![\"Combo](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewallaby.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/HisGhostMayBeHeard.jpg\")
<\/a>Of the many billabongs that abound in this great land of ours, I have found but two worthy of special mention. The first one, with which every Australian will be familiar, can be found off the Diamantina River in central Queensland, around Kynuna. It is now known as the Combo Waterhole and when I ventured there, was little but a muddy waterhole, oddly supplying much needed water to Brahman cattle and not sheep! Its notoriety was gained in the 1890\u2019s when a shearer involved in the great strike (which later lead to the formation of the Labor Party at Barcaldine), drowned in the waterhole.<\/p>\n By chance a Sydney solicitor visiting friends at Dagworth Station nearby heard the story and penned a few lines describing the incident. He set the lines to an old Scottish jingle called Craigilee and in 1895 at the North Gregory Hotel in Winton, the song was performed for the first time \u2013 the lawyer was Andrew Barton \u2018Banjo\u2019 Paterson and the song \u201cWaltzing Matilda\u201d!<\/p>\n The other notable billabong is one with which all Territorians seem familiar \u2013 the legendary Corroboree Billabong, off the famous Mary River. I have read reports and heard tales of Corroboree since I arrived in the Territory and it was always a place I intended to tackle. Though strangely, after nearly eight years living in Darwin, I had never been. I\u2019ve done the Kakadu thing countless times and the Yellow Water Sunrise Cruise on ten occasions, in all sorts of seasons \u2013 I dare say I could guide and even provide the lecture by now! \u201cThat\u2019s the white-breasted sea-eagle, it\u2019s the second largest bird of prey in the southern hemisphere, behind Australia\u2019s wedgetail eagle\u2026.. Over there is the Jabiru, or black-necked stork \u2013 it\u2019s the only true stork in Australia \u2013 note the difference in eye-colour between male and female\u2026. There is the Greater and Lesser Cattle Egret, the night heron, the cormorant, the whistling duck, the magpie goose, the flying fox and of course the spectacularly coloured Azure kingfisher\u2026..!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, with my parents coming up from Sydney for a visit in June, I decided to do something different this time \u2013 I rang up Mary River Houseboats and booked a six-berth vessel for four days!<\/p>\n The friendly phone-lady explained what I would find on board and what I would need to bring along:<\/p>\n Supplied are two bunks, two double beds (one upstairs, one below), blankets, sheets, pillows, toilet, hot shower, 4-Burner gas stove, griller, oven, barbeque and a gas fridge.<\/p>\n We would need to bring towels, food, esky and ice (for 1st<\/sup> day), personal insect repellent and fly spray.<\/p>\n Pick it up at 9:30am Tuesday and return by 4pm Friday \u2013 all very simple.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Corroboree is about a hundred kilometres south-east of Darwin, along the Arnhem highway. I reached Eleven Mile with my ears pinned back and the wind blowing in my face before I began going over our list of \u2018Necessaries\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cTowels! – did we bring towels?\u201d<\/p>\n There was a collective eyebrow raise and an expectant look betwixt us all before we conceded that we could surely make-do with a clean tea-towel each!<\/p>\n Not the best start \u2013 at least we didn\u2019t forget the beer!<\/p>\n We called in to the Corroboree Park Tavern to get some ice for the drinks \u2013 I sent the Old Boy in for three bags while Mum and I chatted in the car. He took a while but finally returned, loaded up the esky and off we took. Dad bragged that his superior observational skills had just that minute spared us from an ugly experience. It turns out that the lady in the Tavern directed him to the wrong fridge and he almost emerged with three large blocks of frozen pilchards, instead of the three blocks of ice!<\/p>\n Now I love a cold beer but would likely draw the line if they\u2019d been floating in tepid pilchard broth all morning! Good one Dad!<\/p>\n The turn off for the billabong is just past the tavern, on the left hand side and consists of about 22kms of dirt road. On this occasion, it was in good general condition, though there were a few corrugated sections. No problem at all for any type of vehicle.<\/p>\n After a lap of the car park, looking for the office, I noticed the houseboats tied up in what seemed a ramshackle fashion against the bank. This was not really the case. There is a very practical set of steel plated wharves providing full and safe access to the boats and the little floating office. Nobby was the bloke in charge and he gave us a full run down of all the gear, including steering, motors, pumps, petrol, stove etc \u2013 this takes 10 minutes. I signed the sheet and he gave us a Next-G emergency phone \u2013 standard phones have no coverage at this stage.<\/p>\n Nobby pointed up the \u2018river\u2019 and said \u2018You can go up there, which runs into a dead end, or you can turn left, which is the major billabong\u2019.<\/p>\n We asked about a map, and they do have one on the wall, but Nobby assured us that you can\u2019t get lost. Considering Corroboree billabong is more than twenty kilometres long, you actually can get lost if you are unobservant and inexperienced, but after a single day trip, you\u2019ll know your way around.<\/p>\n \u2018Just reverse straight out and away you go. Do you want ice and a paper in the morning?\u2019<\/p>\n We confirmed that and off we went.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The boats, though large, are very easy to control \u2013 the only tricky parts to remember are to compensate for the wind (there is a considerable area of flat-wall which catches the breeze) and they tend to pull-up a bit like a roadtrain. The motor is a newish four-stroke thirty horsepower outboard which gets the vessel moving at an enjoyable, though relaxed pace. The multi-hulled punt draws very little water but the momentum, together with a lack of any significant current, means that the boat will continue on its path for some time once the engine is cut. Though there is always reverse which is easily engaged, via a deft shunt of the throttle lever.<\/p>\n The hot shower requires an internal combustion pump to be started \u2013 this is easily accessible under a broad seat at the stern. It requires turning a switch, adjusting the choke, pulling a rope and re-adjusting the choke \u2013 it\u2019s very easy and we found it reliable. This water is pumped from the billabong, though there is 200L? of fresh drinking water on board for other uses.<\/p>\n The toilet and shower are luxuriously full size \u2013 unlike those poky little things you sometimes find on boats, where you need to pull your dacks down outside and back-in crouched over!<\/p>\n Though I\u2019m fairly regular, at a couple a day I can\u2019t ever recall a better view perched upon the throne, than that enjoyed through the scenic bathroom window as you cruise the glass-like reflective pond in dawn\u2019s early light!<\/p>\n The piping hot shower works a treat too \u2013 though you must then be careful of the wet marine carpet on the combined floor, if you drop your strides for the toilet.<\/p>\n The steering console is a standalone affair, outside on the spacious front deck, where a beautiful barbeque also resides. There is a portable CD player secured to the front of the steering console for your use. The front deck is wide and open, with a solid round plastic table and numerous school-type plastic chairs.<\/p>\n Both the front and rear open decks are surrounded by waist high aluminium cage with solid posts and rails. The front deck features rolled up shade-cloth suspended from the ceiling around all edges \u2013 these are unfurled when bedding down for the night. They conceal steel rods in the bottom hem and Velcro sides which are joined up all around to enclose your cosy drinking area from the millions of jealous bugs who\u2019ll be wanting to join you. I found the shade-cloth to be a little too snugly cut in some places, possibly after shrinkage \u2013 so, as I\u2019ve heard before, another six inches would have been better!<\/p>\n There is a very sturdy set of industrial type stairs leading to the top bedroom and deck \u2013 here you\u2019ll find a comfy double bedroom with a sliding glass door, as well as a flyscreen mesh door, leading to an upper balcony. I would tip people to keep these doors locked when not in use, as after the argument and accusations, we discovered that the door can easily slide open on its own and welcome in ten billion friendly bugs, as you slurp shiraz downstairs, totally oblivious to the upstairs invasion!<\/p>\n We found that after a generous application of \u2018Bushman\u2019s\u2019 heavy duty in the morning, that the bugs were no problem at all until sunset. To combat the myriad bitey night-time insects, the boats are equipped with a flouro light on a ten foot extension arm, which is unhooked and swung out away from the sitting deck, just before you drop the shades. In the absence of an internal deck light, all the bugs are attracted away from the deck area \u2013 it\u2019s ingenious!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once again comparing Combo to Corroboree \u2013 I doubt you could even float a boat in Combo and similarly, I doubt you could ever drown yourself in Corroboree. You wouldn\u2019t have time! There are crocs in this waterhole \u2013 not the wimpy little, skinny-faced, blue-tongue-lizard-like freshwater models, these are your hefty, thick-gutted, bull-headed, nasty-natured saltwater demons! They are big and they are plentiful and they are in fine condition \u2013 they obviously know how to hunt. I\u2019ve never seen so many crocs in the one place in all my life and certainly never so many big specimens.<\/p>\n The natural landscape and wildlife will blow your mind \u2013 in my opinion, better than Kakadu. We saw crocs, snakes, eagles, kites, buffalo, hundreds of thousands of assorted waterbirds, wallabies, Jabiru\u2019s, Brolgas, turtles and of course, the spectacularly coloured azure kingfisher!<\/p>\n When tying up at night, I would recommend a relatively vacant area, with a tree either-side and a steep bank. There is an in-swinging gate on the bow which allows you to scan for danger, hop out and secure the ropes to a sturdy tree, before returning to safety.<\/p>\n The stern sports 3 rod holders set up for comfortable trolling.<\/p>\n Nobby appears every morning in a tinny, hand delivering any requested items from the day before \u2013 things such as Ice, newspapers, eggs, bread, fuel etc.<\/p>\n One morning he had two cartons of VB \u2013 said the blokes on the other boat had drank half their supply the night before, while planning their trip! Nobby said that to combat such shortfalls, he advises to plan for a carton a day for each person\u2026\u2026then double it!<\/p>\n As for the fishing \u2013 I threw everything but my blo0dy tacklebox at the fish and scored nada besides a few Powertails!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I watched my best chance disappear below the lilies as my much loved and bragged-about green scumfrog parted ways with my leader in some kind of magic trick, not unlike a magician separating those linked silver rings!<\/p>\n I retrieved my line – the loop connecting the lure was still intact – and there’s some lumpy saratoga swimming around with a big rubber-frog stuck in his gob – probably also wondering how the freak that happened!<\/p>\n I’m guessing the light mono leader somehow caught around and slipped out of an incomplete hook-ring – I certainly never noticed any problem when tying it on.<\/p>\n But I\u2019ll leave the Corroboree fishing advice to those more qualified.<\/p>\n I found it a superb holiday and very relaxing for anyone with a slight sense of adventure and an appreciation of our natural wonders. With just the slightest common sense, a houseboat on Corroboree Billabong is a very safe and comfortable experience and will no doubt prove an expedition never forgotten. I\u2019d recommend it to anyone.<\/p>\n For the setup we had, they charged $1280 plus fuel for 4 days \u2013 it ended up costing about $1400, which included extra fuel, bread, eggs, ice, papers etc.<\/p>\n Contact: Mary River Houseboats \u2013 (08) 8978 8925.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n At some stage Matt Flynn, a local Darwin fishing writer who publishes The Northern Australia Fish Finder book every couple of years, was trying to get an outdoors magazine up and running. He called for contributors and since I’d just returned from Corroboree – I gave him this…. Corroboree Billabong Houseboats\u00a0 Of the many … Continue reading Corroboree Billabong Houseboats<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5K3B8-3x","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=219"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":338,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219\/revisions\/338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>\n