Karumba, The Gulf of Carpentaria (WK 22)

We arrived in Karumba on 21/08/2021 for 5 nights after 3 nights in Normanton.

Karumba is on the Gulf of Carpentaria and the head of the Norman River, it is where the Outback meets the Sea. It’s the first time we have seen the sea since we left Derby in WA. We have missed it. Love the smell of the sea, the sea breezes and so the cooler temps.

As it was a short drive from Normanton after setup we drove around both Karumba Point (where we are staying) and Karumba town. It didn’t take long but we’ve found where the bakery and pubs are!

On 22/08/2021 we went to the weekly market. Not much to say about that….. In the evening we went on the Sand Island Sunset Cruise. The boat firstly took us to the harbour where the prawn trawlers come into. There are 2 seasons: one for banana prawns and the other for tiger prawns. The seasons each last for about 8 weeks when the trawlers stay out in the Gulf the whole time depositing their catches onto a ‘mother’ ship which freezes the green (raw) prawns.

After the harbour tour, the boat headed out to one of the sand islands. There are lots of sand bars near Karumba which have caught many a sailor out, and as there is only one tide per day, it’s a long time to wait to get adrift again. Being surrounded by land on three sides and with Papua New Guinea restricting the movement of water to the north, the second tide is cancelled by the first. The tide takes 12 hours to travel across the Gulf before it bounces back in the opposite direction.

Deck chairs, drinks and nibbles were bought onto the island for us to watch the sun set into the sea. Beautiful. On the way back, as dusk was descending, we were treated to a full moon.

On 23/08/2021 we tried to walk from Karumba Point to Karumba Town along the Norman River. It took a few false starts to find the path and then when we did it was flooded as the tide was too high so we gave up and drove instead 🤣. In the evening we went to listen to the musician at the camp kitchen. We didn’t stay long (he wasn’t very good…..).

In the early hours of the 24/08/2021 the wind woke us up. We had been warned as Paul’s fishing trip had been cancelled (someone does not want Paul to catch a barramundi….). It was windy all day so we stayed local except for a drink at the Animal Bar. It had to be done…… it has a reputation when the trawlers are in port but as there was only us and 2 other oldies late afternoon, it was very quiet.

On 25/08/2021 we went to the Les Wilson Barramundi Discovery Centre. The Centre was established to restock barramundi in the Gulf. It’s run by the council who grow spawn into fingerlings which are released into the gulfs waterways to ensure sustainable fishing for years to come. The Centre also runs tours which we went on to feed a barramundi. Very informative and great fun.

On 26/08/2021 we head towards the east coast stopping firstly at Croydon for 2 nights.