4 Stray Katz: Arnhem Land - part 2 of 3, the second 6 nights

Arnhem Land: Part 2 of 3, the second 6 nights

Saturday 22nd - Friday 28th July

The camping and day use areas in East Arnhem Land

Day 7- Lurrpukurra – Barinua (Little Bondi Beach)

On our way from Cape Arnhem to Little Bondi Beach we stopped in at Goanna Lagoon to check it out in preparation for our upcoming stay, and to have a cool off in the fresh water. After 2 days of humid weather on the coast it was so satisfying to dip into the cold water.

After navigating the bumpy coastal track we pulled onto Little Bondi Beach about midday and were shocked to see how busy it was- there were cars and people lining the beach from end to end! We have since learnt it is a very popular beach with locals as you can swim here (apparently the crocodiles don’t venture into the little bay). As it was a Saturday the beach was teeming with people enjoying the opportunity to swim in the ocean. There were no allocated camp spots, you just choose a spot on the beach. We managed squeeze in at the northern end of the beach, which was positive as we were away from the huge group of teenagers at the other end who were celebrating a 17^th birthday, but negative as we got the full brunt of the strong wind blowing off the ocean.

During the afternoon Daniel, Jackson and I had a little swim, we walked along the beach and the cliffs and the boys had a fish off the rocks. That night we all enjoyed sitting around a fire on the beach and we were treated to stunning fireworks displays from two of the other campers who’d obviously saved up some fireworks from NT Day (when you can legally buy as many fireworks as you want). It was a rough night in the tent as the wind got even worse and we had sand billowing up inside the tent and landing all over us!

Pretty spectacular campsite - such it shame it was so windy!

Me bravely wading into the ocean- whilst anxiously looking out for crocs!

The view of Little Bondi Beach from the sand dune behind.

The boys on their way back from fishing on the rocks - it was so windy on top of the cliffs.

The morning was so lovely we nearly forgot about the horrible night's sleep.

Turtle Beach - about a 30 minute walk away

Emilia and I at Turtle Beach after our morning walk along the clifftop.

Stone stories - these stone arrangements were made by the Yolgnu people to record the trading with the Maccasan people from Indonesia that occurred from the mid 1700s until the start of the 1900s and to pass the information on to the next generation. There were a number of different stone arrangements showing canoes, houses and items the Maccasans used.

Day 8/9/10- Gove Boat Club

The windy day yesterday was the first of 4 days of unseasonably strong winds and cool nights- even the locals were complaining that they had to find jumpers as the evenings were getting unusually cold!!

The Gove Boat Club is in a great location right on the Gove Peninsula and, even though the weather was not as favourable as we’d hoped, we still had a good time. Highlights included:

Eating dinner out 2 nights in a row as it was too windy to cook at camp. We ate at Boat Club restaurant on Sunday (an incredible meal) then in Nhulunbuy on Monday (my seafood laksa was one of the best meals I have ever had).
Fishing off the rocks at East Woody Beach – the boys caught a mackerel, 2 golden trevallies and a blue bone.
Visiting Yirrkula Art Gallery to see some of the incredible indigenous art made by local traditional owners, using materials all sourced from the local area. We also learnt about the traditional method used to prepare pandanus for weaving and I bought a cute pair of woven pandanus earrings
The kids loved the huge trees at the Boat Club – climbing them provided them hours of entertainment!
Chatting with many other campers – we even met a man who used to work with my Dad!

The kids loved the huge trees covered with vines at the Gove Boat Club. (see if you can spot Jackson in this photo)

At East Woody Beach - while the boys fished Emilia did some boulder climbing.

Fishing at East Woody Beach.

One of the 4 fish they caught on the first day.

The huge Queenfish Daniel caught the second time they went out fishing - he released this one.

A mural at Yirrkala community, near Nhulunbuy, depicting the Marika family, who, as well as being highly regarded artists, began the fight for Indigenous Land Rights. Roy Marika's action against the mining company, Nabalco, who were mining Arnhem Land, led to the establishment of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act.

The lovely view from the camp kitchen at Gove Boat Club.

Day 11/12- Wathuwuy (Goanna Lagoon)

For the first day we had the whole Goanna Lagoon camp area to ourselves. We spent the whole day enjoying swimming against the current up a narrow, rocky crevice then letting the water propel us back down, wading in the cool water watching the kids have a blast on the rope swing and relaxing in the hammock at our lovely camp spot. The boys also spent a bit of time putting the nets in then collecting the cherabin and red claw they caught. Our second day was much the same, but we also ventured over to a nearby section of the river where we enjoyed a few more swims. It was such a relaxing and peaceful few days and the weather was just perfect.