4 Stray Katz: July 2023

Arnhem Land- part 1 of 3, the first 6 nights

Day 1- Katherine to Wilton Creek

After a very hectic morning packing (it is quite hard to pack for 18 days away from the caravan, especially not knowing what to expect in Arnhem Land) we left Katherine about 10.30am. The Central Arnhem Road was in pretty good condition, having recently been graded, so we made great time. Daniel offered $10 to the first person to spot water buffalo and, after a few false call outs (Emilia and I kept mistaking cattle for buffalo), Jackson called out with glee as he spotted at least 12 just a short way of the road. They are certainly huge and quite menacing looking so I decided not to get out of the car for a photo! We found a small campsite next to Wilton Creek, about 10 kms out of the small community of Bulman. The boys had a great time spotting red claw and cherabin in the river once it got dark. We slept without the fly on the tent so we fell asleep watching the stars twinkle like diamonds against the deep blue-black sky. There were lots of noises in the night, including cattle stomping their way through the mud to drink at the river and all the dogs from the nearby community howling in unison to the moon, it was a warm night and we all weren’t used to sleeping in the tent so none of us slept very well!

Ready to begin driving the Central Arnhem Road

Jurassic Park Lookout- it is called that as the landscape down there is said to still be the same as it was when dinosaurs inhabited the land.

Our campsite on the first night.

Day 2- Wilton Creek- Rocky Bottom Creek

After a slow start and a long pack up (as we are still working out the best way to fit everything in the car!) we only did a short drive (about 150kms) before we got to Rocky Bottom Creek where we found a tucked away campsite right next to the shallow creek. We felt safe swimming in the clear flowing water so the kids spent the afternoon using the rocks to dam the water and build themselves a ‘spa’. After the hot, dusty drive yesterday and the humid morning the water felt so refreshing and we managed to rid ourselves of some of the red dirt that had already begun infusing into our skin! We were treated to another clear night sky teeming with stars.

Enjoying a cool off in the shallows

Our secluded campsite just off the old highway, right next to Rocky Bottom Creek

Day 3- Rocky Bottom Creek- Manangaymi (Scout Camp)

After packing up we had another swim (the sun already had a bite to it by 9am) then headed towards East Arnhem Land and our first booked campsite in the Dhimirru Indigenous Protected Area, the traditional lands of the Yolnu people. The campsite was right next to a shallow creek and a short walk from small waterfall. We met some locals (from Nhulunbuy) who were swimming so we spent the afternoon cooling off in the flowing water. They were lovely, welcoming and generous people and we spent the evening chatting whilst the kids played with their kids. They’d caught a heap of cherabin and we all feasted on these. We also went with them to check their nets and they showed Jackson how to catch cherabin with a cast net. The kids had an absolutely wonderful night running amok with their new friends until we finally dragged them to bed about 10pm as we were falling asleep!

The campsites and day use areas in East Arnhem Land- we managed to see nearly all of them.

The waterfall was so refreshing and we got a bit of back massage (Daniel and my backs were a bit stiff from the hiking mats we were sleeping on).

The kids had hours of fun on the rope swing just down from our campsite.

Fun with glow sticks - the kids and their new friends had a ball in the dark with glow sticks.

Day 4 – Manangaymi (Scout Camp)

We had 2 nights here and it was lovely not to have to pack the tent up. The kids played all morning with their new friends, coming up with different tricks on a rope swing near our campsite. Everyone was disappointed when they had to pack up and leave, but they gifted Jackson with some bait bags so he could try his luck getting cherabin so he was super excited and put them in the water straight away. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the water, fishing and relaxing in the shade listening to the water cascade over the rocks.

The tricks on the rope swing got more adventurous on the second day, especially when they had their new friends watching!

Our campsite - the river was just a hundred meters down a track behind where Emilia is sitting

Cooking damper for dessert

Dessert damper - filled with butter and golden syrup

Some of the cherabin and red claw he caught.

Making his own spear- he loves the bush life.

Day 5 – Manangaymi – Lurrpukurra (Oyster Beach)

Before we left Manangaymi we cooked up the red claw, blue claw and cherabin that Daniel and Jackson had caught (both in baited nets and with the cast net) by the river and ate them whilst enjoying our last freshwater swim for a little while. On our way out to Cape Arnhem we stopped at a lookout to see the white sand, turquoise water and rocky cliffs where we were heading. We’d managed to get one of only 5 campsites at the very popular Cape Arnhem- where no day visitors are allowed. We had the single site down at Lurrpukurra, also known as Oyster Beach. It was a cute site hidden behind the sand dunes which kept us protected when the ocean breezes picked up. Unfortunately the beautiful beach was littered with plastic rubbish, washed up with the tide. It was quite devastating to see how much single use plastic must be floating around in the ocean if this is what washed up on only one small section of the beaches on the eastern side of Arnhem Land. It reminded us of Chilli Beach at Cape York, where mountains of rubbish is washed up each year.

The kids collected some useful pieces to make a cubby then we went for a walk along the wide beach, exploring all the rocky caves along the way. That evening we walked up a nearby sand dune to watch the sunset and Jackson startled a huge water buffalo that thankfully went galloping off in the opposite direction!

It was an extremely hot and humid night so we all had quite a restless sleep.

Enjoying a morning swing, after a swim, at Scout Camp

What a great morning tea! Cherabin and red claw, butterflied with smoky paprika, they were delicious (and tasted even better as we sat in the cool water eating them)

Before we headed down to Cape Arnhem we stopped at this lookout with views to the most easterly point of East Arnhem Land and the Arafura Sea.

The car was filthy from the huge clouds of red dust that billowed around us as we drove up the Central Arnhem Road, then the gas struts on the back gave way so we are now holding the back window up with a stick!!

Lurrpukurra (Oyster Beach)

Just such a shame about the washed up rubbish strewn everywhere

Climbing up a sand dune to watch the sunset- this was the moment Jackson disturbed a huge water buffalo.

Day 6 – Lurrpukurra (Oyster Beach)

After enjoying both the colours of the sunrise and the cool sea breeze during an early morning walk along the beach we got in the car (and pumped up the air-conditioning) then headed along the coastal track to take us up to the most northern section of Cape Arnhem that is accessible to visitors. On the way we stopped at a few beaches to look at several turtle nests, viewed the limestone outcrops known as the Gaynada (Twin Eagles) that are a sacred site of the Yolnu people and watched huge (1000+) schools of mullet swim around right near the shore- we also saw a huge fish chase them and watched the mullet swim furiously up, down and to the side to try to avoid being eaten.

Once we got up to Cape Arnhem the boys fished off the rocks, watching many sea turtles popping their heads up as they fished. Daniel hooked on to something big but nearly got taken off the rocks and unfortunately lost the catch. Emilia and I went for a walk along the beach then chilled out in the shade of a few big trees at one of the unoccupied campsites as it was a very hot and humid day. Whilst we sat there, we watched some menacingly black clouds start to roll in and before we knew it large raindrops starting falling- it was such a welcome reprieve from the oppressive heat that we stood out in it enjoying the coolness, before we all realised we’d left the tent windows all open!! Once the boys made their way back from the rocks (and got very wet in the process) we hightailed it back to camp. Thankfully the rain had mostly bypassed our camp and our bedding was dry.

Jackson and I spent the afternoon collecting rubbish off the beach – we collected a heap but it only made a little dent in the massive amount- but we both felt better that at least some of it won’t end up back in the ocean.

That evening we walked up a nearby sand dune to enjoy the sunset again before a late dinner and a relaxing evening around a small campfire (for ambiance only, certainly not warmth!)

An awesome drone shot of sunrise and our campsite- the only one in the southern section of Cape Arnhem.

Sunrise from down on the beach- it was gorgeous how the sun popped up from behind the rocky island

This is why it is called Oyster Beach - there were hundreds of little oysters all on the rocks.

We stopped at this beach along the way and saw 4 sets of turtle tracks leading up to their nests.

One of the two rocky outcrops that make up Gaynada (Twin Eagles) a sacred Indigenous site

The other 'Twin Eagle'

Gaynada (The Twin Eagles) from above

Some of the hundreds of mullet that were swimming around near the Twin Eagles

The boys were fishing off the rocky point in the distance.

A rocky landslide that must have only happened recently.

Sunset from the sand dune near camp

Daniel got an awesome shot from the drone of the coastline and surrounding landscape.

Day 7- Lurrpukurra – Barinua (Little Bondi Beach)

After getting up early and enjoying another stunning sunrise, we brought all the rubbish we’d collected off the beach back to camp and put it in a big pile, hopeful that the rangers would collect it soon. We left about 9am, headed to Little Bondi Beach for the night (which I will write about in the next post 😊)

The sunrise over the beach was incredible, so there are lots of photos below.