News

January 2009

Welcome to another new year.  Cyclone Charlotte and the active monsoon trough below us has brought strong north westerly winds and  heavy rains at the same time as we had very high tides. See the photos page for some of the photographs of the Seisia Wharf area.

As you'll see in the photos the rain, runoff and north-westerly has dirtied the inshore waters. It's very different from the usual tropical blue protected waters we usually enjoy. Being on the Cape during the 'wet' season, when the north-westerly and the rains come is a great expereince.

Also, note that if you are considering visiting this year, we still have some of the best fishing times available, but talk to us soon, because the best dates will go first. We've also seen on the internet that Qantas has somegood fares available from southern cities through to Horn Is, and Regional Pacific still provide direct flights from Cairns to Bamaga, so it is even easiser to get here.

December 2008

We drove up the Cape in the first few days of December and the roads are showing evidence of localised rain and thunderstorms, with puddles and mud begining to form. The Cape is beautiful, washed clean with these first rains and greening with every shower.

At Seisia, overlooking the Torres Strait at the top of the Cape, each day brings sunny skies with spectacular clouds as teh thunderheads build throughout the day. Rain is localised, but can be heavy.

The water is clear and John and Tom have been enjoying snorkelling the coral reefs in the light winds and good seas.

November 2008

The weather is good, the winds have eased and the temperature is rising. The fishing has been good.

John has been busy refitting two of the boats with  Tohatsu 115hpTLDI (Island Runner and Island Venturer).

August

The weather has generally been good, but we have had a few windy days, typical of this time of year. Fishing has been great, but slowing down as we approach the full moon. Guests have enjoyed catching tuna, mackeral and all the trevalley species. We are looking forward to a few good months coming up with less wind and better water clarity.  

July 2008

The fishing has been great! One of guests has written about her day:

We took off from Seisia Wharf at 7.30 in the morning an cruised down to the Jadine River on teh Island Breeze with Rob, our guide. On the way we caught a nice mackeral, but a shar took the tail nad head before we got it ino the boat, but we still had the best bit in the middle!

When we reached the Jardine there were Tuna and queenfish and we had fun before anchoring in the river mouth to have lunch. We were still fishing while we ate and hooked a stingray and a few small queenies.

Heading home we anchored again for afternoon tea and kept catching small queenfish, than a groper came up and took a queensfish, and scared the daylights out of us all.  We had a gret day, with lots of fun. 

May 2008

John and I (Sam again) have just driven down from the top to Cairns and there is a lot more traffic on the road compared to last month! The country is drying out, but there are still a number of creeks flowing and there were some road works happening.

The fishing has been good and getting better, with good catches most days. The dry April has helped clear the water early and brought a return of the pelagic species in the blue water.

April 2008

As a familly we have just travelled from Cairns up to Musgrave and out to Lotus Bird Lodge. With me (Sam) driving, John and Tom (Son) rode bicycles for most of theh way (from south of Laura on).

It was wonderful to see the lower Cape still green and lush right after the wet, even though April was a dry month. The creeks and causeways still had waer flowing and it was wonderfully quiet. There were heaps of small waterholes beside the road with lilies in full bloom.  

Following the bikes, I was travelling slowly and noticed so much that we normally miss when we speed along, lie the windmill at Windmill Creek, and we saw goannas and lizards everywhere.

February 2008: The wet (green) season is here. At the top of the Cape the winds are coming form the north west bringing monsoonal rain and whipping up the Gulf & Strait waters. The beautiful blue of the tropical waters has become brown and the creeks and rivers are flowing well. 

This year we will be offering exclusive 4wd safaris from Cairns to the top. Guests will have the opportunity to fish and explore on teh way to the top as well enjoy the great experience at the top that our local knowledge, experienced guides and boats offer.  Once again this tour will be fully guided and flexible for indiviual guests.

November 2007:  Although November has just started, here has been great weather and action at the top of the Cape. John has been doing a lot of fisihing in the very remote Escape River area, a pristine wilderness south of the JackyJacky RIver system on the east coast of the top of the Cape. Such an untouched area gives guests (and guides!) a fantastic opportunity to fish, explore and enjoy some of the best country... Fishing is the goal but there is so much to see and experience in the area, we are putting some photos on the photo page, so have a look at the images from recent trips.

The end of the year is slowly heating up, and there is no sign of the typical thunderstorms that lead into the wet season. The weather is great: hot but not too humid and it's great boating weather to explore the more inaccessilbe areas at the top of the Cape.

We have secured good airfares (with Regional Pacific Airlines) for the 'green season' so now is the right time to visit.

October 2007: The weather is fantastic: hot and sunny. This month has the best fishing tides of the year so we look forward to some good catches. NOvember and December also offer great opportunities to enjoy the best time of the year at the top, the south-easterly winds drop and there is traditionally a lot of calm weather with clear water.

We are offering special packages from Cainrs for the upcoming 'Green Season' It is a great time to visit, while it's hot and may be wet, our ecperienced guides know the best places to go so you get a special visit with no tourists around.

Green Season special from $999/person

 

From November 2007 to April 2008, inclusive, we are offering specially priced escape packages.  This is a great time to visit the Cape so contact John today to book your escape.

 

Highlights include:

§      Fully guided fishing trips in a remote wilderness locations; tropical islands, the famous Jardine and Jacky Jacky Rivers, inshore blue-water

§      4wd tours at the top of Cape York, Australia’s most northerly point, to remote beaches, waterfalls, rivers and rainforest

§      Scenic flight from Cairns to the top following the coastline and the Great Barrier Reef

§      Small groups and personal tours

 

3 day package: depart Cairns domestic Airport Monday 8am, arrive Bamaga 1015am, transfer to Seaview Lodge at Seisia. 11.30am to 5pm 4w tour to The Tip of Cape York lunch included. Seaview Lodge has air-conditioned twin share rooms with shared BBQ, kitchen and facilities.

 

Tuesday: Choice of full day fully-guided fishing trip or 4wd tour. 

 

Wednesday: relaxing morning before departing Bamaga and arriving Cairns 12.15pm (mid-day).

 

3 days and 2 nights package: ex-Cairns, includes: airfares Cairns-Bamaga return, air-conditioned twin-share accommodation, fishing and 4wd tours. From $999/person.

 

 

 

Weekend package: depart Cairns domestic Airport Friday 3pm, arrive Bamaga 4.45pm, transfer to Seaview Lodge at Seisia, air-conditioned twin share rooms with shared BBQ, kitchen and facilities.

 

Saturday and Sunday: Choice of full day fully-guided fishing trip or 4wd tour. 

 

Monday: relaxing morning before departing Bamaga and arriving Cairns 12.15pm (mid-day).

 

4 days and 3 nights package: ex-Cairns, includes: airfares Cairns-Bamaga return, air-conditioned twin-share accommodation, fishing and 4wd tours. From $1200/person.

 

Supermarket and take away store a short walk away. John and his team will show you around the area and make sure you have everything you need.

 

September 2007:

Good weather has made baoting, fising and exploring easy. Good catches of all the tropical species continue: the tuna have arrived and all the species of mackeral are around. Many of the guests this month have enjoyed capming in the Escape River area on the east coast, this has given them the opoprtunity to visit a very remote part of the Cape and to enjoy everything that brings: spectacular scenery, a unique experience and great fishing.

July 2007:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We recently drove from Cairns to the top of Cape York and can say the road is good all the way.

The fishing has been great as well, with big mackeral and giant trevally among recent catches.

 

July 2006:

The road to the Cape is open and it is the best it has ever been. We just drove from Cairns to the top and back again and there are still road crews working, the creeks are still flowing and the country is green. There have been strong winds at the top and the fishing has been good at times, with the tuna and mackeral moving into the area. Recent guests enjoyed great tuna and queenfish action and some of the best fishing the top has to offer. A guest on a recent day trip landed a 50lb Giant Trevally.

The neap tides in July provided great water visibility for guests to enjoy snorkelling the shallow coral reefs surrounding the nearby islands.

April 2006

2006 will be known as the Big Wet. Most of Cape York and the Gulf of Carpentaria has received flooding rains over the last month. Places like Burketown and Kurumba have been flooded in for weeks. Meanwhile from Cairns north, Musgrave, Laura and the Lakefield National Park have been inundated. The Archer River has been up for most of April. Right at the top the Northern Peninsula Area and the Torres Strait still experience classic wet season weather: north-west winds, overcast, little sunshine and rain most days or nights. Driving up the Cape this year will be exciting; most of the rivers and creeks will be flowing well into July. With all the rain, the country side will certainly be green.

On the fishing front: John has done three parties through in the last month. We have been lucky with the weather, most days we have had little wind and lots of overcast conditions which makes it quite comfortable out on the water. Highlights have been big Fingermark Bream off rocky headlands and hot Queenfish action around the nearby islands.