After leaving Saddlers Spring we moved on to another free camp area on the banks of the Barnett River. We had already scoped the place out a few weeks ago and had our hearts set on a sandy, shady spot right next to the river, which thankfully wasn't taken when we arrived. Within an hour Daniel had the kayak in the deep river and took each kid for a paddle. When he took Jackson they took the fishing rod. Daniel was casting then letting Jackson hold the rod whilst he reeled in. On the last time he thought he would teach Jackson how to reel in. Whilst Jackson is reeling it in it appeared that he had caught a snag but, and Daniel couldn't believe it, he had actually caught a fish! He was so proud and brought it back to camp to show us before letting it go. During the next 6 nights that we stayed at the spot Jackson had great luck fishing and managed to catch about 8 fish. He also loved putting the crab nets in with Daniel (and checking them first thing every morning) to catch cherebin(a type of freshwater prawn). Using my supply of Velvet laundry soap they managed to catch an average of 5 each night. We kept the big ones and Jackson was very proud of his 'nippers' as he called them. The highlights from this spot were:
- Swimming in the Barnett River Gorge. It wasn't a popular tourist spot so we had the place to ourselves two out of the three times we went there.
- The bats (20 or more flying around in the daytime - such a great thing to see) and freshwater crocodiles at Barnett River Gorge.
- Eating freshly caught cherebin.
- Having our own spot on the river.
- Building a cubby in the trees with the kids, they had a great time playing 'house'.
- Kayaking down the river listening to the birds (and the crocs slide down the bank as you get near).
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| Reeling in a black Bream |
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| Cherabin - YUM (Jackson renamed them 'nippers') |
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| More beautiful wildflowers |
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| Warming on the rocks at Barnett River Gorge |
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| Improvised bath time |
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| The cooked cherabin - delicious. |
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| More relaxing and warming on the rocks after a big swim in Barnett River |
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| Our spacious and secluded campsite on Barnett River. |
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| Our own little pool |
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| Deep in thought!! |
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| Daniel's bush bread, hand kneaded & cooked in the fire. |
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| Emilia finally built up the courage to hold a cherabin, Jackson had no issues (except when they went for his toes in the kayak). |
Hey Bec,
ReplyDeleteBack in contact and back to Melbourne...boo hoo for us! You guys look like you are having an amazing adventure, the blog is fantastic, keep it up! Would love to chat if that is at all possible, if not I'II follow the blog a bit more closely and start to live vicariously through your adventures now that ours have ended. Lots of love Shaz xx