Archer River to Love River

The huge Archer River looking towards the mouth.

Saturday 6^th August: the shared mouth of the Archer, Watson and Ward river is a large very shallow estuary with many mangrove islands. Though secure Tony found our anchorage off Wallaby Island a bit rocky so we boarded the dinghy in the morning to find a better site. Came across a houseboat ‘Aurukun Fishing Charters’ and meet Geoff and Sue, both from Cairns but managing the operation during the Dry season. They provided the local knowledge of mudflats and sand banks. We surveyed their suggestions and then prior to lunch moved Nysa just pass the Aurukun boat ramp – it took an hour motoring but a much calmer location. Hopefully not more insects though.

Tony remains very tired and looks it – though he enjoys sailing, he has come to the realisation that he is not a  ‘just cover the distance day after day’ yachtie, even when he has a goal. Staying and enjoying each new place is more our pace, with short stints of travelling in-between. Of course in a yacht this means you don’t cover much distance and it is a very slow journey (as ours has been). Nor is he a sailor who rests – when not exploring he is fixing and maintaining so never has a lazy day.

Sunday 7^th August: Tony continues cleaning the deck. Geoff and Sue dropped in for afternoon tea. This is the first time they have managed the fishing charter, and will do so till mid December when they will take the houseboat back to Weipa to be put in the boat yard for the Wet Season. Most visitors have been Australian or from New Zealand, stay 5-7 days, at a cost of $680 per night  (Tony and I consider this good value compared to the camping fishing charters out of Seisia). They fly into Aurukun and fish from plastic dinghies in this vast river system with a guide. Breaks between charters have been a few days to 2 weeks.

A late afternoon walk was along a section of river that had been cleared in the past presumably for cattle, as there was a station here in the past. Large termite mounds cover the area and smoke from a large fire was in the distance. On our return we found that a 1.5 metre groper has taken residence at Nysa’s stern.

Wild fires are very common this time of year.

It is so calm that the moon and clouds are reflected in the river – quite beautiful except too many mosquitoes to enjoy for too long.

Monday 8^th August: telephoned Aurukun Council to inform them we were anchored off the ramp and to request permission to enter the community for some fuel and fresh fruit. The person I spoke to was not happy, as a written request is required before actually arriving. I explained we had not planned to visit and how appreciative we would be. I was told the Mayor would be informed that we had telephoned and we would be contacted if there was any problem. I just hope they won’t want ask us to pay for a camping permit - $50 per person per night and $20 per car/boat per night would be a dint in our savings.

Broad expanses of water lilies were found in freshwater sections of the river.

In the afternoon we spent 4 hours doing a 43 kms round trip up the Little Archer River and back in the dinghy. We had not travelled far before the water became brackish and eventually we were in clear fresh water. Frequent patches of purple water lilies, golden flowering orchids in the trees, various varieties of ducks and lots of bee-eaters added to its attractiveness. Sue and Geoff had told us that during the Wet the water level in the rivers is 2 metres higher and they were using fresh water in the estuary from the flow up to May.

Upper reaches of the Little Archer River

On the way back we stopped at an old cattle yard, now just posts and wire, with the remains of a ramp down to the water. The cattle used to be transported to market by boat. There was also a timber felling industry, with the trees being floated down the river as rafts to be loaded onto boats also. Another large fire was in the distance – Nysa is being covered in ash again.

Old cattle yards used to load cattle onto boats.

Tuesday 9^th August: awoke to smoke coating the river like fog. Walked into Aurukun, which was established in 1904 as a Presbyterian mission – last Friday was Aurukun Day when a re-enactment of the first minister arriving is performed at the boat ramp. The population is about 1200 and it is approximately a 2.5 hour drive from Weipa on 200kms of dirt road. The bush and river here is really beautiful country. From the ramp you look down the river to its mouth, where the sun sets right in the middle.

Aurukun landing

We passed the new town pool that was only recently opened. For only a few days did the community get to use their new facility before a group of young people, the youngest was apparently 8, went on a rampage through the town. Part of the vandalism included smashing the filters on the pool, which are too expensive to fix, so the pool is now closed indefinitely. Today England is also being vandalised by unhappy youth, so our society needs to ask itself many questions.  The immediate impact in Aurukun is that the involved young people, and the rest of the community, miss out on something that was eagerly awaited and enjoyed briefly.

Tony was a bit surprised to find the unleaded fuel was Opal, but really we should have expected that. The bowser is unattended – you are meant to buy a fuel card at the supermarket and then the amount of fuel you buy is charged to this. Back at the bowser, you insert the card to activate the pump for that amount – only it took us 2 trips to the supermarket to get this organised. The fruit we bought was not expensive but we were told general grocery lines are 2-3 times the price of Cairns.

On return to Nysa Tony either loss concentration, or had become complacent, but decided to wash the mud off his feet by rinsing them in the water from the back step. A large splash and a yell told me something was very wrong – the groper bit Tony and by the teeth marks circling his foot he was very lucky not to have lost half of it. It was a shock and a reminder that not being able to see anything in the water does not mean it is safe – this same groper had attacked our boat stick yesterday when I was washing it in the water. Luckily the gashes are not deep but I am concerned infection may occur. Tony is so lucky as gropers have been known to bite off digits and it could have just as easily been a crocodile!

The fishing charter group left this morning so we went and had a look round the houseboat in the afternoon. It sleeps 12 in single bunks and has a great upstairs outdoor area with a million dollar view, but with only 1 bathroom it could be a bit small if people did not get on – would very comfortable for 2 though.

Sue and Geoff then came for dinner. Geoff had spent the afternoon pig shooting with one of the policemen - the surrounding wetlands are good hunting grounds.

Zowie enjoying a much needed bath.

Wednesday 10^th August: ‘smoke on the river’ and 4 brolgas on the mudflats as we motored out of the estuary. Considering how expensive it is to visit this area, either camping or on the houseboat, we have been very privileged to enjoy its beauty.

No wind so it took 4 hours to motor 18kms south to the Love River. Unbelievably, as we arrived the wind and swell blew up, again making it very difficult for Tony to get into and out of the dinghy from our anchored position outside the river. Though the river itself has plenty of depth, the mouth is encircled by a sand bar that was too shallow to cross until high tide – so we sat and waited 5 hours. It was dark by the time we followed the route marked on the handheld GPS by Tony’s earlier reccy. It was a bouncy trip until we entered the river where calmness prevailed though we could hear waves crashing along the coastal sand dune – it has been a long time since we heard waves.

Chris at the helm.

Thursday 11^th August: it had been a nice surprise to have no insects last night but this morning I was awoken by sandflies! A 2 metre crocodile is on the opposite shore. We walked along the coastal sand dune to the mouth. The shallows extend a vast distance out into the gulf. There is no road access to the Love but it’s close proximity to Aurukun makes dinghy access easy – there are old campsites and quad bike tracks. The only rubbish is from the campsites. The beach is pleasantly clear of flotsam, I guess because fewer large boats venture this far south or the currents don’t bring it in. Recent turtle tracks lead to a nest not yet ravaged by pigs or goannas – hopefully it will be spared. The beach and river edge is home to a large number of hermit crabs, again in the best shells. In a tree near our anchorage is an osprey nest with juveniles.

Chris enjoying a beach walk

In the afternoon the wind again strengthen but came from the south straight along the river, so with wind against tide we had hours of choppiness and Nysa literally doing circles around the anchor.

Our radio reception has always been hit and miss depending on location. Whereas hearing PNG radio is not greatly surprising, tonight we had New Zealand?

Sandbars at the mouth of the Love at low tide.

Friday 12^th August: similar to the Kirke, the Love opens into a wide shallow lake but only about 7kms inland. This morning we travelled there in the dinghy. The Love is 2-3 times wider than the Kirke, and a large mangrove island is at the entrance to the lake. Unfortunately smoke from a distant fire stung my eyes making them difficult to open for the time we were at the lake. The lake is only navigatable at the top of high tide so we did not venture in. According to the Fishing Guide, there is a private dry season track to the upper section of the lake from which dinghies can be launched, and an out-station a further 1km upstream from there.

In the river were big purplish jellyfish – stranded ones were seen yesterday on the beach.

We returned to walk the northern beach at the entrance. 2 large crocodiles were sighted floating past on the out-going tide and the mud/sand flats are home to numerous hermit crabs, some also a good size. We could imagine ourselves somewhere very remote if not for the quad bike tracks.

The expansive reaches of the lower Love River

Early afternoon a small bat was fluttering above the water not far from our stern – it appeared distressed, dipping low to the water and frantically flapping to rise again. The 2 parent ospreys from the nearby nest then started to chase it, swooping down but missing each time. The bat seemed incapable of reaching the safety of the trees on the bank, and we lost sight of it as the eagles pursued it further down the river. Later I saw one of the osprey’s take a fish to the juveniles in the nest – I would like to think the bat did not end there as well.

Mid afternoon the wind again increased to 20-25 knots – seems to be a pattern but commencing slightly later each day. On returning to Nysa this morning Tony had put out a stern anchor so the ride was not as giddy.

Apart from a wasp attempting to build a nest in our bedroom, there have been no insects today.

Sunrise on the Love River

Smokey early morning on the Love River