Recently Emma and I ventured down to Perth to start looking for a house – and found one on the first day of looking! Our settlement is nearly complete, and we thought we’d put a little video snippet of our new home (once we leave Fitzroy Crossing that is) up for viewing. We’re very happy with our purchase, and can’t wait until we get to move in and make it our own.
Author: trevor (Page 3 of 6)
Emma and I travelled to Looma with a few other teachers (Troy, Sally, Caromy and Marcus) for a weekend of sun, fishing and relaxation. We arrived on Saturday afternoon, the only drama being a(nother) flat tyre on Marcus’s beast (6 this year!) on the way in. Troy joined us from his business in Looma that evening and we enjoyed another great camp meal cooked by Emma.
The next day Troy and I went fishing (getting only slightly bogged in the process) while the rest of the crew set up another camp in a great little spot. Troy landed two small barra and lost one, and I lost one – not bad in an hour’s fishing!
To see all the photos, see the photos.hinchy.org page, and there are also additional ones at Sally’s FaceBook page!
…since my last size barra! It only just fell inside the maximum allowed as well at 79cm. It took 20 minutes to land, with a team effort required from Troy and myself – after it jumped, it took off straight into a huge root system and lodged itself in there. Drifting over, we could see the barra in the water it the root system. Eventually Troy dropped a 100 pound handline with a sinker attached straight onto it and it took off again into open water. An interesting catch!
I miss all the fun! While I was away in Perth last week, a bushfire swept through perilously close to our school – running around our entire school perimeter, and right up against a few buildings, including our sheds, English room and Manual Arts room.
And who said it was socially acceptable to become arsonists in the Kimberley because regular “small” bushfires are better than big ones? Tell that to the residents who live by the school who nearly lost houses, sheds and cars!
During my trip to Perth last week, I had to drive through yet another bush fire. The trusty phone camera captured part of the fire that engulfed both sides of the road as I drove through it. About 500 metres up, shire workers were madly moving their loaders and equipment to a safer place.
Last year I posted some photos showing a fire from our backyard. Well, it’s bushfire time again, and it makes for some eerie evenings. The past few nights have been quite still, and the smoke from the surrounding fires has made it near impossible to put washing on the line. Even when going to sleep in the bedroom, it feels like you are swagging it right next to a campfire. Not particularly pleasant! From what I understand, most of the fires are deliberately lit, playing havoc with the graziers and their cattle.
With the weather starting to warm up, the barra have begun to come out again. Over the past few weeks, we’ve managed to land no fewer than 7 barra, but alas, none have been size! Tim and I got up early this morning to take the boat up to the gorge, launching at 5am. The trend continued, with Tim landing a small barra at around 7:30am, and I landed a 45cm at around 12:30pm. In between, we had a few strikes with no reward, and I caught a couple of good bream – one was a perfect pan size, so we cooked it in the boat on the portable stove for a top breakfast. The other came in at a very respectable 32cm.
There were a few interesting catches along the way – trolling past the Geikie Gorge rockwall, with the echo sounder showing 30 foot of water, and trolling with a lure that dived to only 3 foot, I hooked a 30cm catfish. It seemed quite a strange place to catch a catty. The other quite ridiculous catch came just after I landed my barra. We were flicking lures in the area in the hope of catching another, when I felt a light touch on the line. Slightly confused when it continued to slightly tug at the barra lure, I reeled in to find a bream had tried a suicidal feat by trying to hit a lure that was actually bigger than it!
An enjoyable morning of fishing!
Alas, I forgot to take my tripod with me on my trip, and accordingly, the majority of my attempts at creating panoramic shots have failed miserably. I have one that did make it, and I present it here: a shot of Keep River National Park, in particular, the Gurrandalng Walk from the base. Click on the image below to view a larger version.
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Emma and I have spent the last week with Mum and Dad touring across the East Kimberley – something we haven’t done together before. Marcus, another teacher from Fitzroy, also joined us for the trip into the Bungles before driving back to Broome to complete his break in Perth.
The Bungles were so much more than I expected – I’d seen pictures before, but I’d now recommend anyone to go and see them in the flesh. I’d also recommend doing a helicopter tour – fantastic!
We then drove on, spending a night alongside the Dunham River. I caught a couple of small bream, but nothing approaching the legal size limit. From here, we shopped quickly in Kununurra, and crossed the border for the Keep River National Park. For such a beautiful and accessible park (2WD can get in, and only 50km from Kununurra), it’s a wonder it wasn’t fuller than it was. There were some great walks through here, and the price to stay in the NT parks is a lot less than WA parks (it cost Emma and I $30 to camp in the Bungles, and only $6.60 to camp in Keep River).
After two nights in the National Park, we trekked back to Kununurra, with more shopping, and then drove through the irrigation land back into the Northern Territory to set up camp closer to the mouth of the Keep River. All up, we caught some six barra, though none were size! I’ll definitely be re-visiting this little stretch again…
So, gone for a week, but a full week it was! Some stunning scenery, a great chance to catch up with Mum and Dad, and a most relaxing holiday. Great fun! I’m sure when Dad posts he will have many more details…
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Anyone for a douche in the local creek?
Another sign from our trip – this one was in the Northern Territory, and was preceded with a sign 100 metres back which proclaimed “The maximum speed limit in the Northern Territory is 110km/hr, unless otherwise stated.”
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