Macca's Meanderings

Hello from a very wet Croker Island.  We have had some consistent monsoon rains now for a couple of weeks. The last two wets seasons have been very poor in the Top End however so far this season is above average for rainfall.  Below is our house taken from the drone showing the short distance to the beach. Nancy is still in Queensland.  Some brolgas enjoying the sea of green out on the floodplain. Just a few weeks ago this area was dry and dusty. After playing around with the drone for an hour, PK and I were sent hurrying for home with the next band of monsoon showers approaching. The incoming tide brings the fish and stingrays in very close to the beach. This young man is hoping to spear a meal.    26 January - Australia Day or Invasion Day? There has been quite a bit of debate on this topic over recent days. Recently, I put this question to the Garngi Rangers. It produced a very interesting and wide ranging discussion. We didn't just talk of the events of 26 J...

Greetings again from Croker Island.  Fly Tiwi operates a five day a week regular air service from Darwin to Croker Island. The flight travels via Goulburn Island, another island to the south east of Croker Island and like Croker Island is just off the mainland coast. The track of this flight goes along the northern section of Kakadu National Park and then across the base of the Coburg Peninsula to Goulburn Island. The overcast sky last Friday while providing some relief from the very sticky conditions of the last few days also put on a grand show of various colours, shades and shapes. Fortunately no rain during the flight, that would come later in the form of a giant thunder storm and an amazing light show. For now though the fine weather and amazing visibility made the journey one long scenic flight.  On Sunday morning I was up early to meet to 6am barge. Tides dictate many events in this part of the world. The barge, the Arnhem Trader was early so I was back at the house bef...

Hello everyone We hope and pray that you have all enjoyed a happy and safe Christmas and that 2021 brings many blessings to you. As mentioned in the previous post, Nance and I flew into Darwin from Minjilang, Croker Island just before Christmas. Around the same time Laura flew in from Brisbane and six of Christy's family flew in from Geelong. Dean and Kristy were very brave in hosting Christmas for all of us this year - thank you very much. We all enjoyed a great time together.  A Darwin thunder storm on Boxing Day evening put on an impressive light and sound show. Generally however the weather has been kind to us. As I write this blog post, the BOM are forecasting a cyclone to form in the Gulf of Carpentaria shortly and then move into Queensland.  Below the Macdonald Christmas 2020 photo L to R - Dean, Kristy, Nance, Bryan, Laura and Jayson. Some of Christy's family - Marney, Cameron, Paddy and Kristy.  And below Paddy and Sharon.  This time of the year in the Top E...

Christmas greetings from Croker Island.  As I write this blog post the monsoon has formed over the Top End and the wet season has begun. This has resulted in an 'explosion' of life - both plant and animal. Areas that were dry and dusty just two weeks ago are now lush green. Likewise the animal world, just a short time ago was in survival mode, hanging out for the rains but now they are much happier. Driving to the Croker Island airport to fly to Darwin this week we drive across a flood plain.  The transformation has been amazing. Thousands of horses have moved in to take advantage of the green grass along with many types of birds - brolgas, magpie geese, jabirus and many other waters birds. The rangers close over Christmas New Year. We will spend this time in Darwin with our family. Since the last post the Grngi Rangers have been very busy. Large amounts marine litter is washed up onto the beaches around Croker Island - some of which comes from other countries. This litter inc...

 Hello from a hot and humid Croker Island.  All this last week the forecasts were predicting maximums of 39 combined with high humidity. Nancy arrived in Darwin last Monday greeted by this 'warm' welcome. She will fly out to Croker Island next Monday, in the meantime she is catching up with our two sons in Darwin and other friends.  One of the aspects of the Garngi Rangers work is coastal patrols. We have contracts with both the Commonwealth and NT governments to do this work. Recently we have done patrols to both the northern and southern parts of the island. Even though the temperatures have been high, the seas have been very flat making for great days on the water. Below we are approaching Cape Croker, the northern most point of the island. Cape Croker has a small lighthouse - Nancy has a thing about lighthouses so will be keen to see this very remote one. At lunch time we found a shady spot at the mouth of a creek that also provided a good anchorage for the vessel....

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 bar...