NYE is swamps, waterfalls and open country

Loaded up with sparklers, glow sticks, party hats, fuel and poppers, we set out for one of our favourite spots with friends to bring in the new year with the typical muddy shenanigans that a campout brings during the wet season and this one did not disappoint. 

We spent the first few hours swimming in the creek then moved up to the waterfall to wash our hair and get a natures-own fully body massage.  We flicked some lures at the base of the waterfall and picked up a couple of barramundi but nothing big enough to eat for lunch. 

In the arvo we set off on quads to check out the swamps and see if we could pick up a few pigs in the marshland.  The kids strapped on their capgun rifles and day packs and dad loaded his .308 to his bike.  I'm certainly not the best quad rider and have had more near misses than anyone in our group so I like to take it fairly steady but when you've got two keen-as ratbags hanging on the back, the esky, and trying to keep up with the boys who only know flat-out, there's going to be issues.  I hit 1 bog hole in 2nd gear and quickly lost traction which meant I had to get off and push myself out. Lucky for me, Mak took the control and she drove us out while I dragged my legs through the mud and grass to catch up.  Xavie was on croc control and after spotting one in our local fenced in sewer pond this week, I wasn't taking any chances.   As we rounded the swamp, the water was getting higher and we noticed the black clouds heading straight for us and we were at least an hour away from camp so thought it better to head back.

It started to rain within minutes and every creek crossing was deeper than the last.  Some of them I had to walk the kids across then tried to negotiate the rock bottom blind and hoping for the best. God I love manual motorbikes!

What came next was one of the biggest storms this season.  The dogs went crazy in the mud and so did our kids.  Mud angels, mud slippery slides into the creek, dad's skiddies and doughies, rain showers and shenangians.  One minute the water was at my waist and within minutes it was up to my arm pits. The creek was swelling and swelling fast.  We pulled all the tubs off the ground and the creek burst it's banks and the water flowed through camp.  There was nothing to do but give a good ol' cheers to the clouds and make the most of the cool weather. 

3 packets of sparklers, 50 poppers, glow necklaces and glow sticks hanging from the tarp, music pumped, drinks flowing and we saw in the new year with all the grace that 2011 could muster.  The rain stopped about 4am this morning and the river bank receded slightly but not enough to swim in safely so we packed up and headed on home after a last minute quad ride.

So many wonderful memories and adventures were had in 2011 with fantastic people but it'll be nothing to what 2012 will bring I'm sure of it!

Bring on 2012!

Crocodile Lake!

Crocodiles are a daily consideration up here and they get big!  All waterways at our house are referred to as "Crocodile Lake" which was taken from a Dora the Explorer movie where Dora couldn't cross the river because of the crocodiles....

We've seen them as big as almost 5m in length and there's something prehistoric about them - like swimming T-Rexs.  For kids growing up it's hard to teach them what water is safe to swim in and what is most certainly not.  After watching a mumma turtle, over a metre wide and longer in length, lay her eggs on the beach a few weeks ago, we were on our way down to the mouth to fish when in the corner of my eye I saw a big splash and something brown and scaly thrashing in the water and before I could readjust my eyes to see what it was; it was gone..... until it resurfaced a moment later.  Laying flat on the top of the ocean about 50m off the beach was the "Black Croc" - an infamously enormous and cunning crocodile that frequents our camping beach - with a  mumma turtle in its jaws.  It thrashed about every 10mins or so but held her under in an attempt to drown her.  The process took about an hour to devour and in the end the croc just floated home to the mouth with it still in it's mouth.  The kids went to kindy and daycare the next day and show-and-tell consisted of the photos of the whole life cycle from egg laying to croc-attacks, glued onto cardboard in their own little projects....

Because there are crocodiles in every waterway, whether they're fresh or salty, you have to be so careful.  We've been out on a friend's property, running the cheribin pots (fresh water prawns/crays that grow to about 40cm) in their man-made dam situated several kilometers from any waterway a few times. They're delicious with garlic and butter on the coals!  It's a giant fresh water dam with a rock/sandy wall and you tie the pots to the trees and check them on the hour.  My friend spends her Christmas' swimming in this dam and there's permanent watersport nets set up on the side ready for volleyball.  I have a rule - never swim if you can't see the bottom (or what's coming for you).  A week or two after we left there was another couple out there and as she pulled in her pot, a crocodile snapped it and wrestled her for it!  Needless to say, we'll be going back out this holiday to 'catch it'.... We can't have it eating our cheribin.  This croc would have had to have walked kilometers in 40C heat to get in there so you can't trust any waterway!

We also frequent the Wenlock River quite often. It's fresh and shallow and perfect for swimming - just not in the dark bits....  People hunt around this river because the pigs come down at night to drink.  Our mate "Red" has several hunting dogs and they're not all croc-savvy so after a hunt they were all hot and sticky so his "Hairy Goat" which it was affectionatly called jumped into the dark bit and began to paddle around.  Red turned around to watch his dog moving like a perescoped submarine into the middle of the dam and then it was gone.  Quick and silent.

Never swim in the dark bits.

We moved up into the Cape when my son was just 5months old so it's all he knows.  On a trip to Cairns last holidays he sat on the side of the pool and refused to get in saying it was "Crocodile lake".  He sat on the bank for over 3hrs refusing to get in until we realised that there were painted pictures of marine creatures on the bottom.....  Dad and I got out after awhile and we were baking on the side when both kids starting screaming out "Snake!" and were quite panicked.  We went across to see what all the commotion was and saw the giant anaconda..... attached to the pool vaccuum....

Better to be safe than sorry..... or eaten.

Living in the top end

Today it rained 75ml in an hour and there's another big one on it's way. I seriously thought the rain was going to come through the roof and as much as you think you're prepared for a storm you never are.....  Not much anyone could do about it since the town is practically deserted at this time of year.  Much to our parents despair, we've decided to stay in again this year and take advantage of the 7 weeks school holiday to access the many vacant beaches and waterfalls in exchange for the bustly city life.

So why would anyone want to live up here? I mean, there's no shops, no cinema, no 'coffee and cake'.  Hell, we hardly even get internet access and our mobiles are dead within 2min of town and thats only if you have a 3G phone.... but that's another story.  We have a small Woolies but she's only properly stocked when the barge comes in once a week. 

I'll tell you why....

Last week I took my two 'rats' up to a local beach camping for a few days while their dad drove 12hrs across the cape to restock supplies before the full wet comes and the roads all close.  I was hoping to see the turtles hatch again.  My daughter (4) drove up the 250cc quad with her brother (3) on the back, exploring the beaches for 'treasure'.  She wasn't gone long before she came back announcing to our group of mates that she'd found a turtle.  We all thought "yeah right" considering she was so calm about it.  She insisted so I got on with her and she took me back to where she saw it about 100m up the beach and there, low and behold, was a baby turtle.  It had been pecked by a bird and suffering from exposure in the hot sun (about 40C). The sole tracks from a small hole about a metre away. We put it in the ocean but it was clear it wasn't going to last much longer (let alone if it continued swimming in circles like live bait....)  "Bubbles" went to heaven shortly afterwards but continued to play with her in a "Weekend at Bernies" fashion for the proceeding 6 hours.  Bubbles went swimming in his own bucket-pool, swinging on the hammock, they sat together on a log and watched the sunset over the water, was force-fed some pieces of mullet and then was wrapped up in her blanket on her swag ready for bed.  Her eyes were closed albeit 5mins before Bubbles miraculously "walked back to his mother in the night"..... The next day hundreds more turtles burst their way out of that same clutch and made it into the water to begin their long journey where only a small number will ever return.

It's these types of experiences that we want our children to have before they grow into adults and lose their imaginations. A place where kids can be wild and free, where everyone knows them and has their back, where they are safe to adventure and explore, where they can take risks and grow into confident young people. 

There will always be time for the bustling life of city dwellers, shops and video games.  Its the experiences we have now that shape us into who we will become.  It's extra-ordinary living!