January 17, 2006

Accessible Top End Cruising

As we drifted along the mangrove creek, under over-hanging rocky ledges, the only thing we could hear was the ‘plop’ of the lure as our guide deftly cast his fishing line amongst the exposed mangrove roots.

“We can usually tempt a Mangrove Jack out” he said quietly.

Suddenly there was a flash of silver in the dark water, the line went taut and the guide’s rod bent alarmingly as he vigorously wound the reel. “He’s a smart one” the guide noted as the taut line arced across the water in the direction of the mangroves. But the fisherman was gaining as he heaved and wound. There was another flash of silver closer to the surface.

“It’s a barramundi!” our guide exclaimed, “we usually only see them in the wet season”.

Soon this pan-sized specimen of one of the most sought after tropical fish was lying in the bottom of the boat.

“But that’s the thing about this place, it’s so abundant and virtually untouched you never cease to be surprised about what you might catch in what season. A ‘bara’ in August is unbelievable”.

We were not in the more familiar wet tropics of Cairns or Port Douglas, we were cruising and fishing the extraordinary Wessel Islands. The water is tropical turquoise and the air temperature is balmy to hot most of the year, but this vast marine and island wilderness is as alien as another country to most Australians.

The Wessel Islands lie in a SW to NE line from north-east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory for 60 nautical miles (approx 100 kms) into the Arafura Sea. A parallel line of similar islands to the south are called The English Company Islands and south of these is another line of islands called the Brombies. Far from being a string of pearls embedded in a turquoise sea – this is a wild and raw wilderness. More like chunks of boulder opal beautiful and intriguing but certainly not sleek and lush with waving palms like the tropical islands of our imaginations. It is more the savannah land of Cape York and the Gulf Country, which can be stark and dusty in the dry season and lush and abundant in the wet season while the periods in between present a fusion of visual and experiential exotica rarely shown in the travel brochures.

The islands are mainly flat and featureless formed on ancient sedimentary rocks which are uniformly fractured in layers that look like huge ‘Sao’ biscuits stacked flat and cracked randomly. The erosion of the wind and time has under-cut many of the stacks, toppling the great biscuits and leaving a rubble of fragments of a rather larger scale than you’d find in the bottom of a cookie jar. Additionally, the fractures have occurred in a horizontal mode leaving a lattice across the landscape of quite symmetrical squares, which with erosion and time have become deep fissures, in some places 4-5 metres deep, yet so narrow at the top that you can step confidently across them! In other places the crevasses have become watercourses and the millenniums have left navigable channels which separate the islands and make access for boating people much easier to anchorages either side of the islands. An example is the “Hole in the Wall’ which is the preferred transit between Guluwuru and Raragala Islands.

The terrain is reasonably easy to walk through with open areas of flat and tiered rocks fringed by dry grasses, acacias, casuarinas and other salt tolerant trees, with the occasional screw-pandanus and melaleuca in the freshwater creek beds and brilliant green mangroves established often far up the deeper, tidal fissures.

In contrast to the textured rocky sections of coast are the dazzling white coral beaches stretching as far as the eye can see, lapped by the clear blue waters of the Arafura Sea. Swimming from these beaches is generally OK with the usual cautions taken for any Australian beach. But to say you can have the beach to yourself is an understatement. It is hard to estimate when anyone has last walked on the beach you are on and a few hours, fossicking above the high water line, casting a fishing line in the shallows or just sitting letting your mind roam, can disappear carelessly. Your only company might be a pair of sea-eagles soaring lazily overhead or some Pied Oystercatchers busily strutting along the shallows or over the rock pools.

We were on a week-long boating safari in this immaculate region with Top End Expeditions, a pioneer fishing and cruising operator based out of the bauxite township of Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula and providing rare access to this amazing part of Australia. Guests live aboard the mother-ship “MV Auriga Bay II” and there are two custom designed 7 metre, high-speed game-fishing boats which are great platforms for exploring and chasing a great variety of fish.

For senior fishing guide and Top End Expeditions principal Ian Murphy, a life-long love of fishing brought him to this untouched fishing environment over fourteen years ago.

As a designer and manufacturer of a range of fishing lures, which were well respected and extensively used by major competition anglers, he became sponsor for Gove/Nhulumbuy Game Fishing Tournament. At the same time he was bringing many friends, business associates and fishing colleagues to Gove, and used other people’s boats and local knowledge to accommodate them and access the abundant fishing grounds. On one trip he even used a former Indonesian fishing boat as a mother ship.

Recognising the potential of the region for new experience travellers and keen fishermen, Ian bought “MVAuriga Bay II”, a former Cairns dive vessel, in 2004 and developed the aluminium sports boats with Australian Master Marine in Brisbane.

“MV Auriga Bay II” is truly the guest’s and crew’s ‘mother’ in this perfect wilderness. In our week aboard, we saw one commercial barge on day two and another boat as we returned to Gove Harbour. There are no settlements of note on any of the islands – not a shopping mall, KFC or 7/11 in sight - so self-sufficiency is the order of the day. “MV Auriga Bay” must support six guests and four crew so she carries all that’s needed for comfortable living in a tropical environment. In addition to a chef who conjures up delicious meals, every day, from both an extensive store and fishing catches, the ship makes its own freshwater and electrical power and supplies the fuel and mechanical back-up for the two sport-fishing boats.

She is air-conditioned throughout, each cabin has its own air-con control and the double lower berth and single upper bunk provide good flexibility of accommodation. Each cabin has plenty of natural light through a large port hole (which because of its location doesn’t allow much of a view), a large mirror, 240 volt power outlets and good hanging/storage space. As I found on a fairly rough passage between anchorages, they are located low down in the ship so that the movement of the vessel is not so readily felt. In fact the cabins provide a pleasant place of solitude to read, snooze or write magazine articles!

The main deck level offers a sizeable saloon that incorporates a lounge and dining area and a commercial quality galley. Bright and welcoming, this saloon features large, tinted picture windows that offer a changing vista both at anchor and underway. Guests feel part of the stunning environment while at ease in the comfortable surrounds of the ship.

Additionally she has an accessible forward deck where deck chairs are setup for ‘sundowners’, as fishermen recount their stories of “the ones that got away” and the balmy breezes temper the tropical evenings. The same can be done on the after deck, while keeping the chef company as she BBQs some proud fisherman’s ‘catch of the day’.

As a boating person used to the cramped, dark and dank space called the ‘head’, the bathrooms on “MV Auriga Bay II” are just that – bathrooms. Though not actually having baths, there are two separate and private ensuite-size bathrooms on the main deck level, adjacent to the saloon. They offer domestic size toilets (no bum-pinching marine pump-outs to worry about) and a full-sized shower stall separated by a shower-curtain with abundant fresh, hot and cold water. An appealing feature is that liquid soap, shampoo and shower gel is provided from a dispenser on the wall beside the vanity and is of an acceptable lather quality and fragrance. Also, if you wish, you can slide back the frosted glass window and engage with the latest view offered by your location.

There is a full entertainment system available in the saloon and guests are encouraged to bring their favourite CDs or DVDs. One of the great joys of this Top End Expedition is that there is absolutely no radio or TV coverage in the cruising area. This also applies to mobile phones and for me this was bliss.

So what about the fishing you ask. I don't mind sitting at the dining table and consuming fine fish from tropical waters, I'm just not so keen on the intermediate steps between the sea and the dinner plate. In truth, as a boaty I do wet a line myself. A trolling rig consisting of three 5/0 hooks linked together, wrapped in aluminium foil, connected to a metre of 20 gauge piano wire and 120 lb line, attached to an elastic bungy-cord, streamed over the stern while sailing to our next island destination. Hardly sporting - but crudely effective as depressed Spanish Mackerel, Tuna or Queen fish are hauled aboard, occasionally.

When it comes to angling, I’m a rank novice. After a very brief instruction from Ian on how to work the reel drag and cast with the rod, it became a fascination as I tried to land the lure in roughly the best place, along mangrove creeks or the ledges of the rocky promontories, then flick the rod while winding, to get the lure to simulate a swimming bait fish. And the exaltation when there was a splash as some misguided fish took the bait and came reeling in. In the first morning I hooked a colourful tusk fish, a number of dark brown cod and a couple of Spanish Flags, all of which were returned to sea. An afternoon sojourn to a mangrove creek yielded a Queenfish and more Spanish Flags. None seemed big enough for a meal, but Ian, with the self-assurance of years of experience, pulled in a couple of decent sized Coral Trout that provided the first of many delicious, fresh fish meals. Peter, the other sports boat coxswain, is a dedicated fly fisherman and on one day out he counted nine hook-ups for nine casts, so there is certainly plenty happening to keep the fishing aficionados happy and well entertained. While moving “MV Auriga Bay II” to our next overnight anchorage, the trolling line was continuously streaming astern and enticed good sized Spanish Mackerel and Tuna to end it all, and provide yet another sumptuous meal.

Because Top End Expeditions builds its charters around just six guests, there is no particular need to bring your own group – and for many people, trying to get a group of close friends away on a holiday break together is difficult (almost impossible) and damn hard work for the organiser. Often a single or a couple can be a bit more flexible and by joining a charter with like-minded guests and four friendly and hospitable crew, end up having just as memorable a time, with the bonus of sharing experiences with new friends.

So when you think of a tropical holiday in Australia other than the Whitsundays, Cairns and Port Douglas, a Top End Expedition offers an exotic and exclusive travel experience but make sure you like eating fish and other fine foods washed down with a fine assortment of top quality wines.

Stu Walsh

More information
Ian Murphy 0416 157 124
info@topendexpeditions.com