ground and clear views.
We slip through a sea of caravans to a
riverfront nook just waiting for us, and
spend the afternoon watching anglers
reel in their fish dinners, while bold
black kites swoop for their share of the
catch.
An elderly couple warns us about
the estuarine crocodiles nearby, but
from our highset position they pose
little danger, even as we dangle our
rods over the edge. The next morning
we pack up and drive on, poking down
skinny tracks to discover big, blue
lagoons carpeted with purple lilies,
roosting magpie geese and lots and lots
of ducks.
We stop at Lomarieum Lagoon just
behind the St Vidgeon Ruins, and
ponder the wisdom of launching a
kayak so early in the dry season. The
boat stays dry and we spend the day on
the banks of the Roper River instead.
THE MIGHTY ROPER
Winding for more than 1000km
between Arnhem Land and the
Limmen Bight, the Roper River’s
translucent emerald waterway attracts
the bulk of boaties to Limmen National
Park. So green and clear that you can
eyeball the crocodiles competing
for their share of the barramundi,
the Roper bears the name of John
Roper, part of Ludwig Leichhardt’s
1845 expedition team that crossed
the river at Roper Bar on a year-long,
4800km overland journey from Jimbour
in Queensland’s Darling Downs to
Port Essington on the NT’s Cobourg
Peninsula.
Today, four ultra-accessible Roper
River campgrounds attract annual
wintertime pilgrims who spend
time wrangling fish, talking fish and
barbecuing their impressive daily
catches to perfection. Travellers
congregate in large numbers at
Munbililla, where there are truly
excellent facilities for such a remote
location and most importantly, a sealed
boat ramp.
Along with hot-water showers,
toilets, drinking water and free gas
barbecues, there are picnic tables and
a fish cleaning station, rubbish bins
and a dump point. Centralised fire pits
bring campers together after all the
fishing is done for the day, and you get
all this for a tiny $6.60 per person, per
night! Kids are half price and families66 tradeaboat.com.au