My alarm went off at 05:30 as last night I calculated the
best time to head off upstream to King’s Cascades was between 06:30 – 07:30 due
to the 1 to 1.5 hours delay in the tide times.
We got underway around 06:45 and shortly after Discovery One’s
two tenders passed us carrying their passengers up to King’s Cascades.
It was another very stressful trip the seven odd miles to
King’s Cascades with more strong currents, dangerous rocks and shallow sand
bars to negotiate.
As we approached King’s Cascades, we passed Discovery One’s
two tenders going back to the mother-ship.
We arrived at King’s Cascades around 08:15, so we had around
one hour and fifteen minutes to look around before the tide changed and we had
to get out or risk getting stranded in the mud surrounded by thousands of
hungry crocodiles.
I entered the King’s Cascades basin and anchored Sirocco
right in front of the falls, There was not much water coming down, but it was
very beautiful just the same and you could imaging just how grand it must have
looked when Phillip Parker King stumbled across them flowing full power in the
wet season of 1820.
Putu stayed on Sirocco while I went for a run around in the
dinghy to take a few photos and to see where Ginger Meadows got eaten, then I
climbed up the waterfall and went for a swim in the pools above and showered
under the waterfall. It was so cool and refreshing, but the whole time the
clock was ticking.
After climbing back down the waterfall to the dinghy, I went
trolling for half an hour to try and catch a barra, but never got a sniff. I
did see a three-meter crocodile though.
Time was up, we had reached high tide and it was now time to
head back to our previous anchorage before the river dried and exposed sand
bars blocking our passage.
Heading back down stream was so much less stressful as I
just followed my route in. Along the way we saw thousands of large jelly fish
floating in the current and several more small dolphins.
We anchored back at our previous anchorage and I jumped in
the dinghy and headed off to explore Camp Creek before the tide dropped too
much and trapped me in there for the night.
I headed upstream several miles until I reached the rock bar
seeing several crocodiles along the way. I tied the dinghy to a small mangrove
tree and set off on foot to the small waterfalls and freshwater pools beyond
while nervously looking in every direction for crocodiles.
I had a nice swim in the shallow pools whilst laying back
under the small water fall chilling out for half an hour, then with the thought
of spending the night alone in this muddy crocodile infested hell hole, I made
fast tracks back to the dinghy and headed back out into deeper water where I
started trolling for that elusive barra.
Well, I didn’t catch a barra, but this creek was teaming
with mangrove jacks and cod and I must have caught a dozen or more before
heading back to Sirocco. It was the best fishing I have done for a very long
time.
Catching two mangrove
jacks on the one lure
Once back on Sirocco, I pulled anchor and headed down stream
to Purulba Creek and anchored up stream in front of a lovely Kimberly high red
bluff. I filleted all the fish I had kept and baited up four crab nets in the
hope of catching some mud crabs.
While the crab nets were in soaking, I headed off in the
dinghy to see what was upstream and to do a spot of fishing.
I went up as far as I could a couple of miles before a sand
bar was blocking the creek, so I turned around and, on the way back did some
more fishing.
I caught a heap more jacks and a very large cod that I
released and then I caught the mother of all jacks, a nice two kilo fish that
fought like a steam train.
I decided to keep the big jack for tonight’s dinner and headed
back to Sirocco just on sunset. It was another huge Kimberly day and I was
totally knackered.
Back on Sirocco it was more cleaning fish, then I jumped in
the shower while Putu grilled up the big jack in the BBQ.
The fish tasted great, washed down with a few beers and we
had an early night with the plan of heading out of the Prince Regent River
tomorrow on the high tide around 09:30.
The current in the creek was too strong for the crab nets to
sit on the bottom and as I pulled them in, a two-and-a-half-meter crocodile
suddenly appeared at the back of the boat and wouldn’t go away.
I pulled in the nets and shook out the bait and put them
away as quick as I could, but he still wouldn’t go away. One of the nets had
been chewed up and destroyed. I just hope he doesn’t bite my dinghy and destroy
that too.
Track Sirocco’s
progress
