ON THE ROADwith Clyde & Charmaine

Issue #0037 July 2015Official newsletter of www.caravancaravan.com.au

Barramundi Feverby Clyde Camel

With the dry season well underway in the north of Australia, serous fishers are casting their lines from west to east in the estuarial waters and coastlines in Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland. And anywhere you find a fisher, you will also find some tall fishing tales.For the benefit of those who are contemplating their first fishing safari in the north, we have put together a selection of locations that will get you hooked on the idea of hauling in a big one. When it comes to Barra, a big one can be 100cm or more. The first interesting fact about Barramundi is that the small ones are all males and the big ones are all females. When Barramundi reach a size of around 60cm, they change gender. The second interesting feature is that Barra can live in either saltwater or freshwater. They can be found in rivers and estuaries, or in the open ocean.Let’s start with the west and the capital of the East Kimberly is Kununurra. Here we have the Ord River and the biggest man-made waterway in Australia in the Argyle Dam, which is 22 times the size of Sydney Harbour in volume. Just outside town is a causeway crossing the Ord River and a favourite fishing spot for the locals. Just follow Ivanhoe Road to the end and you will find it.The water flows over the causeway at an voluminous rate and only high clearance 4WD vehicles are suitable for crossing this point. Even if you are not fishing, it is an interesting spot to visit, chat to the local indigenous people and learn about the area. But beware, like most places that Barramundi can be found, it is also a favourite fishing spot for crocs.In the Northern Territory there are rivers and lagoons galore. Sinclair’s Daly River Retreat is a caravan park which is dedicated to looking after fishers and is just metres from the Daly River. They have good fish cleaning facilities and plenty of good tips for visitors. A low key park, they don’t advertise at all, as their regulars just keep coming back each season.A few hours drive from Darwin on the way to Kakadu National Park is Corroboree Lagoon, home of Wetland Cruises. For those who don’t have a boat and would like to enjoy the wonder of the wetlands, this is the place to go. Paul Simpson who is also a member of caravancaravan.com.au has a wealth of knowledge about the Mary River and surrounds. In the far east of the Northern Territory, just 260km from the Queensland border is the town of Borroloola on the McArthur River. If you are serous about Barra fishing, this is the place to be. It is a long way from everywhere, but the roads are quite good and you can always stop over at the Heartbreak Hotel, with powered and unpowered sites with just 100km more to travel. Once you reach Borroloola, the McArthur River Caravan Park provides excellent hospitality and comfort. The fees are reasonable and there is a selection of cabins, powered and unpowered van sites. Close to the shops and a short drive to the boat ramp it has everything you need, including expert local advice.Across in Queensland, Dave Collier has set up a tourist attraction at Little Mulgrave, about 40 minutes south of Cairns, where you can’t help but catch a barra. It is called, by remarkable coincidence, Catch-A-Barra and provides everything for those who have never fished before. There is the lake stocked with fish, fishing gear and even somewhere to camp. So no matter where you roam across the north this dry season, there is just no excuse whatsoever for coming home empty handed.For a great Thai Fish Curry recipe, see the September 2012 edition of the newsletter.

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On The Road with Clyde & Charmaine

Official newsletter of www.caravancaravan.com.au

Trip Planner and Waypointsby Clyde Camel

Trip Planner is a sophisticated tool on the caravancaravan website. It is unlike any other trip planner that you have used, or are likely to come across. While many members have tried Trip Planner, not everyone has taken the time to really understand its power and capability.We recommend taking the time to watch the Trip Planner help video on YouTube. It will turn you into a Trip Planner expert in just 13 minutes. This month, we will explore using waypoints with the trip planner. We have added waypoints to some remote locations to help navigate your way to that place, when it is off the beaten track. Trip Planner uses many resources from Google Maps. These include the ability to plot the route on the map and to calculate the distances between stops. It also provides the ability to print out detailed trip instructions, similar to the verbal instructions that are available on a sat nav device. For instance; “Take the second exit at the roundabout”.An unavoidable limitation of this system is that Google Maps doesn’t have all of the complete data to plot the routes and calculate the distances on some minor roads in remote areas. Sometimes when a trip is being assembled in Trip Planner, the plotting of the route on the map fails with an error message. There isn’t a lot we can do about this issue, as we rely on Google Maps for this capability and if the data isn’t available then there is no way of providing it. A partial workaround has been provided so that if the destination is off the beaten track, a waypoint may be in place in the system and if the waypoint is on a road that Google has data for, then the problem can be solved by using the waypoint to plot that part of the route. Here is a guide on how to handle this condition.

On the left is a section of a trip list which has 6 places. The last 3 place have waypoints. When the Show Route button was clicked, the error message above appeared and a red W was displayed beside each of the 3 places in the list which have waypoints. This doesn’t mean that all 3 places caused the problem, but we can work through them one at a time and select the waypoint as the navigation point for Google Maps, by editing that list item and selecting the checkbox; “Use waypoint for route” as indicated.In this particular example, it was the 5th place in the list which was causing the problem. When the problem location is found and the checkbox clicked and saved, all of the red Ws disappear and the route renders correctly. The selected waypoint will display as a blue W in the list and as a blue LED map pin on the map. Of course in any trip list there may be more than one problem location. It is just a matter of employing trial and error to find the problem place or places.Here on the left, you can see the route which has been rendered via the waypoint after finding which location was causing the problem.

As the trip list gets longer, Google Maps must work harder in order to find all of the points that need to be included in the route. If the trip list is limited in size and a problem in encountered, it is easier to discover which location is causing the problem. If the problem can’t be resolved, then the location that Google can’t deal with, can be excluded from the route rendering by unchecking the Mark checkbox in the list and then selecting “Marked Destination Only” in the route rendering selector below the trip list. The Show Route button will then need to be clicked again.If your trip is longer than 50 separate locations, break the trip up into two or more separate trips. Due to limitations within the Google Maps service, we have changed the maximum trip size to 50.

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On The Road with Clyde & Charmaine

Official newsletter of www.caravancaravan.com.au

Tomato Sconesfrom Charmaine Camel’s recipe book

When Charmaine first told Clyde that she was making tomato scones, Clyde let loose with one of those throaty chuckles that camels are renowned for, when they are amused. It was just after they were married and Charmaine was still a bit of a novice in the kitchen.But the moment that Clyde wrapped his laughing gear around one of the scones, the chuckles gave way to noises of delight and the sound of him licking his chops. Ever since, tomato scones have been a fixture on the Camels’ entertaining menu.

This is a recipe that can be thrown together in no time at all and in its simplest form, can have just two ingredients; crushed tomatoes and self-raising flour. But we are going to add a couple of little extras, just because we can. This recipe can also be used to make bread sticks for happy hour or damper.First, take a 400g can of Ardmona chopped or crushed tomatoes. Ardmona is one of the SPC brands made by the good folk of Shepparton in Victoria. The quality is superior to the cheap imported stuff and you can be sure that what you are eating is safe.Empty the can of tomatoes into a mixing bowl. Next add some self-raising flour. It will probably require about 4 cups in all, but just keep adding flour and mixing it into the tomato, until the mixture becomes stiff in consistency. While you are doing this, add a couple of spoons of

sesame oil and if you wish, some quinoa grains for flavour. Now work a cup of grated tasty cheese into the mixture. Keep mixing and try to get as much flour as possible into the mix, so that it isn’t too sticky.Cover the mixing bowl with a tea towel and place somewhere warm for a while. This will help the baking powder in the flour to start working. While that is underway, take a flat scone tray and cover with a sheet of baking paper. If you are making damper, prepare the camp oven with a lining of baking paper, using a little oil to help keep it in place. Bread sticks can be cooked on the same tray used for scones.Clear a nice flat bench space and sprinkle with generous amounts of flour. Roll out the dough so that it is about 2cm thick and then cut it into scones with a scone cutter or knife. Place the scones on the baking tray and cook in a preheated hot oven until they are done.

If you are making bread sticks, roll the dough out much thinner and cut into thin strips. More cheese can be used when making bread sticks if you prefer. For a damper, simply place the entire lump of dough into the camp oven and cook on hot ashes. Be careful not to use red glowing coals as this will result in a burnt offering.When the scones are cooked, split them open and drizzle with olive oil. Sliced damper can also be served with olive oil.

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On The Road with Clyde & Charmaine

Official newsletter of www.caravancaravan.com.au

Burning Mountain Nature Reserveby Steven de Vroom

Adjacent to the New England Highway in the Upper Hunter region of NSW is a unique place of interest. A mountain that burns.For thousands of years, smoke has been rising from underground on this mountain. It comes from a burning coal seam with the point of combustion advancing a distance of around one metre per year. The burnt out section of the coal seam stretches for 6.5km to the south.Burning Mountain Reserve is a popular overnight camping area. Located about 20km north of Scone and approximately 110km south of Tamworth, it is a handy spot to stop over when travelling the inland route between Brisbane and Sydney. The camping area has toilets, fire places and picnic tables, but there are limited level spots to choose from. Many nomads have stopped here at some time, but how many have taken the interesting walk to the top of the mountain? The walking track is well maintained and is of medium grade. The return journey is 4.6km and anyone of average fitness could tackle the walk, taking about 2 hours for the return journey. A number of seats have been strategically placed along the track, for those who need a rest. There are also some picnic tables. There are toilets at the camping area, but none on the walk.At the top, there isn’t a great deal of smoke coming out of the ground currently, but the boardwalk provides a good view of the ashen ground that has been heated by the fire which is currently burning about 30m underground. Native fauna and flora is plentiful along the walk, with crimson rosellas, king parrots, grey kangaroos and wombats among the local residents.

As the track ascends the mountain, the forest changes. Over thousands of years with the point of combustion advancing, the ground heated, killing the forest. As the ground cooled after the fire had moved on, life began to return. Different species of flora took their turn of becoming re-established in a process know as succession. In one section of the forest, the trees are almost all stringy bark. Further back from the burn, wattle trees are emerging among the stringy bark.Information boards provide history and scientific explanation about the burning coal seam, with references to the Aboriginal occupants who lived in this area. Dreamtime stories add an extra dimension to the experience.

Camping area at Burning Mountain

Entrance to the nature reserve

Walkers on the track

The changing forest

Walkway Fire down below

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