Billabong fishing around Weipa?

[Scorcher]

Ahhh, Google Earth. Gotta love it.

Just in case the fishing is slow or too blowy on the west coast of The Cape when we head up there in June, I thought that I would look for some fresh water options.

Just spent the last hour looking for billabongs along the Wenlock River and a few others that are accessable. The Wenlock seems to stand out for options.

Has anybody got any stories, reports, must visit spots that you are prepared to share??

[campdog]

Ahhh, Google Earth. Gotta love it.

Just in case the fishing is slow or too blowy on the west coast of The Cape when we head up there in June, I thought that I would look for some fresh water options.

Just spent the last hour looking for billabongs along the Wenlock River and a few others that are accessable. The Wenlock seems to stand out for options.

Has anybody got any stories, reports, must visit spots that you are prepared to share??
Stones Crossing

[Scorcher]

Stones Crossing

Yep, that's the area that stands out, doesn't it.

We spent a few days on the river at Stones Crossing back in 1995. Fished the river and had great fun on the small Barra and Sooty's (from memory).

Long before Google Earth & just winged it without any local knowledge. Thus, didn't go looking for any Billabongs.

Does anybody know if the track that heads east of Stony's Crossing (southern side) is still accessible all the way to the PDR? My old Joint Operations Topo's (1983) show the track travelling parallel to the Wenlock right through to the PDR. Obviously, if still traversable, approval would be sought from the property owners.

[ant]

Scorcher,
Yes, basically any land in the cape is owned by someone so permission is needed beforehand. From my understanding, the area around Stones is now owned by the Irwin family and I did hear that it is supposed to be closed to the public. Best to check as the story I got may not be the right one. I have tried to contact them about this and a few other things but have had no success to date.

[Scorcher]

Scorcher,
Yes, basically any land in the cape is owned by someone so permission is needed beforehand. From my understanding, the area around Stones is now owned by the Irwin family and I did hear that it is supposed to be closed to the public. Best to check as the story I got may not be the right one. I have tried to contact them about this and a few other things but have had no success to date.

Thanks Ant,

Wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of Bindi !!

Or maybe it's another Irwin family?? I'll watch this space to see if you receive any updates. Otherwise, I'll ask around when I hit Weipa.

[ant]

Scorcher- you got the right family.
The Stones area is part of the Bertiehaugh station. Word has it that Bob Irwin spends a lot of his time there at the moment.

I was trying to get hold of him to do a feature on the land and their plans, but this did not eventuate as I couldn't get in touch with anyone in particular.

[Scorcher]

Scorcher- you got the right family.
The Stones area is part of the Bertiehaugh station. Word has it that Bob Irwin spends a lot of his time there at the moment.

I was trying to get hold of him to do a feature on the land and their plans, but this did not eventuate as I couldn't get in touch with anyone in particular.

Hi Ant,

Does Bertiehaugh Station extend over to the south of the Wenlock River??

The track I was looking at turns off before Stones Crossing, and heads east parallel to the Wenlock River, coming out on the PDR just to the south of the main Wenlock crossing. I just checked my Hema map, which indicates that the majority of the trail traverses Napranum land, then onto Batavia Downs property (as a guess) near the PDR.

As meantioned before, this track was on an old Army Joint Operations Topo, and may no longer be in use or accessable.

And if it leads to some of "Ants secret fishing spots", feel free to remain quiet on this subject ;)

Scorcher

[ant]

Scorcher,
The Cape is full of Ant's secret spots!!!!

The track you have mentioned is on Napranum land which may cause a few problems. Firstly, all Napranum land is under the AMP which means you cannot cart any grog through there (the South side of Pennefather also falls into this category).
The other problem is that gaining permission may be a hassle as the Council recently closed the area in question to the public.

Batavia land is still an option but you must also first get permission from the station.

[Scorcher]

Scorcher,
The Cape is full of Ant's secret spots!!!!

The track you have mentioned is on Napranum land which may cause a few problems. Firstly, all Napranum land is under the AMP which means you cannot cart any grog through there (the South side of Pennefather also falls into this category).
The other problem is that gaining permission may be a hassle as the Council recently closed the area in question to the public.

Batavia land is still an option but you must also first get permission from the station.

Thanks Ant,

A bit more researching, planning, then a few phone calls will hopefully send me in the right direction.

The Weipa Camp Ground "Pax Haven" used to be the source of a lot of information, so I might send them an email.