Hi from Croker Island
As we move through October the temperatures and the humidity continue to rise making physical work outdoors increasingly demanding. The once clear blue skies are now filled with more clouds producing some amazing sunrises and sunsets.
Most non- indigenous people mis-pronounce the word garngi as follows: garn-gi (or garn-gee). The correct way is: gar-ngi. The 'ng' sound in garngi is the same sound as 'ng' in the English words sang, ring and then add an 'ee' like in the English word seek - gar-ngee.
The house with the 4WD park out the front is my accommodation. It is just 200 metres to the beach. There is only a limited view of the sea. As mentioned in an earlier post, we are in the late dry season which means there is not a lot of green around at the moment. That will change soon when the wet season brings an explosion of growth.
Down at the beach directly in front of the house is an old jetty, a relic from the mission days. The current barge landing is about 4 kms south east which provides a much more sheltered area for barges and the launching and retrieving of small boats.
A little further up the beach are the remains of this old steel vessel which the elements are slowly but surely reclaiming. As usual, PK enjoys a walk along the beach.
Below is one of the barges from Darwin that services Minjilang. Before it comes here it visits the Tiwi Islands to the north of Darwin. It arrived here during the night when the tide was too low, so they dropped the anchor for a few hours and grabbed some sleep. From here they go on visiting other communities to the east.
While waiting for the barge I noticed that PK and I had company - a 2 1/2 metre croc. I have seen some large croc slides out on the flood plain many kilometres from the sea. Often referred to as 'saltwater crocs', they can quite happily live in fresh water.
In due course the barge came onto the landing. Another sign that the seasons are changing is the flat sea in the background.
The numerous dead trees below are the result of category 5 cyclone Ingrid in 2004.
Recently the Garngi rangers took two elders to the northern part of the island to inspect a number of significant sites where they wanted signs erected to help prevent unauthorised visitors. Some of the tracks we took had not been used for many years requiring regular stops to clear the track. Below we are enjoying a well earned break on a remote stretch of stunningly beautiful beach.
The outgoing tide revealed one of the 'locals' catching a break in a cool spot - about 3 metres.
Over the last week and a bit the south easterly wind has dropped out. This is normal as we move into the build up to the wet season which arrives with the north westerly monsoon winds. The flat seas made for a very pleasant day out in the ranger boat - also called 'Garngi'. Below Adam receives some refresher training.
Below is a view of Minjilang from the Mission Bay. While out we made the most of the opportunity to conduct a patrol for the Northern Territory Government Fisheries Department. This is a part of some of the contract work Garngi Rangers do.
Ranger Adam practicing driving the 'Garngi' onto the trailer. The conditions are not always this 'friendly'. The Garngi is a 7.2 metre Formosa in commercial survey with 250hp Suzuki.
After an early start and a successful day on the water it was time to return to Minjilang.
L to R - Bryan, Jamie and Adam (Carmen behind the camera)
Until next time stay safe and God bless. Bryan
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