Wow! Another highlight of our trip so far. It was amazing – though bitter-sweet because this is a camping trip Kyran, Vanessa and Tommy were meant to do with Paul, Ben and Zac (John’s son and his two boys) who had to cancel their trip due to covid restrictions. We were not supposed to arrive in Nhulunbuy for a few more days yet.

Anyway, we are here and thrilled to visit Cape Arnhem. It is a very beautiful place with four designated camping spots, each one secluded with its own section of beach, a campfire and a tree swing for kids. While we were there, we had the whole beach to ourselves. Our campsite, number 2, which is referred to as ‘The Penthouse’, was set just above the bay with a path down to the sand, and an amazing view.

The track into Cape Arnhem is challenging – at least to us – with a rough track and lots of sand. But we got there after a couple of hours and it was worth it. We set up camp – a tent for Kyran, Vanessa and Tommy, and a double swag for us. Both overlooking the sea. We had the flaps on the swag open and could look at the millions of stars in the sky at night.

Kyran set up the campfire when we first arrived and we kept it going throughout our stay. Vanessa and Tommy made damper in the camp oven for morning tea, and Tommy toasted marshmallows in the evenings.

Kyran works as a skipper in Nhulunbuy so is used to seeing sea creatures on a daily basis. But for the rest of us, watching turtles (two big and one small) in the sea in front of us was magical. I had never seen turtles in the wild before.

Despite the threat of crocodiles and sharks, Kyran went diving. Meantime, Tommy snorkelled in the clear shallow water with Vanessa and Skylar, the dog, watching him. I enjoyed walking the beach and exploring the rock pools, and John tried his hand at fishing.

In the afternoon, we drove to the other side of the Cape to Daliwuy Bay, another stunning, deserted beach. The men fished and we walked the beach. It was incredibly peaceful. After a while, we drove along the beach to the river mouth to fish and wander some more.

On our last morning,  we took our time packing up and enjoyed the beach again before heading off to Twin Peaks, another bay nearby to do some more paddling.

Unfortunately we got bogged twice on the sandy track and Kyran had to winch us out. Luckily Kyran is a seasoned four wheel driver with all the gadgets for every occasion.  He was able to get us out. We even had help from a guy called Morgan, who came up behind us and used his max tracks to help us out. Kyran recognised him from YouTube’s ‘Fishing the Wild’. https://youtube.com/channel/UCK8tX-U9jm0lLEqwYePCArA.

Twin Peaks was another stunning, deserted beach. In fact there is just one beautiful beach after the other here in Arnhem Land.  It’s a pity the water is home to crocodiles. But the scenery really takes your breath away.

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We had a wonderful couple of nights at Cape Arnhem. It would be hard to beat.