NT TRIP TO GOVE

[Dave_Robbo]

I AM THINKING OF GOING TO A PLACE CALLED GOVE IN ARNHAM LAND NT, TAKING MY BOAT, ANY ONE HAVE ANY TIPS OR HAS ANYONE BEEN THEIR.
GOOD PLACE TO STAY??? ;D :-* ???

[nikko]

Hey man,

I live in Darwin and anyone you talk to here will say that Gove is a great place to fish. I am not sure where you stay there but I am sure you will be able to find something. You may want to try to talk to some locals or guides and find out the best tactics but either way you should get into some good fishing.

Good luck.

[nikko]

Check out this web link :

http://www.govefish.com.au/fishing/reports.html

[Rev]

What time of year?

You'll need permits and so on.

Walkabout Lodge in Nhulunbuy is just about the only place there, no camping facilities, just Motel style accomodation.

Speaking from memory of course! ;)

Rev. :D

[bazz]

Mate spent a few months there in 2001 and the fishing is fantastic.I drove in from Katherine and the road is reasonable in parts and very bad in others.
You would need to make sure the boat trailer and boat were in excellent condition and take plenty of spare parts etc, that you need on any remote trip like this.I only saw one other 4.w.d. on the trip from Katherine.They say the trip takes about ten hours it took me from 5am to 6pm with a few stops and that was without a boat or trailer of any kind. there is one fuel stop on the trip in and another at the aboriginal community of Bulman but it was not opened when I drove in so make sure that you have plenty fuel. Yes you do need a permit from the Northern Land Council.Buy the way I saw two boat trailers wrecked on the way in so you may get the picture.The road would be flooded now but buy winter it should be ok.

It is possible to camp at Nhulunbuy although a few kays out of town.The other option is to contact the manager of Walkabout Hotel and they may let you camp in the hotel grounds.I know of people who have done this before,otherwise stay in the pub or the motel and pay a premium price.If you could make contact with a local from Nhulunbuy they may be able to give you a more up to date imformation than me about camping and road conditions etc.

[Dave_Robbo]

Thank you for your reply, I am from Wollongong so its a long way to go, Im still keen though. Do you need a 4WD, I didnt want to get off road, Im really not sure???

[bazz]

Dave, I definitely would not go unless I was in a 4 w.d. although as I said in some parts the road is reasonable.The last 100k or so it is good.
Nabalco the mining company that runs the mine is constantly working on the road to upgrade it but generally it was badly corrugated and stoney and most of the work was being done at the other end. Also depending what kind of wet season they had up there would be a big bearing on road conditions.
Also a 4.w.d. would be good to go to other places while there to fish. The bauxite shelf about 50 or 60 k out from town is fantastic.Of course there are other places to go while there and a 4.w.d would be a must, although you can hire one there.Another option would be to ship your car and boat in by Perkins Shipping from Darwin a couple of nights and days to get there and you could fly in the day your car arrives and then you only need to hire a 4.w.d to have a look around.
I shipped my 4.w.d.out from Nhulunbuy by Perkins Shipping as the road was out because of the wet season it cost $800 from memory plus you would have a boat.Try and get there Dave you won't be sorry.By the way you can hire tinnys there. A five metre tinny would get you to some pretty hot spots.
And then there is the Wessel Islands etc.If I can do it any one can do it.

[Rev]

Check this site out!

All of the information you need, and I do mean all!

Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula (http://www.ealta.org/nhulunbuy.html)


Rev!

[big_george]

Dave
Worked for Perkins Shipping in gove back in 96.The bay/inlet has queenies/mac;s/barracudda/trev,s/jacks and the odd barra .The locals[aboriginals] give a bit of stick with mono nets[traditional of course].the most successfull lures were the 80 mm spearhead[blue budgie] and the 15a gold bomber[casting and trolling].Out in the blue water there;s a heep of differant species.qeeenies,mac;s,trout,trev;s and the odd bill fish.Trolling skirts,leads,rapala 7 in,metal slices.A good burly trail works wonders.We had a lot of success cubing with pilchards,floating a full pillie out the back.You would hook a mac then queenie and a freight train would come a long and take the kinks out of the line.Along the coast there is some good jack fishing[the head lands about 30 miles up]Can't tell you were it is or brett finger will in on the next plane,poaching ;D Hope this helps
regards Big George ;)