DOUGLAS HOT SPRINGS

19^th August, 2012

Continuing north today up the Stuart Highway.  After 25 years we are keen to revisit Douglas Hot Springs and see if they are as good as we remember.  We fill up with diesel at Pine Creek and sixty kilometres further on turn west towards the hot springs.  Its forty kilometres to the hot springs and along the way we stop to look at Fenton Airfield.  The airfield was only one of many built across the top end of Australia in World War II to defend against the onslaught of the Japanese.  It was established in August 1942 as a heavy bomber base for the US Air Force and a radar station and anti-aircraft batteries were manned by Australian soldiers.  The base came under attack by the Japanese a number of times whilst it was in operation.  There are no hangars or buildings left at the site but the asphalt runway is still in good condition.

Fenton Airfield WWII runway

A sign on the western side of the runway directed us to the aircraft graveyard

where bits of fuselage

and engine parts are scattered in the bush.

Wok checks out an engine mounting

Seventy years ago this place must have been buzzing.  It’s a far cry from today with only the occasional bird call to be heard and it would be nice to think that this will be how it will stay.  We leave the memories of World War II behind and it’s not long before we are pulling into the campground at Douglas Hot Springs.  It is very much as we remember.  The only change seems to be the addition of some picnic tables and a toilet block that has flushing loos and a shower cubicle.  We find a spot to set up beside the river

View of the campground from our campsite

and then put our togs on and settle in for a couple of hours soaking in the hot springs.  Now the hot springs here in the Douglas River are a wee bit different to the ‘norm’.  We are in the upper reaches of the river and in the dry it is more like a small creek than a raging river.  There are two streams diverging into one and one stream is cold and the other is hot, so all one has to do is find a spot to suit oneself … Hot … Cold … Warm … or a bit of both.  Aahh!  It’s hard work but someone has to do it.

Enjoying Douglas River Hot Springs

The next day we just decided to stay put and relax some more.  Then it was time to do some exploring.  Fifteen kilometres away the Douglas River gets a bit more lively and we stop to have a look at a spot that is called The Arches.

Wok at The Arches

The river flows through a narrow gorge and plunges into a deep pool before continuing on to become a tributary of the Daly River.

Pool at The Arches

Just around the corner the river quietens down again and a flock of wild ducks are paddling around.

Ducks on the river

The water is crystal clear and looks inviting but this is ‘saltie’ territory so having a quick dip is out of the question.  We hop in Mitzi and cross the bridge over the Douglas River.  Forty kilometres later on we come to Oolloo Crossing at the Daly River.

Oolloo Crossing - Daly River

The crossing is closed due to the unseasonal influx of water over the causeway, but we haven’t come here to cross the river.  We have come here to fish for barramundi.  Twenty five years ago at another crossing further north on the Daly River we took Tina and Trent fishing and they each caught a dinner plate sized barramundi.  So we are going to see if we can repeat their performance.  The only difference is that the legal size for catching barramundi is a minimum of 55 cms.  No pressure there!  Wok rigs up our lines with lures and selects a likely fishing spot just upstream of the crossing all the while keeping an eye out for ‘salties’.

Wok fishing on the banks of the Daly River

There were a couple of small barramundi that we could see swimming around and they were interested in our lures but they were undersized so we didn’t want to catch them.  Then this really big barramundi came slowly along the river bank and whammo!  The following photo shows a very surprised fisherperson with their catch.

OK Lachie - Now this is a FISH!

We measured our barramundi and it was 55 cms and a bit.  We couldn’t believe our luck!  Although we continued to fish for another hour no more big barramundi turned up so we headed back to camp where Wok filleted the barramundi and threw the leftovers to a very hungry ‘whistling kite’.  Then we spent the afternoon cooling off in the river

Our own personal spa

and Wok found a deep spot to have a paddle in.

Wok is in water heaven

That evening we dined on fresh ‘barra’ with a side salad.

Just chillin' out

What more can we say – life is good and you are going to hear this fish story over and over again.