Middle Lagoon - Part one

 

 

We had become a lot more confident in the boat, and we have only MINOR hesitation heading out into blue water.  We are looking for structure around 20metres deep when we heard the thunder.  Thunder ?? Now that didn't make any sense because the sky was clear.

 

Here we are in Middle Lagoon only a couple of hours from Broome towards Cape Leveque, we have running water (boil before drinking was the advice), flushing toilets and hot showers (if you get in before dark).  There was a line of camping sites close to each other in full sun along a ridge looking out over the ocean, or some shady sites with no water views.  As we were here to go fishing we weighed up the options and decided a site with more room and lots of shade was more appropriate for our needs.

 

Campsite Middle Lagoon

 

One of the attractions was the fact you could swim in the beautiful blue turquoise water.  We quickly fell into a daily routine of long days on the boat then enjoyed the freedom to swim when we got back, washing the sweat and fish guts off us.  WHERE are the Crocodiles?

 

The boat is launched off the beach near camp in the Lagoon and this can mean a 10 metre launch or 100 metres depending on the tide.

 

High tide beach launch

Now back to the thunder, the sound was being generated by humpback wales breaching.

Sound of thunder



1st sight of the whales

 

Whales kept coming closer to us

 

 

They were whales all around us, so we chose to stop fishing and drift.  Now our focus was on observing the whales, we found them to be breaching from only 400 metres away and they were in all directions.  When they came back down into the water it truly sounded like thunder.  We had been whale watching in a double hulled Cat out of Hervey Bay previously.  Sitting here in our 3.6 metre tinny on our own with no other boats in sight, the sheer size of the whales was impressive at the same time a little intimidating.   Other whales could be seen slapping their tales or just cruising past.  At times this felt like being on a push bike with a road train going past, way too close for comfort. 

 

 

 

Floating around, we actually heard the whale song.  Until today we thought it was a sonar acoustic sound made for television to make you feel warm and fluffy about nature, but out here it was clear as a bell.  Gene took the opportunity to mark off some potential fishing spots on the sounder as we drifted.

 

 

 

A very inquisitive mother and calf approached us and got to within 50 metres, she was slicing through the water always moving a little closer directly towards us exhaling air explosively through her blowhole.  We decided it was in our best interests to start the engine and move closer to shore

.

 

 

 

 

This is the second day we had tried to catch the elusive Bluebone.  We followed the advice from locals in Broome to float over the structure not anchor up, and use crustations for bait.  We had no trouble loosing our bait, feeding the fish and whilst we did catch a few Bluebone they were all undersize.  We were constantly loosing gear as well, you would drop the line get a couple of nibbles then hold on for dear life as your line spooled off then was gone.  That meant nights around camp re-rigging gear with 100 pound leader, if they were going to fight dirty so were we.  The Bluebone must be pretty tricky and tasty fish because the only large shark we saw, (nearly as big as the shark that circled us at Kalumburu), was one following our line as we hauled a Bluebone into the boat.

 

Bluebone - Back he goes undersize again

 

 

We went back to camp again empty handed however even if we didn't catch any legal size fish at Middle Lagoon the whales were worth the trip.

 

Re-rigging at camp

Gibb River Rd to Broome

The Road to Kalumburu certainly did not improve on the way out, thank goodness the silicone held on the fuel tank.

What can we say about the rest of the Gibb River Road to Derby.   The road was incredibly rough, corrugated with large bulldust washouts.  We did many small hikes leading to beautiful gorges and waterfalls where we swam.  How six years have made a difference.  The Kimberley's felt remote and secluded back then, and this trip we were surprised to find how busy it had become.

There is now a boat you can take
your gear over
at the start to Manning Gorge

Manning Gorge



Adcock Gorge



Bells Gorge

Galvan's Gorge

This is for our wonderful boys.  I have to say I was tricked by Gene who asked me to bring the GoPro up to video him jumping.  Once up there I wasn't sure what was scarier, jumping or climbing back down.  Adam did a perfect DIVE off this last time !!  

The Boys in 2009  - Bells Gorge

BROOME

Cable Beach Caravan Park had big sites, most in the shade with clean modern facilities and best of all a short walk to the beach. We were no longer at the busiest time of the year so we thought getting a caravan site would be easy however we found on calling around before arriving some parks were still full.  Even where we stayed every site was taken and filled up the minute someone left.  Average cost for caravan site for 2 in Broome we found was $52 per night.

We were looking forward to fishing, so the wait we had before the fuel tank could be replaced was of no concern, until we found the wind report for the next 4 days was blowing hard.  Now we had more experience in fishing we decided to invest in a little more boating and fishing equipment. Still determined to fish we set up boat, rods and waited.



New safety gear

Honey I caught a cow.

We would walk down to Cable Beach to swim, where the water was turquoise and crystal clear.



Cable Beach

On day three we were able to get into the water in the morning so launched the boat on the northern side of the rocks at Cable Beach.  Apparently we needed to be about 23kms out to catch the fish, which was out of the question with the winds and size of our tinny.  We caught 4 Barracuda, whilst trolling out the front.   Catch and release as too many bones for us.

Launching the Boat - Cable Beach

Looking back on Cable Beach
Morning Camel Rides

We managed to finish all the touristy things Broome is famous for,  like the dinosaur footprints at Gantheaume Point.

Found one

Fuel tank replaced, we set off for Middle Lagoon.

Manning Gorge

McGowans Island - PART TWO - Near disaster

Who would think a windy morning when you want to fish would actually be a blessing.  Thank goodness for mother nature.  Here we are standing around with our fishing buddy neighbours, looking at the white caps and commiserating that we would not be fishing that morning.  We were enjoying a cup of coffee, having a chat when Kev observed and then enquired if our fuel tank normally hung so low.

Standing 20 metres from the car it looked like the BT50 had a grader blade attached to its chassis, so yep something was definitely not right with the fuel tank.  Now this fuel tank had just been installed  prior to us leaving and was completely missing the vital nuts that bolt the fuel tank to the chassis.  This left one small bracket at the front of the tank supporting the weight.  This bracket was not designed to hold the weight on its own especially over corrugations resulting in it failing.  Imagine what could have happened if we hadn't discovered, that our fuel tank was about to fall out.

Snapped centre front bracket

First view - passenger side of car
Missing nuts from bolts -second bolt was found in chassis

So what happens in remote places with no facilities when this happens to you?  Well people just came out of the woodwork to help.  Mainly thanks to our terrific neighbours Graham & Val, Kev & Jackie and Spider and Michiala all thinking caps were on and all hands on deck to start fixing the problem.

The car was taken over to the only concrete pad next to all the wrecks that had been written off and driven up on a couple of stone blocks.



Days amongst the wrecks - The generator constantly being brought
over to keep the fridge cold

TASK 1 - First about 129 litres of diesel had to be drained out of the tank.  Now this was the first time since we purchased the car that I regretted we got such great fuel economy.  With 5 different peoples jerry cans we started emptying the car, Graham taking point under the car directing fuel with his 'hand funnel' into a bucket.  These buckets were then emptied into the jerry cans via Spider.  Task 1 competed.



All hands on deck

Draining Diesel

TASK 2 - Take out the tank.  No one had ever done that before and there was no instructions.  Donna goes to the house to ask to use the phone to call the installer for instructions.  Even though they were faxed to the house and emailed the internet was very patchy and neither came through.  A fellow camper (horizontal stripy shirt) had recently had a tank designed for his Mercedes 4wd with Brown Davis and had dealings with the owner so he offered to phone him direct, back up to the house we go.  The owner Cameron from Brown Davis was extremely helpful giving advice over the phone.  Task 2 completed.



TASK 3 - Weld the tank.  Another camper (boiler maker by trade) said he would weld the tank up for us but we would need to fill the tank with water.  Now this was a scary moment and I was apprehensive about filling the tank with water as I could only imagine the water damaging the engine.  Boiler maker welded the bracket onto the tank.  Task 3 completed.



Thanks McGowans for the equipment to weld the bracket on.

TASK 4 - Fish.  Now to put everything back into prospective the wind had lessoned and we were here to fish not fix cars.  As luck would have it Kev had the same tow hitch as our boat trailer so we went for an afternoon fish.  The diesel fumes did not seem to deter the fish for Graham and Kev and they had a blinder catching Saddletail perch.  Being good fishing buddies we took a hit for the team keeping the Sharks occupied while they pulled up many a quality red fish that we all got to enjoy for dinner.  Task 4 Complete.



Taking a hit for the team

Double Hook up



TASK 5 - Clean the fuel tank.  What can I say except flushing a diesel tank many, many, many and some more times with diesel to get the water out is no fun.  This took quite some time over two days so we fished in between.  Task 5 Completed.

TASK 6 - Reinstall the tank.  The hunt was on to find 2 nuts to fit the tank chassis mount bolts.  Just when you think something so small is going to pull you up, unbelievably Sue finds nuts that match.  Our problem now is how do we stop the nuts from coming off like the previous ones.  Simple - Silicone.

Reinstalling the tank

Brown Davis maintained contact with us during this time even though it was not a tank issue.  In fact I would highly recommend any Brown Davis fuel tank especially given the customer service we received and how they took pride in their product.  Cameron generously offered us another tank at cost and organised installation in Broome. The installer at Broome has reassured us that the nuts won't vibrate off his installation job.

There were plenty of after market long range tanks at Kalumburu, but ours was the only one to have fallen out.

The shiny side to this mishap was the people.  The comradeship and the ingenuity they showed in problem solving to get the tank out and back in without the right equipment.  The selflessness shown by all who were involved at McGowans during this little ordeal was inspirational as they could have all been fishing, it was their holiday too, thanks to all.




Fueling McGowans job complete

McGowans Island - 2nd August to 10th August - PART ONE

We came here to fish and the boat was on the roof for this reason.  We are quite novice to blue water fishing and secretly had our reservations that our skills may be met and surpassed on this little adventure.  With weight a consideration to having a tinny on the roof it restricts you to certain types and models of small boat especially for blue water fishing.  We were hoping our 3.6mtr tinny would cut it, given the rumour of 6mtr Sharks, Crocs and being caught in a swell.



We knew we were in for a treat

Setting up

After a long day fishing the place felt five star with welcoming cold showers only and flushing toilets in the old decrepit but clean ablution block.  There was no electricity so expect the hum of generators as this is needed to keep your catch on ice.  Best of all was a huge stainless steel filleting table located in camp with water to it.

RockCod - real yum

A Study of filleting concentration








McGowans Island is not a place to come if you want to swim.  Rumours of Crocodiles and Sharks now confirmed!  Day two fishing a 3+ metre Tiger Shark circled the boat continually and at one stage came right up to the side of the boat head out of water eyeballing us.  A lot of apprehension on our behalf and appeared to be none on his.




Over 3 mtr Tiger Shark next to boat

Day Three we saw an approx. 2 mtr Salt Water Crocodile swim near shore past the boat ramp and along the beach.  It was very inquisitive popping its head up out of the water on numerous occasions and having a look at us.


DLM

Donna tended to keep a more watchful eye when launching from then on.  For Mothers Day she received her Crocodile Dundess Knife (DLM) which gave her a sense of security for no other reason other than to say her one tooth was bigger than theirs.

Our last day whilst packing up, one of the long term campers (nick name HoHo) points out an extremely large Crocodile (best guesstimate over 6 mtrs) cruising the waters about 40 mtrs out.



Sunset - A calm day at boat ramp



Inquistive Croc

There is no private or secluded sites so expect neighbours to be in close proximity.  We have found in the past this can make or break a camp site.  We were very fortunate to be beside 3 other couples all there for the same reason, we had a lot of fun and all got along exceptionally well.  We all arrived on the same day and left a day apart.  Fishing companions we learnt invaluable lessons from and we all spent many great nights around the camp fire sharing stories, laughing and eating the catch of the day.  Meals included Mangrove Jack, Saddletail snapper, Mackerel, Fingermark, Queenie, Shark, RockCod, Giant Oysters and a special meal of Barramundi from Burketown.



Mackerel - yum

Only Mangrove Jack caught - the boys
wanted to throw her in - yum

 


 







Giant Trevally - Fun to catch & good bait

 

McGowans Island to us was paradise, camped on the ocean front amount the pandanus looking at turquoise seas and red sunsets.  we arrived with the intention of staying 4 days no matter what, but ended up staying eight.  Next time we return we plan to be one of the lucky ones who sets up for weeks/months at a time.




Looking back at Campsite

Golden Trevally

 
 


Great company - great nights



Barry not a Mac - disappointing

Being the novices we are, we would like to share some of our lessons learnt.




A valuable lesson learnt by us

Lesson One:  Have a back up when travelling and fishing alone, especially in unknown waters.  We met new friends, boated in groups, carried our two way radio to communicate.  This proved invaluable when one of the boats would not start 25kms out from camp.







Lesson Two: From this bloggers point of view, fishermen are very coy about where the good fishing spots are and it would seem parting with GPS co-ordinates was a thing rarely done.  You are on your own and may find the spots or new ones which is half the charm of fishing.

This was lesson 3,4&5 in one moment

Lesson Three:  Learn how to use your equipment.  For example GPS, as re-finding the fishing spot you took all day to find then had to leave due to wind, large swells or lack of light.  It is imposing the following day to re-find your GPS position when you are surrounded by blue water as far as the eye can see.  TIP - Let your Anchor rope out twice as long as your depth or don't expect to stay on your fishing spot.


Lesson Four:  Take more fuel.  We had to turn back on many occasions and once made it back with only 1 litre left.  Nothing like just hitting the trawling spot and fuel becomes an issue.


Lesson Five:  Fishing in the morning doesn't guarantee there won't be a metre swell by lunch.  We had to keep an eye on the white caps and judge our return time as we had no access to weather predictions.  We had a couple of hairy trips back and from the marine life out here, bobbing around in  lifejackets would have just make us easier to eat, like a lure without a hook.






Paradise

 

 

 



Our time here could not have been better however nothing ever goes without a mishap.....

 

El Questro Stn to Kalumburu 30th July to 1st August

We were fortunate the grader was working on the Gibb River Rd from El Questro to just past Durack River where we stopped for lunch and met the grader driver’s wife.  She suggested to free camp on the Gibb River a couple of kilometres down the Kalumburu Rd.  It was a pretty camp for our overnight stop, however this is where the apparent dry wet the Kimberley’s had this last year showed, as a lot of the rivers water levels were low or dried up.  From here the road deteriorated progressively with our first inevitable sections of bone jarring corrugations.

Pentacost River Crossing

Lunch stop Durack River

 

 

 

Crossing the King Edward River

This was always going to be a test for the BT50 loaded, towing and with a boat on the roof.  She handled herself extremely well and this is where you see all the money you spend on modifications, suspension, upgrades pay off.

 

 

King Edward River camp (Munurru) was one of our definite places to stay.  The area was surprisingly quiet compared to everywhere we have been so far.  Most people use the camp as a base to leave their trailers set up and day trip into Mitchell Falls.  We visited Mitchell Falls on our previous trip and decided to bypass it this time.  The sites at Munurru were segregated, large and open with some shade and contained a concrete fire pit in each.  The most impressive change was the many double composting toilet setups which were doing their job well.  The waterfall had a significantly lower water level than previously but still held its swimming appeal. 



He said it would fit - I said it wouldn't.
Campsite Munurru - King Edward River

Refreshing in the King Edward River near Camp

 

 



Warming Up after Swimming in King Edward River




Munurru Aboriginal Rock Art

 

If staying at Munurru we recommend you take a short drive (approx. 5km) to the Aboriginal rock art near camp, it shows some of the best weather beaten recognisable images we have seen.

 

 

 

Corrugations Kalumburu Rd

The road to Kalumburu was in very poor maintenance travelling between 5 and 60kms per hour.  There are some potentially treacherous dips, creek washouts, corrugations, stones, rocks, boulders and wallabies.

 

 

The animals we are encountering this trip are showing bizarre behaviours.  On the road to Kalumburu travelling maximum 30kph a wallaby ran out of the bushes and into the side of the car ending its life.  Not out in front of the car with a possibility to avoid but straight into the passenger side at full speed.  He will always be remembered as he has left his large indentation in the running board.