Morning all, well we headed out of Darwin and arrived in Bali last night. it was only a two hr 45 min flight and as I hadn't been here for over 30 years everything had changed dramatically. The airport was huge, the streets even busier. Anyway a taxi ride to Ubud and we were stuffed. Our friends Graham and Leonie thankfully met us at the airport with a driver and took the one hour drive. The hotel is an amazing place. I also mean, it's a  maze of a place with us having to climb heaps of steps just to get to our room which over looks this wonderful place. Anyway off to breakfast and then sight seeing. Bye for know.

If has been a quiet few days with nothing happening except us having a rest. I woke early this morning and decided not to wake Gabriella. I jumped into the car and headed out to the boat ramp at the east end wharf. When I arrived the weather was cool so it was on with a windcheater for the first time in the past few weeks. Once again the fish were jumping but couldn't catch those little bas****. Anyway it was a good morning as we hadn't planned anything. When I arrived back Gabriella had done the washing and was sitting down to breakfast. Again she had a bit of a laugh as the fishing hasn't been too good. Yesterday I went out on a charter boat and didn't catch a thing. One guy caught a cod and a few smaller fish but again, no fish for me. I'm getting a bit sick of sausages.

We headed down to the Berry springs wildlife park this afternoon and I was a bit surprised that they really didn't have that much wildlife. It was very disappointing but we headed down the road after the park and found another fishing spot that required a bit of 4x4 driving. I should think about things before I do it sometimes. Well I got out but it was interesting. Well as usual no fish but at least I didn't have to watch for crocs. This was a small river with a beautiful spot to stand and fish. The scenery was great and made the fishing even more pleasurable. Gabriella was a bit hesitant to venture too close to the river as it was difficult to get down and maybe the thought of crocs put her off.

No fish, we picked up a chook and cooked it in the weber Q. As the night was cool at about 22deg a roast went down beautifully.

Pack up time tomorrow for our trip to Bali, this will be well worth it as we don't have to drive for a week. Graham and Leonie will hopefully be waiting for us when we arrive. They'll probably be sitting have a beer if they have any sense.

Well we will not be blogging for a week unless I can get near a computer or hook up my tablet to a wireless connection for nothing. Hope McDonalds is there and they have wireless.

My fishing adventure is not over by a long shot. I believe there are more opportunities around the corner and I don't mean Gabriella.

Until the next episode keep reading.

Bye for now.

Well today was all about the crocs. We headed out to the Adelaide river and joined a few people on the Adelaide River Queen. The river was very dirty and if you just stood and looked for crocs  from the banks you couldn't see them. Once we started down the river you could start to see movement in the water. The photos today are on crocs.The tour operators have named each of the crocs they feed. They are easily recognized because each has a distinguishing feature, basically battle scars you might say. One croc has a leg missing, another a jaw missing, hence, a large over bite and another had one eye only.

The guide said there are over 7000 crocs in the Adelaide river system and over 100,000 crocs. in the Northern Territory. Every year when the breading system starts the Wildlife and fisheries people go in and take approximately 88,000 eggs and distribute them throughout the wildlife parks and the majority of them will be killed with the skins going to make handbags and accessories.I believe croc hamburgers are quite popular.

There is a very heavy fine if you shoot a croc with a penalty of $10,000 and a possible jail term of up to five years. This actually made me think about fishing from the banks of the Adelaide river. They said I could fish from the boat ramp but it was still a little too close  to those guys. In the water they moved pretty quickly and  once on land they can run up to 40 ks so be advised, get out of their way by climbing a tree . Decided I wasn't a good tree climber without a rope and harness. This beast below is 6.5 mtrs long and from the distance we were away from him he could take you in a couple of mouthfuls. He wasn't interested in the pork chops they were using to attract the other crocs as you would have needed to dangle a cow to get his attention. The chap having a snooze on the bank is called "Aggro'. He has some 25 girl friends and is king of his domain. He is also the largest croc in that section of the river. I believe he adds the occasional cow to his menu. Yum.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One croc looked at me when I was taking photos. He decided not to take the pork chops. As I was zooming in on him I was sure he was watching me and thinking why have an entree when I could get the main. He really put the wind up me. Funny how you can be so far away but when you see them jump you wonder how far can they    jump and are you within their range. I know they have us in their sights.

Yes the top end is full of crocodiles. The saltwater crocs are of the course the aggressors and funnily enough they do not like salt water so will be found in rivers, billabongs, basically anywhere where there is fresh water. Fresh water crocs on the other hand are shy and non aggressive.

Well I'm off to do a bit of fishing in the morning about 5 ks off the Darwin coast. They assure me I won't come back empty handed. Deano, I'm hoping that this doesn't end up like our Port Phillip bay adventure. Can't wait to get a boat, these guys are in the best place in Oz to fish. They can't swim in the water because of the box jelly fish but when you can stand on a wharf and see 2 to 2.5 ft trevally swimming around but because they use them for tourists to feed your're not permitted to fish where they are. You can go down the wharf about 100mtrs and they will not take your bait. It is the most disheartening thing for someone looking to catch a fish. While I was having a bit of a fish Gabriella was looking at the memorabilia about the bombing of Darwin. There is always something to look at up here, the weather is beautiful and did I say the weather is beautiful up here. We had the nicest day with a cool breeze this morning keeping the temp down to a low 29 deg. Yes it was a beautiful day.

We had another lazy day today, we looked around for a shade screen for the awning and picked one up down the road. As we were driving back we found the aircraft museum on the Stuart Hwy. As it was a boy thing Gabriella decided to sit it out and have a coffee whilst I wandered through the hanger that they stored this mammoth aircraft. Anyway it's a boy thing. Graham you know what I'm talking about.

 The above photo was taken just before the sunset. The people were streaming down to the beach from the market area. It's strange how a sunset can mesmerise people the way they do. I watched the sunset and then noticed everyone walking back to the market, what they didn't realise was that it was just the beginning. Over the next 30min  I took several photos of the changes to the skyline. These are just three that I took out of about 40 photos. One of them will end up in a frame. I must admit I get more out of watching the sunset than pushing your way through the hoards of people looking for a bargain they never find at these markets. It is a good market but I still think markets like The Vic market in Melb or the Salamanca market in Hobart are just as good if not better.

Just before the final minutes of the sunset I headed to an area where this guy was playing a didgeridoo and took a photo of the market and people walking around. Not a lot being brought but a lot of food being consumed. The stalls that are more like mini takeaway shops have a wider variety than the local food halls at the shopping centre malls.

This was the last shot that I took at Mindil Beach. The people have gone back to the stalls and food vendors. They missed out on what was a beautiful sunset.
Tomorrow it's off to see some crocs. It's about time I see what's stalking me while I'm fishing from the banks of the river.  Tuesday I'm off shore fishing. Bradells I have to catch one bigger that that beast you got in Mildura at Easter. The girl selling the trips assured me if I didn't catch something the bait would be bigger. Ahhhhhhhhh
Anyway guys the photos will be taken and they will be enlarged to capture the detail.
Keep reading guys as I must admit, this has been fun.

Today we ventured 120ks out from Howard Springs to a place known as Barkhut. On the way we stopped off to check out the buffalo that are still in area. Tim I think you were very brave wrestling with these big beasts.

This was the reason we headed down to Barkhut. My sister's partner was one of a few buffalo workers that built what was known as the Bark hut. The owner of the land back then went on to build The bark Hut Inn that is now situated on the Arnhem Hwy.

Now this is the real deal, it was built back in the 1960's by a few men whilst working the buffalo in the area. The original owner ran an abattoir on the site for buffalo meat. The original was damaged several times and as the repairs have been done, more modern items have been used. I spoke with one of the people who built it and had quite a conversation about the hut and the work they did. The guy's name is Terry Baldwin and he is a sprightly 84 year old man. His hearing has gone due to the guns they used back in the early days. He said during the time they were killing buffalo in the NT, he would  shoot anywhere up to 20,000 of them while working the buffalo in the territory.

                   

 Now this caught my eye, a lagoon that is filled by a freshwater spring. The lady who owns the property now uses it for scout trips and in the better seasons she would have campers stay. I asked if there were any fish in the lagoon, she said we don't let anyone fish there anymore because they leave lines and hooks in the water and as the people who come to stay always manage to get hooked not the fish. She did say that if I wanted I could throw a line in but I couldn't go against what she first said. I went and stood on the banks and you could see fish rising to the top. This was a fisherman's heaven. Sometimes things are better left as they are. The lady's name was Ally and she was a lovely woman for allowing us to enter her property to take some photos.

 I had to get my head into one of these shots.

This was one of the vehicles they used to muster the Buffalos with on the property. Terry Baldwin told me that the driver's door was armor plated to stop the buffalo horns from piercing the door skins to get at the drivers. He had a bit of a laugh telling that story and you  could tell that the memories were flashing back like they just happened yesterday. I enjoyed talking to Terry and he kindly took us for a tour of his property that he still has just up the road from the Barkhut. He still works about 3000 acres and said he had to shoot a buffalo that got on his property two days ago. He was worried that the student that come up to do team building with the police rangers may have got hurt if they got in it's way. He did say that there was a buffalo hotpot on the stove that he'd been cooking for some 7 hours and was very nice. I don't know if he was suggesting we try it.

 This is the man himself at the ripe old age of 84. As I said, his hearing has gone but he continues to work. The hut he is standing outside of is Barkhut 4. His house is Barkhut 3 and The Barkhut Inn is No:2. He did say he has a No:5 down in the scrub but due to time restraints we didn't get to see it. As we were leaving he said he was off to do a bit of burning back of the grass. An absolute gentleman of the bush. He even thanked us for dropping in for a talk. If I get back up this way I'd stop in for another chat with him, he will be around for a little while yet.

As we were about to drive off he said to tell Tim if he could remember the muster ring. He said he brought it back over from the original property for the police rangers to use with the students. Yep they still come running for their meals.

 Anyway Tim, that's it. We enjoyed the trip and hope you enjoy the photos of something from your past. 49 years may have past but the memories live on. The woman from the pub (Tammy) would love some of the photos you have of the old days so they can display them in the pub. They haven't got much in the way of history so when I get back see what you think.

Well we hit the Casino tonight and yep they cleaned up. They got the money this time so I left Gabriella to do the dishes. I head back in about 0430am she should be done by then, only joking. We had a nice evening and a beautiful Chinese meal. Not sure of whats happening tomorrow but will fishing on Tuesday on a charter boat. Have to hit the deep water and look for that elusive big fish. bye for now.

Today we decided to get off our backsides and head to Litchfield National Park. The waterfalls in the area are something we wanted to see. Did I mention that it was hot up here. Just thought I'd rub that in a little. Anyway we started off on the trip back down to Batchelor turned off the Highway and onto the tourist route. Yep just follow the signs and you'll be OK. The strange thing about their signs up here is they'll say lookout falls 250mtrs. The thing is there is no sign at 250mtrs, you have to look for the turn. So many people missed them and were sighted turning back. Back to the interesting stuff. The termite mounds in the area are huge. I thought the ones we spotted a few days ago were big well these suckers are like the Eureka tower up against the Rialto. Anyway I thought that this would be a bad area to build but found out that the termites are the grass eating variety not timber. Now I know why I have seen any hippies around the area. (not a lot of pot plants)


Back in the car and off to the first of many falls and swimming holes. The Buley rockhole was the first on the round trip, this was fairly busy so we took a stroll down to see what it was like. Well besides the hoards of people at the swimming area was a group of small pools that cascaded down and on to a small creek. Very pretty. As the area was busy with people coming and going we decided to move on to the next as we were told that there were plenty of places to swim.

Next on the routewas Florence falls(left & above). Well this was an interesting place to see, not only did I decide to go for a swim but I thought it might be a good idea to check out some of the wild life at the same time. Have you ever seen people trying to get out of the water when someone yells shark. Well whilst paddling around someone decided to tell me there was a snake in the water. I can tell you those rocks under the water are very slippery. As I was exiting the water I could see the snake heading up the banks. Two young guys then told me it swam straight past me and was only a few inches from my side. I was out of that water very quickly. I'm not sure what type of snake it was but it was about 6 foot and very angry, I wrestled the mammoth beast with its body wrapping itself around me trying to crush me..... then I woke up. No the snake part is true not the wrestling. Oh, the water was cool but very nice. It was worth swimming with the snake.

Next stop was the Tolmer falls (right), this was a nice fall but you can only see it from the lookout and that was disappointing as the area below looked good for a swimming hole, The features of the rock were interesting but you just couldn't see from the lookout. The area behind the tree looked like a cave of some sort and would have been good to have a closer look.




Next it was off to the Wangi Falls, this is the main attraction for pretty much all the tour groups, it seemed like everyone headed straight to this location. You could see why when you had a look around, the falls were beautiful and the scenery just as nice. We decided to sit and have lunch here and contemplate going for another swim or just relax. The relax part was it. Grabbed an icecream from the one girl kiosk with people queuing for food. It was a bit hot waiting to be served whilst this poor girl cooked hamburgers and other health foods for the hoards of starving people. Lucky for us Gabby made some nice healthy salad sandwiches.

As we were all falled out, it was homeward bound and I, yes that would be me, decided to go the short way down the unsealed road back through Berry Springs. It was pleasant drive and yes we came across a river, not a big river but a river. It looked like there could be fish in that river. Got the rod out and fished for about 40 min. I was then told that crocs could be in the water and to be careful. As I was aware of my surroundings I didn't really think there was a danger. Anyway no fish but was told that the crocs up here are pretty fast and will size you up from a distance and come out of that water before you can say oh S**T and run. After a while decided I could hear footsteps and packed it in. The only reason to stop and fish is to relax a bit, I really don't care if I hook something or not because the scenery alone is what pulls you into these places.
Oh yeah, that bulge in my pocket isn't because Iam glad to see you that's because I'm hot. Nah, that's my water bottle.

It was then back to the camp and into the pool. Yep typical Melbournian person jumping into the pool and it was cold. Bloody solar heating softens you up. This quickly went and just relaxed in the pool talking to the other guests about our day.

Off to Bark hut today which would be tomorrow if the Internet was working properly, this would have to be the worst place for wireless Internet. Anyway not sure if this will make it the stars and back to you computers but here goes.

 Good evening to all. Today we had grand ideas to visit Litchfield National Park but we found that the pace, activity and all that driving over the past two weeks just caught up. And as Victorians, we succombed to the heat and humidity of Darwin, hence, we needed a day to rest and recuperate.  We did however venture into Darwin city to the visitor centre to collect yet again more tourist information. We began our visit of Darwin by visiting Cullen Wharft, Darwin's version of Docklands.  Rodney discovered FISH, actually visible to the naked eye, how amazing. Sadly, however, no fishing was allowed . Yes, so close and yet so far.

From there, we  visited the Museum and were reminded of the Cyclone Tracey devastation of Christmas 1974 when Darwin was virtually obliterated. Today it is a very attractive city surrounded by clear blue water and sunny skies, or as the locals say 'the dry season'. Next visit was the Fannie Bay gaol, yes folks, there is such a place. Like all old gaols, there is a sense of past ghosts. Interestingly, the infirmary was the place where the last two hangings occurred in Darwin in 1955. Two young men aged 19 and 20 found guilty of the murder of a taxi driver. According to the information, there have been ten hangings in Darwin, seven Aboriginal, two European and one Asian.  An interesting but not surprising statistic. Rodney was once again lured by the

idea of catching that big one so he did  a spot of  fishing but again no fish caught. The day will come I have no doubt or he will be sadly disullusioned. Our last stop was the Mindil Beach market. We have heard how good this is so went with high expecatations but were disappointed. Sometimes I think expecations do not always follow reputation.  None the less, an experience just the same. Tomorrow the plan is to visit Litchfield so hopefully we will have some new photos to show you. Take care and bye for now from Rodney and Gabriella.