.

Corroboree Houseboat Trip

Posted on 12 May, 2013 by stuart

Great fun this weekend. 8 of us all hit Corroboree Billabong on the houseboats. Chops took his boat and we got some good fishing in. Only one keeper Barra that he caught, but I got a good Saratoga.

A lot of funny moments. A lot of bugs. Good times!

Edith falls and dehydration

Posted on 28 October, 2012 by stuart

We decided to go down and stay at Edith Falls, it was in the build up, but we had plenty of water, and an easy accessible swimming hole, so we figured we’d be right.

We arrived and set up then spent the rest of the day in the lower pool, was a lot of fun. I really wanted to do the bushwalk and see see pool, but the trip (from memory) was about 10km. We took plenty of water, so much it hurt my back and I was drinking it just to lighten the load. I got a little concerned that Claire wasn’t drinking enough, and tried to get her to take more. The swim was great (if a little spooky – I am sure it was safe but that upper pool just LOOKS like a croc’s natural home) and we walked back and did the middle pool. The middle pool really is the best one, it’s such a nice spot.

I am sure you can guess the end of the story, nearly as soon as we got back to camp Claire wasn’t feeling that well and wanted to lie down. Soon I had packed up and we were heading back, stopping regularly for her. It just goes to show that despite drinking 2-3 litres of water and a few diet cokes on that trip, you just cannot underestimate these conditions.