Singapore and Darwin

 Back in Darwin I got a quick fix of salt water fishing from some high speed small GTs. A friend, Jamie who is a licensed coral collector kindly let me tag along for the day and what a day it was. Passionate about the sea Jamie is a fountain of knowledge about Darwin and the surrounding areas, having spent many years diving, fishing and exploring the NT's coastline. First stop was on a reef near the Vernon Islands to the east of the city which to be fair looked like fisherman heaven. On the out going tide water rushed down a deep channel that cut the shallow reef areas in two. A huge amount of water was moving on the seven metre tide which meant in a matter of minutes we would have to move on unless we fancied waiting a few hours for the incoming tide to submerge the reef again. Everywhere fish were busting on the surface, mauling shoals of bait fish, which were disorientated in the strong currents and of course that's where we cast. Fighting fit trevally came every second cast and seemed like they thought the poppers might be the last meal in the world. Darting behind the lure repeatedly striking until finally luck would run out and a hook would grab hold. Although the fish were only small the strong current meant fights were magnified somewhat.

After thirty minutes we once again sped over the sea's calm surface, heading further east in search of new grounds. To the north the low land of Melville island stretched for many kilometres along the skyline. Usually obscured in the dry season by the smoke haze from bush fires it was great to see such a view. A few dolphins lazily surfaced as we  neared the spot we looked for. By now the tide was nearly low, which is what Jamie needs to do his work.

 The reef we stopped on was quite magical. Immediately a turtle swam by and later we spotted a number of small reef sharks patrolling the shallows. With the reef now dry, huge areas of coral were exposed which made for interesting viewing and in the middle of it all were two blue lakes perhaps seventy metres wide and twelve metres deep; the coral just ends suddenly with a vertical drop. I don't know how these were formed but they looked like good places for fish to become trapped with the dropping tide. And after only a few casts with a roosta popper a large Longtom hit home and rocketed into the air. After a series of high jumps and cartwheels the fish threw the hook just as he came to hand. A few casts later and another Longtom had a go before two large Trevally arrived. Not huge but probably nearing twenty pounds, I was pretty unhappy when they turned at the last second, never to be seen again!

 Mitch waited in the boat making sure the strong tide didn't leave us stuck on the reef. The variety of coral and other creatures was quite outstanding. And it was funny the whole time we were out there never did another boat pass by. Later Jamie spent a while diving in a clear bay while Mitch and I kept a look out for sharks. There is also the possibility of Saltwater crocodiles which is the last thing you want to meet while diving. Surprisingly they can be found far out at sea and Jamie told me of another diver that had ended up as croc tucker.

 We'd kept a couple of the better Trevally and when Jamie was all finished the bloody water and frames were discarded over the edge of the boat. Not even five minutes later the first reef sharks were ripping into the fresh meat. A minute after that a huge black sting ray arrived and took over from the sharks. In only a couple of feet of water it made for good viewing. Thanks Jamie for a great day!

On the trip out to South Africa a quick stop over was made in Singapore to visit and fish with Nick. There was a chance of some landing some Peacock bass which have been introduced into some of the Singaporean reservoirs. With nick acting as guide we set off through the sweaty metropolis in search of some fishable water. In a matter of minutes the taxi turned off the main road and left the buzz of the high rise town behind. We drove down a quiet jungle clad road and suddenly it was hard to imagine we were still in one of the most densely populated places on earth.

A good Peacock bass from one of the reservoirs. bigger ones lurk around the snags

A small rushing stream ran under the road and emptied into a large reservoir that could be seen a few hundred metres through the jungle. Where the stream widened lush vegetation hung down to the waters edge and provided cover for bass attacks. Still early in the day sweat already dripped from our clothes as we began to cast. Nick chose to fly fish while I flicked a small Mepps spinner on the light rod.

First up was this small Peacock bass that nailed the spinner. A beautiful fish that made me think about the Amazon more than before!!

This pretty Tilapia was next up to have a go, just below the stream in the fast water. In between fishing we had a few monkey related problems, namely a cheeky ape trying to make off with a few lures. Its not a good idea to feed the monkeys in Singapore as the sign below shows. The lure box must have looked like a pretty tasty fruit cocktail to the troop that sat in the trees watching our fishing antics.

These monkeys were definitely up to no good

It didn't take long for Nick to induce a strike with the fly rod. And after all the stories of monsters on the fly I was fully prepared to land the biggest peacock bass in Singapore. So I was a little surprised when Nick hauled a Mickey mouse mug from the depths of the river. Quite a catch really! congratulations mate!

The Jungle where we fished was pretty alive with insects and birds. This little feeder stream was the home to plenty of fish fry and freshwater shrimps. During a little walk around the far side of the river three very large clouded monitors took off through the undergrowth before launching themselves into the water. Without seeing them, the splash could easily be mistaken for a crocodile as these big lizards were 5-6ft in length!

At last I landed a jungle perch or Sebarau. a good fighter with a design similar to a Mahseer the little fish fought well. Last time I came across these was a few years ago in the jungles of Malaysia where I came close to landing a monster. Unfortunately it wasn't close enough!

 MacRitchie Reservoir in Singapore is a beautiful spot to get away from the bustle of the city for a while. Unfortunately fishing isn't permitted but a few sneaky casts usually go unnoticed. This is where the biggest peacock bass live and fish have been caught to ten pounds plus. While walking around a pair of adult bass gave themselves away as they followed their fry. A large orange coloured ball slowly moved through the water, followed by the two attentive parents and like snake head a lure cast near to the fry should be attacked immediately. For some reason the fish weren't interested and blankly ignored the two anglers throwing lures at them.

This monkey was choosing his moment to come in for the attack!

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Back in the bushveld

Another fantastic trip to the farm In South Africa has drawn to a close. As usual, it didn't disappoint. Just a week away and I'm already longing to be back. The thought of missing out on those starry skies, abundant animals and untouched bush doesn't seem quite right. Most people would struggle there because it's far away from all mod cons; you can forget about any mall hopping and facebooking, and even a plain old telephone. For four of the five weeks the land line decided to go dead but luckily a telephone tree provided backup. It's a tree twenty minutes up the road where a sporadic mobile signal passes so at least sometimes you can call if the urge is strong. When Richard the phone engineer eventually appeared, his snail-paced saunter said it all. What's the hurry? It's surely all coming - modern technology that is. Slowly encroaching, soon people will be able to check their emails and all of a sudden the bush will become a more inviting place to be. Let's hope it's not too soon.

Spring was on the way. September and October often bring the first rains, complete with fierce electrical storms. That's when I appreciate having a roof over my head. Lightning is so regular that one would  surely be dicing with death to sleep out in a tent. I'm not sure how, but the Baboons manage to remain up on their cliff in such weather, but it must be a terrible time. As the second storm of the year rolled in the young ones cried for an hour beforehand. These must have been around the previous season so they knew what was coming. The first storm was violent and practically "dry". Towards the end, behind the southern hills, a pink glow came from a bush fire that soon got quenched by a light rain that briefly fell. The second storm lasted longer and lashed the hell out of everything in its path. Almost continuous electricity fell from the sky for nearly two hours.  At half time, heavy, tropical rain began to beat on the tin roof. It was hair raising stuff to witness such powerful natural forces so personally.

A couple of lightning bolts fell perilously close to the house. So much so that I beat a swift retreat away from the metal framed window close to which I had been sitting. Where they landed I don't know, but it must have been within a couple of hundred metres because the earth-shattering crash came instantly. Then came the strike when things had all but calmed down. The storm had moved off south leaving a gentle rain its wake and it seemed safe to venture outside. That was a mistake!  I wasn't far from the door when a rip roaring lightning strike crashed into the earth nearby causing the ground to shake. A shower of bright blue sparks cascaded from the workshop roof and I fled to safety, repeatedly cursing and glad to be alive. By far the most impressive sound I have heard - I wondered exactly what had been nailed. The morning after, everything is  fresh and the dust settled from thirty mm of rain, so I wander out to find where the lightning had touched down.

The previous week, a team from the electricity company had arrived with a huge cherry picker intent on making the transformer "lightning proof". I listened intently as Daniel, the leader of the gang, explained about the fancy new surge protectors they were busy fitting to the poles. "Do not worry Scott, now your electricity will continue to flow even in the event of a storm". Old Daniel seemed to have faith, but I wasn't all that convinced. The new protectors looked much like the old ones, but maybe I was missing some of the finer details of the new set-up. Well, I got a closer look because that strike had blown the new components to smithereens. Two lay on the ground and the third dangled on the pole from a strand of wire! So much for Daniel's confidence ...

The South African bushveld isn't an easy place to photograph. Continuous bush makes one landscape look much the same as the next so it's all about the animals and smaller details. As the winter draws to an end the monotonous greys and browns are refreshed with a myriad of fresh greens of new spring leaves. Things are slow at first until the signal of the first rains. Then things happen fast. Suddenly a myriad of insects emerges and snakes begin to move from their winter retreats. I hoped to see one of the resident Rock Pythons and, the day after it rained, a true beauty crossed the dirt road ahead. At three and a half metres it was a big snake. Perhaps not quite big enough to eat a person, but small game such as Steenbok and Duiker would definitely be on the menu. As I photographed he slowly wound up in a the striking pose before trying to sink his teeth into my arm. A metre and a half was as far as he managed to strike, but after a while hebecame bored and retreated  in the most impressive way as huge, sideways swipes of his long body propelled him to safety.

I searched long and hard for a leopard, but obviously not hard enough. This one was encountered inside a hamster cage at a nearby zoo. It was very sad indeed. Unfortunately predators such as leopards face a tough life in the bushveld. Like everywhere in the world, man can't put up with his livelihood being eaten by wild animals. The recent increase of rare game breeding must also make the leopard's life hard. Scarce game animals worth huge sums of money are protected behind huge electric fences that stretch for kilometres through the bush. Soon, if all these fences join up, there may be no corridor left for the wandering leopard  and that will surely seal the fate of this magnificent animal.

Not as large as some of the animals, but probably more impressive, is Wahlberg's Velvet Gecko (Homopholis wahlbergii).  The name is pretty good for starters.

This extremely large Rain Spider had taken up residence in my brother's room in his nice warm bed. After being thrown out it returned a few days later and had to be taken out of spider walking distance from the room as Craig was fast getting arachnophobia! 

Detail of a gecko

Disease resistant buffalo have become much sought after in the last few years and prices for good animals have sky-rocketed. Game auctions are held in the area every few weeks and prospective buyers can view the animals before bidding later in the day. Anything can be bought, from  Rhino or Hippo, down to the smaller species such as Bush Buck and Klipspringer. It all depends on how fat your wallet is! 

While I was on the farm we took a couple of American trophy hunters out to search for animals. One was after a Kudu and the other an Eland. 

Blue Waxbills and a Jameson's Fire Finch provide a dash of colour amongst the dull winter browns. Busy groups of these little birds will often be seen around the water in the early morning before they head off into the bush to feed.

Spring time always gives rise to a flush of new butterflies of various species. Here a newly hatched Acraea prepares to take flight.

One of the large Monkey Thorns (Acacia galpinii) on the farm. Covered in flowers, and being one of the earliest sources of nectar and pollen, it attracts plenty of insects .

Neil's grader waiting for the hydraulic motor to be repaired. Soon it will be in action after the first rains.

Kudu are perhaps the symbol of the bushveld. Kudu bulls are truly magnificent animals that blend in perfectly with their surroundings. The striped face and great curled horns somehow give them an air of aristocracy.

A huge swarm of flies decided to stay in the garden where conditions seemed to be cooler than the surrounding bush. There must have been millions, but luckily they all vanished after the first rains.

Many trees were bursting into flower while I was on the farm. The Monkey thorn's light yellow powder puffs stand out well against the clear blue African sky

As a fancier of mosquitoes, Bibrons Gecko (Pachydactylus bibronii) is always welcome!

Guess who this leg belongs to? A small Leopard Tortoise (Geochelone pardalis) that I found as it was leaving its hibernation retreat ... perhaps a little early in the year, but maybe it could sense the rain coming?

Uncle Mark admiring the very large Rain Spider that took up residence in my brother's bedroom

Klipspringers are nimble little antelope that are perfectly adapted to living on the steepest rocky slopes. When alarmed they will let out a series of stiff snorts before taking off up a nearly vertical cliff.

The hunters and Jet the tracking dog look for Eland.

Periodically, the bush is burnt before the summer arrives. If timing is good, rains will fall shortly after the fires and give the new grass a good kick start. A week after this fire, green shoots were already showing and then thirty mm of rain fell, so there should be a good crop of grass. Some areas, like here, are often choked with Sickle Bush (Dichrostachys cinerea ssp. africana), which forms an impenetrable thicket; fire apparently helps to control it.

A giraffe on Shabala - the neighbouring farm.

An inquisitive Kudu cow.

A banded mongoose, along with nineteen friends, sleeps under one of the tin water reservoirs. Every day after hunting they return in the early evening to laze and play in the rays of the setting sun before retiring to the safety of their burrow. After some time, they became quite used to me and carried on with their antics just a few metre from the camera lens. 

Sunset at the local fishing lake where Carp, Sharptoothed catfish and Tilapia can be expected.

We managed to get out for some fishing on the local Crocodile River and on a lake where these magnificent Tilapia took some worm baits. Locally known as Blue Kurper, they are probably the best eating amongst local freshwater fish. Down on the river, Catfish were also pretty keen to take fish and dove baits. A rogue Serrated Hinged Terrapin of around four kg also took a liking to my bait.

Spring lilies flowering.

This lovely little scorpion decided the kid's dirty clothes was a good place to live. Luckily it was spotted before being able to sting someone.

My grandfather built the house around sixty years ago and the now-mature Jacaranda trees show off their mauve flowers every spring. Huge bougainvilleas add bright pinks to the scene. 

A fairly new sight on the farm is the herd of Zebra.  They seem to have settled in well.

Kudu bulls - Kings of the Bushveld

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Kakadu dreams..A Croc, a Doc and a Barra! pt 4. click older post at foot of page to move back

On the last cast and the last snag of the morning this Barramundi decided to put in an appearance. It was a fine moment as Dr. Keith and I had started salivating hours before and had all but given up the chance of a BBQ fish lunch. After half an hour in the coals the skin peeled back to reveal perfectly cooked Barra!

The river looking fine in the early evening light. This was a point of much activity during the day and even more so during the dark hours when a torch shone in the water would reveal scores of small Barra and various other fish. Late at night a large crocodile fed on the plentiful fish supplies but unfortunately I never saw him in the act!

Shoals of Tarpon couldn't resist the surface lures. Usually they would flash behind the lure before actually hitting it. Hooking up was another matter altogether!

A chug bug gave the doctor his first surface caught Barramundi. 

A better stamp of Barra was found in the deeper water. Plenty of submerged snags always guaranteed a heart stopping fight and tested the tackle to a maximum.

Sneaky salt water crocodiles never seemed to be far away and the slap of the rubber frog landing in the water seemed to be work like a dinner bell. This one swam thirty metres directly towards me to investigate the disturbance.

It was a different experience to fish from a boat after ten days of walking the banks. Although much easier the fishing seemed to be far less productive.

Fire baked Barra for lunch.

In certain areas of the river Paper Bark leaves and flowers formed a floating surface mat and prevented fishing.

A frog hunting tree snake that moved effortlessly through the branches of a tree when I approached. Surprising not many snakes were about. Possibly the adverse
 effect of Cane toads is the reason. Apparently the local goannas have taken a massive population crash thanks to the toad infestation.

This lovely deep corner was inhabited by a shoal of average sized Barra,  a couple of big Sooty grunter and a shoal of small catfish.

The river held some very good mullet but as usual with mullet, they weren't playing ball.  I briefly hooked one on a soft plastic crayfish lure which was by far the closest I came to success.  These nice specimens completely ignored my perfectly laid trap!

A pleasant time of day when the when the heat quickly dissipated giving way to the coolness of the night. Perfect time to throw a line!

The scourge of the northern territory! If the mosquitoes weren't hammering me then these delightful little ants would get stuck in and have a go. People say they are pretty good to eat which is exactly what I'll be doing next time one bites me - a taste of it's own medicine;) 

The resident wallabies were unused to seeing humans and were pretty curious when they saw me flicking lures. usually they would hop a little way off and continue grazing.

This buzzard enjoyed a dead Barra I put out near a shallow billabong. After sitting in a tree for two hours he eventually came down, chased the resident crow away and fed while his mate kept watch. 

Shallow glides provided ideal crocodile free spots to cool off and have a wash.

Australia's enemy: the Cane toad. As night fell an army of toads emerged - so many it was pointless to destroy them.

A fine example of an Archer fish that wasn't put off by a relatively large lure.

A close up showing a big Saratoga lightly hooked in the scissors. The design is specialised to feeding from the surface. Powerful jaws, upturned mouth and eyes close to the top of the head all help to put the odds in the favour of the fish and not the prey.

Saratoga damage after three days fishing. The big ones clamped down hard on the lures which  combined with their hard mouths mean hook ups often only lasted a few seconds. A couple of firm strikes helped drive the hooks home.

A fizzer after a day of fishing

After four days of being in the bush I had eaten enough food to at least be able to push my bicycle to new hunting grounds. It was still highly overloaded which combined with the rough roads was a recipe for disaster.  After fishing a stretch for a couple of days I would move ten kilometres downstream to start exploring new water.

A good place to hide from crocodiles

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