Beach trip report
| General Location | 50km South West of Darwin |
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Tribe/Language Group | Larrakia people |
| Access to beach | Road access to beach |
| Beach Classification | Tide Dominated – Reflective + tidal mud flats |
| Start Date/Time | 14 October 2017 17:32 |
| Start Location (inc Lat/Log) | S12° 48.108’ E130° 21.324’ |
| End Date/Time | 5 July 2017 12:02 |
| End Location (inc Lat/Log) | 14 October 2017 18:42 |
| Mode of Travel | Drive |
| Distance Travelled | 8.4km |
| Location of Sand Sample (lat/Long) | S12° 51.200’ E150° 20.710’ |
The first of two Northern Territory (NT) beach has been one of the easiest beaches to get and navigate the length. The other NT, Eight Mile Beach on Groote Eylandt is appearing to be our most challenging for the whole project but more on that one for another report.
Five Mile Beach is a very accessible beach if you have a reliable 4WD, so Joanne and I left the Caravan at Dundee Beach Lodge. There are numerous tracks that we could have used to travel into Five Mile Beach but the tracks chosen took us onto the beach 300 metres south of the northern end at Stingray Head. The beach is relatively straight and fronted by 1.5 km wide mud flats that widens slightly to the south.
We drove onto the beach and proceeded to the northern end at Stingray Head. We met with a group of fishermen catching bait fish in a small creek. One of the very lubricated gentlemen provided us with a lot of information regarding the driving conditions along the beach, all of which we gladly listened too.
As it was the drive south along the beach was very easy going, pleasant scenery, with the setting sun. The sea breeze was a pleasant respite from the oppressive heat and humidity we had endured all that day from travelling down from Darwin.
Reaching the southern end came across the Finniss River enters the Timor Sea. We drove around the end of the beach up 100 metres of the river ban where there were about ten 4WD and lots of people camping out on the bank, we had a very pleasant conversation with some young people who were on a day trip down from Darwin. I was informed at least four large saltwater crocodiles had swam passed that day.
We drove back around onto the beach for a cup of tea and watch the sunset over the Timor Sea. I got a chance to fly the DJI Phantom Drone, the first time in a while. Our finally task before heading back to Dundee Beach Lodge camp was to collect the mandatory sand sample.
