The start of our annual peregrination and sojourn to King Ash Bay, Northern Territory. 

Stat's  
Bus - Hat Yai to Phuket = 430ks'
Air - Phuket to Adelaide & PLN = 6,880k's
Troopy - Port Lincoln to Melbourne return = 2,750ks
Port Lincoln to King Ash Bay return = 5,700ks

6 h 28 min (429.8 km) via Route 4

Driver control complete with TV

Sure got some colour

Farn - Sue's daughter and her boy friend

and we are back home - unload our Troopy and off to Melbourne to get some remedial work done on the auto transmission. 

Yep! thats ice on the wind screen

Gunk on the internals from the Exhaust Gas Re-circulation Valve - a blown V8 motor at Marks 4 x 4 - the less said about out flying trip the Melbourne the better!! 

and we are finally off to King Ash Bay

This fellow repairing a tire, just had to go over for a chat and check out his ROOF RACK! Load the rack up with can's, just cruise up and down the Highway when unemployed - over 2 million cans over 5 years = $200,000. By the way the wagon can hold 1,000 bottles. 

Yep! we are not quite there yet, it's still freezing, hence the SNOW gloves!

Checkout this track last trip past on my bike, camped here over night 70k's from Alice Springs. 

The things you find in the trees - bicycle seat complete with cover 

Six days and moving right along______ at an average of 80kph, 476k's per day and 6 hours driving time average per day and we arrive at our destination!!


We lucked in with a prime river bank location next to Bill and Luba Dixon

All set up and soon on the water 

1st catch - back into the briny to grow much bigger

Tree fish on FLY!!

Finger Mark for tea

Now this is the way to travel with a bigger boat

Yes we are close to the river

local having a rest

Thanks Bill and Luba - they are crabbed out so to speak = Yum!

Heaps of meat in these guys - followed by______

Blue Nose Salmon at the Fletcher Jew Hole - 15+ meters

Cat fish for lunch 

Soapies - small Black Jew - we are after much bigger FISH!

More cat fish! 

Stalker

Mean!

Happy hour or two!! 

Who's enjoying a cooked breakfast then

Mick and Netta - ready to head off to Alice Springs - not looking forward to the cool!

Ant killer - Robin gave us - seems to be working

Bill and Luba's crab pots seem to be breeding - found this one intact Mitre 11, so added it to their collection

Make do Navigation lights - off to the Twins

Alas did not make it - Bill lost the channel across the mud flats, and just as well as it would have been a rather rough and wet trip on our return into the Nor Easterly

Fish at last - back into the briny to grow a few more centimeters 

Fog all the way to the mouth of the Rutherford

Then into the Chadwick on a falling tide, mud flats across to the Crooked

Still not legal!!

One of the few navigational markers going into the Chadwick - at least we know we are heading and or returning the correct way - the track back on the GPS is essential.

Banana fruit bread - Yum!

Entrance to the Crooked - fogged in all the way. We had entered the fishing comp, so the pressure was on

Heading back to camp on the falling tide troll the run off creeks – dirty water – bang Barra = 535mm – BUGGER! Out and bang a 380mm Flathead = 17 points, that’s puts us in the winner’s circle hopefully!!

We were indeed in the winners circle worth $40 as another lady also had 17 points thus the winnings split. All the sniggers on our way to the weigh with my 380 mm Flathead in with my Esky 6 can cooler - little did they know.
There were only  – 34 Nominations with only 11 fish weighed in, That's how bad the fishing has been.  

We were indeed in the winners circle as Sue picked up one of the Lucky nominations draw of $50, then I pick up one of the door prizes – (the last) a popper lure – Beauty!

King Ash Bay

August Points Fishing Competition 2015

Recently our August Points Fishing Competition was held. Fish are not judged on their length or weight like our other competitions where fish are weighed-in. Anglers simply present their fish to the judges and are are awarded points depending on which species the fish is.

There were 34 entries into the competition. It was a hard day’s fishing as it was a very windy day.

11 fish were presented to the judges at the weigh-in.

 WINNERS

First place was Greg Maguire with 25 points.

Second place was Shirley Tribe with 24 points.

Third place was a tie with Graham Cowley and Lindee Cook with 17 points each.

Fourth place was Bruce Tribe. 14 points.

Fifth place was Paul Steindl with 13 points.

 LUCKY NOMINATION PRIZES AND RAFFLE WINNERS

Brian Housley

Sue Cowley 

Yvonne Armstrong 

Peter Street Fritz Brophy

Out for a bike ride and hit the skids - lucky find!! In the middle of no where.

More treasure from Miter 11

The clamps have been repaired and in good working order

Off to Batten creek to fish off the bank - alas the Troopy started to chug, chug - perhaps the fuel - looks okay but changed the filter any way as 12,000k's.

As per our Mildura fault finding included a detailed exercise. We blanked off the Performance Chip. All good, thus it's the 'CHIP' playing up. Called up Dynomotive - yep! had the same problem with another vehicle on rough roads - close the pins on the connector. Done and good to go - trusty nappy pin!! Have since obtained some dielectric crease from Dynomotive to hold the pin connectors in place. Hopefully no more issues with the 'CHIP'   

Relaxing river cruise

Now this is the way to go with a BIG BOAT, towing a Bushtracker

Within the legal limit of the river bank - well the caravan is!

Fog conditions and cool

Jew hole on the McAuther 

Stalking 

Landed 6 of these and released - time to relocate

A mob of at least 10 

And we wade into the water, hence the double mooring line to retrieve our tinnie

A freshy - Fresh water Croc. still give you a good nip

Off 0645hrs into the fog, troll to the 1^st marker bouy – no takers then slowly thru the rocks 0720hrs – thru and off into the ever dense fog – IBR – ‘Instrument Boating Rated’ certificate required!! Hence the GPS, how ever it's the Crabbers heading back to camp that are the main concern

Crooked Creek – troll the creek mouth on the rising tide, then anchored up at 2^nd creek for breakfast, bait fish, a small Grunter landed, then Phil and his mate roar up and anchor within say 8 meters or less the photo above dose not give a good perspective. A few taps and then a few fumbles and it’s on, and my reel is screaming, under our boat, I am off up to the bow with rod under the anchor rope, heading straight for Phil's boat, yelled at Phil get your line out, tip my rod and angle out from Phil’s boat how we missed the anchor who know's. Then just as Phil got his line out my line flicked his out the way and it was still going. Now in the clear slowly get it under control with my repeated mantra - 'DON'T TOUCH THE DRAG!!' with the light drag on I finally get my mystery fish under control, then some colour - beauty it's not a shark – a Black Jew. A few minutes later my number # deckie has the net under 'OUR' fish – 940mm.  

Now that's what you call a FISH!!

Next cast - and we are on again, and he's off around the stern with a good 100 meter's off line disappearing fast, a few head shakes and 'GONE' = Bugger!

Sue's bird bath becoming very popular

Whole meal Cummins flour - excellent bread!

Bill's comm's and Nav. set up. 

Luba boiled down the Black Jew's head to get the Jewels - this is all we could identify - but a U-Tube clip has since identified the correct location and jewel shape - next one

One of our favourites - a Lamb Bone each!!

Again got to be good to hook em' this small

In parallel for a welding project - Johns holding the Gen Set still 

Bill's doing the welding on his out board motor mount, notice the Rum n Coke ready for when he gets out of the dirt!!

Sue's got me out for hire, complete with spare parts from Mitre 11

Yep! we are almost the last van standing

John's packed and ready to lower the comm's tower!

Erolls doing one more dust control run

Mirror calm, with no rain in this lot

Replenishing my fly supply

Bill n Luba almost packed

Storing trailers at Robins place.

Bill and Luba - good to go!!

Nearly as good as Lamb, but these are Turkey SHANKS - Yum!

That's tea!

Breakfast on the high sea's

It's Barra-monday - finally a legal Barra 800 mtrs from camp

Tea with Greg and Trudy – camp oven roast pork and all the trimmings, plus a cauliflower cheese in separate mini ovens. A pleasant evening and we demolished a couple of bottles of red – Sue 3 fingers us the  rest.

Cane toads around the tap!

Willy willy just missed our camp and Erolls

Water becoming scarce

Visitor

Even the Kookaburra was getting thirsty 

Sue's making friends again

Table left by some motor homers - replaced dowels on the cross member and a perfect addition to our new home

Mitre 11 treasures

Yep! this was in the dump and it all still works, even in our shed with great sound quality. 

We are left in the dusty condition with  Eroll and Helen departing in 2 days 

Relaxing on the river bank

0700hrs at the boat ramp and deserted!

Arty farty stuff - neat!

Early morning on the high tide near the boat ramp - any thing is possible

Ready for the off - Greg, Judy and Errol and Helen 

Off to the Chadwick in the fog. With David and Bruce meeting us at the mouth of the Rutherford - It was IBR all the way to the Rutherford - 20k's plus. Nerve racking with the crabbers returning to camp.

David and Bruce in their go fast boat - very well set up

Yep! it's another Barra-Monday - Sue 600mm Barra, notice Sue's death grip on her FISH!!

Invited Greg and Trudy over for tea, as they had started packing  – sweet and sour fish (my cod) rice and veggies for tea – YUM!!

Trust they don't need their spare tire any time soon

Yet to be plugged in to ascertain if it works

Our turn to start packing - Sue's landed her legal Barra

Packed and off to Hell's Gate - safe travels

My 'BUOY' hat - navigating thru the rocks - What's this they have added a BUOY. On closer inspection it's _____ 

Our river view without our Tinnie

Sue's lasagna - travelling food 

Set up the bird bath with a slow dripping tap and hawk guard

Good to GO!! Final pack and managed to fit all my treasures in okay – on the road 0710hrs – road out very good – less than 30 minutes and avg. 42k’s.
Bruce gave us his winning raffle ticket as they had already refueled thus into the Borroloola Mini Mart - $50 = 30ltr fuel and used their air to inflate tires

Actual GPS track downloaded. GPS with track back feature almost essential to ensure your not sleeping with the croc's overnight. Down in the mangroves there's no visual markers. it's all the same

Meet Austin Johnson getting a tire changed with his Son driving the old roads he worked on 50 years ago. The Barkley Hwy and the Barkley Tablelands road are in pretty good nick considering done 50 years ago. Will be in Coffin Bay later in the year with the wife for the oysters - small world!

Thirsty birds out here  

Rest area graffiti 

Now can they camp any closer - camp table under out window

Bent up his roo bar on a parking bay post, ripped around to fast backing up

Okay - read the ___

FINE PRINT!

Cow and calf at rest area – Sue got a surprise when mum showed up for a drink

Cold beer for the intrepid cyclist - Darwin to Adelaide - neat cooking system. Approx 100k's per day.

We are in air conditioned comfort - Auto engaged and cruise control on.

NEXT THING we know we are parking up in our SHED!!