A few Snappers

[jbtaylor]

SO let me gt this straight. Your in the water, the croc is in the water. What is wrong with that picture? I believe I will stay on shore with the rifle. Call me if you need me.
Nice shots. You guys really sacrifice when you camp out.

[sury]

That was a one heck of a series Greg. Felt I was there. I thought Snapper was Australian
colloquialism for snap (shots) and didn't realize you meant literally till came to the end.
Wilder than what Yildiz and David have posted but closest I come to wild life is this.
Taken at our neighbor's pirate themed parties (not by me I assure you).

Sury

[Dusty]

Nice Shots Greg.

I remember the big snappers on the Amazon. For some strange reason we went out to catch some one night. Pretty tasty, but he almost took my fingers off when I was dressing him out. And he was dead for sure! No heart or lungs, but twice snapped his head around and snapped at my fingers full force, barely missing. The Brasilians all thought he was possessed, I realized it was a auto-reflex (after the second time) when I poked a knife into his spine.

I'm not sure I'd go out looking to grab one again unless I was armed!

Dusty

[david antony]

Tsawwassen 18ºc. Sunny. Feels a lot warmer?

Nice cat photo Aster. Wakes up to check out who
goes by, this time a friend.

I am sure those ladies can be wild at times Sury
Good post. ;^)

Greg, I bet your brother enjoys making & setting up gear/tackle
for a trip as he does fishing. My neighbour Tom does
the same with his west coast salmon cryopacks it. If
you are in the gulf of Georgia there is a place in
Nanaimo where you can take your salmon and they
can it for you. (tinned style) caught & canned in the
same day.

[Juanito200]

Greg- Thanks for posting this great Australian travelogue. I love to see photos of distant peoples, animals and places, especially places I want to go. (Though I have to agree with jbtaylor on the crocs!!)
It looks like your fishing trip was quite an adventure. Hopefully ya'll caught plenty of fish, and avoided the crocs. I'm surprised that those stingrays would come up to the shore like that. I guess that they are used to humans leaving bits behind after cleaning the fish...
I believe you could have set up a nice shop selling crocodile handbags and Ceviche (a Mexican fish dish)!! Those Barramundi are huge!! How do they taste?
Anyway, I'm glad that you are home safe, and I look forward to more pictures!! John.

[Greg Beetham]

Yeah JBT the thought crossed my mind as well, but I got the impression that the Crocs were more sneaky than outright savage, I think they would be quick to take advantage of you if they could though, there is at least one in the river that is possibly in the 20ft range, and that one is definitely a dangerous animal.

Thanks Sury, yep it was a little play on words I thought everyone would get a kick out of, hmmm that group looks dangerous alright

Dusty thankyou, I guess you're talking about the Caiman, yeah I know the locals there go hunting for them, I've heard that they taste something like chicken, there is a restautant here that, among other things offers croc meat dishes, but I've never tried it so far. That reflex action sounds a bit like a shark, you really have to watch 'dead' sharks also.

Yep I've heard of the Sturgeon DA but didn't know how big they grow, wow that's big for a freshwater fish...I wonder what they eat too get that big. I see those guys were doing some sport fishing, are they any good too eat? (good pix btw)

Thanks John, yes it was a great trip, I enjoyed it a lot, I was getting a bit tired of doing repairs (long overdue) around the house. I reckon the Stingrays see the lights shining on the water and know that there is a chance of picking up some titbit or such, pity the really big ones didn't show up, the others who have seen them said they are so huge you don't believe your eyes for a minute, my brother suggested that some hero might have shot them.
The Barramundi have a bag limit of 5 per person and there is also size restrictions, you are not allowed too take them smaller than a certain size (I forget exactly) and also not bigger than a certain size, the really big ones are apparently all females so they are completely protected. There was an 'official' long sticker with all the types of fish and their legal sizes marked out stuck onto the forward bulkhead in the boat for ready reference. I would say that Barramundi is probably the finest table fish around, there are some other good fish of course, so the difference is very marginal, other top estuary fish are, Mangrove Jack, Spotted Javelin (we call em Grunter), Black Bream, Fingermark and Spotted Rock Cod, those are the main ones I can remember off the top of my head that are much sought-after.
Greg

[Juanito200]

You've reminded me that I need to renew our fishing licenses... Nothing beats fresh fish!!

[david antony]

HI Greg, I somehow thought I was in the weather thread when I
posted those sturgeon photos. An old friend had dropped by,
we had a few drinks. (no excuse) I got on the puter after he left and did
some email & posted here. Might seem like I was trying to highjack
your thread so I've erased them. I know you are big enough not to
be bothered by anything like that, even so I don't think it was right.
Other than that it was a good afternoon. ;^)

[Greg Beetham]

Aw DA that was fine, I didn't mind at all, I knew when I saw your weather note what had happened, feel free to put em back so my response makes sense as well.
Actually I was debating if I should add a couple of more photos from the trip showing a couple more modcons we had that made life a lot more pleasant than the usual 'roughing it.' I've roughed it plenty of times in the past of course but I'm pretty much sold on my brothers idea of camping out in the bush for 8 or was it 9 days.
After a long day out in the sun with sticky suncream on and getting some mud and fish goo on you (the mud gets in the boat when you get in and out, working the cast net for live bait, checking the crab pots etc.) you really appreciate having a cleanup in the evening, so it was a good thing Richard bought and experimented with bringing a camping shower on this trip. He also had the BBQ and Primus stove that sat on a stainless steel bench that he made, the whole thing fitted into a slot under the tray of the truck...except for the gas bottles of course, another great invention of his.
Greg

Shower and battery powerd pump etc.
A100 KM24-105

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KM5D KM18-200

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This is the scene at night, we always got back in daylight and did our fish, but the other boat always got back just on dark so they had to do their's in the dark.
KM5D KM18-200

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[aster]

Hi David Antony,

Please upload your nice shots. As Greg says, the thread makes more sense then and my poor watch cat also has a chance of survival here! : ))))

Greg;

I really must congratulate you and your brother and of course, the rest of the diligent team braving the rough conditions. Your brother's solutions must have worked like charm, with that shower and all the competent tools he has brought together for convenience in such conditions... : ) Planning ahead is always the real thing! I'm sure even the fish-even though, dead and ready for a grill- feel better for being caught by Greg's brother's team. : ))

Even a shower! : )) Hey, that is civilized! No itching after all the sweat and hardwork and smelly work load...

I am admiring your photos and adventure...so feel free to post as many as you'd like!

Thanks, Greg and Richard and everyone in the team for gving hints to better camping and managing crocodiles. : )

Yildiz

[Birma]

Great to see some more pictures and hear more about the trip. It seems the next step is for satellite internet communication so that you can make live updates from the next trip .

[david antony]

Don't think twice about posting more photos of your great trip Greg, they
are terrific. Wonderful thing Richard came up with camping shower. Way
better than jumping in that river to bathe. ;^) Good to see more of the camp site
close up. Love that night shot with what looks like a Honda 2,000 watt inverter style Jenny or similar providing the light. What you have is one great set-up.
Glad you posted these Greg.

Ah I see you just got ahead of me Aster. I think it's got to be. Greg & Richard Dundee. ;^)

I posted the Rabbit for a smile as you did those very good cat photos Aster, the cat stays.

[Birma]

Greg & Richard Dundee. ;^)

When the book/film/tv series comes out I think it will have to be "Camping with Crocodiles" .

[Greg Beetham]

Ha ha Greg and Richard Dundee indeed, that was a nice fairy tale movie, the characters were likable as well, wasn't that Linda Koz-something-ski a peach, Hoge's ended up marrying her in real life.
Thanks guys and girl, you're all too kind, it was only a fishing/camping trip, a very good one though as camping trips go. And DA you are quite correct it was a Honda 4-stoke generator, didn't take notice of the details but nice and quiet it was.
With the washing thing is I'd think twice about jumping in that river, (besides the things that live in it) it's salt water and you never get a clean bath using salt water, you still end up all sticky afterwards.
I wish I'd had a movie camera, one night the young fella threw a lage Barra frame in and it still had the swim bladder unpunctured so it floated up near/on the surface, it was quite amazing too see the activity all around it as it drifted slowly by, lots of splashes and sploshes and tugging this way and that and it disappeared under the water a few times, after a few minutes it disappeared altogether....something that can eat a fish frame including head more that three feet long...got it.
Greg
ps. And now Ladeeez and Gentlemen, due to popular request I'll inflict you with a couple more of my so so snapps.

The Aboriginal mission in that area ran some cattle, and as there was a watering place/lagoon not far from where we camped I grabbed a couple of shots on the way home.
A100 KM24-105 Note the amount of edge damage caused by feral pigs.

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A shot of giant termite mounds.

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[Birma]

Hi Greg - keep 'em coming. I particularly like the termite mound shot.

I wish I'd had a movie camera, one night the young fella threw a lage Barra frame in and it still had the swim bladder unpunctured so it floated up near/on the surface, it was quite amazing too see the activity all around it as it drifted slowly by, lots of splashes and sploshes and tugging this way and that and it disappeared under the water a few times, after a few minutes it disappeared altogether....something that can eat a fish frame including head more that three feet long...got it.

Perhaps your next Alpha will have video capability? I thought of this with the crocodile shots - it would have been great to see them slithering down the bank. I seem to remember you're not a big fan of vdslr, but if it was just sitting there in the camera it might add an interting extra dimension?