# Kayaking trip through the NT - Part 4



## murd (Jan 27, 2008)

(Note: photos in this issue are best viewed on a monitor with minimum 1024 x 768 resolution.)

*Part 4 - Efforts are duly Rewarded*
It was a scorching mid-afternoon Sunday when I left the Wearyan River for the Aboriginal community of Borroloola, sad to leave my amicable owl behind but happy in the knowledge she'd always be there if I ever wandered back. One night in town was all I needed to replenish water supplies, conduct a bit of shopping and phone home after two straight weeks in the bush. For those interested, Borroloola has several paddling opportunities on the local McArthur River but on this trip I didn't revisit them due to past poor results plus recent negative reports from the Borroloola 'Boat and Fishing Club' downstream at King Ash Bay. There are other paddling options on the coast north near Bing Bong via the 'Mule Creek' ramp, but to date I haven't explored them.

The following morning I departed 'suburbia' and steered south for the Nathan River Road (part of the 'Savannah Way'), an unsealed track which takes motorists northwest to Roper Bar and eventually, the Stuart Highway. I last eased the Swift through here in 2001 and remember several of the deeper crossings that pushed water over the bonnet and nearly had me floating away. I might have touched on this earlier but my Gulf trips are not just about fishing. Driving it with the 'wrong' car is almost as much fun as paddling the rivers themselves. And, I don't mind the funny looks I continuously get.

*A*








_This ominous warning sign found at the onset of the Nathan River road isn't good news for drivers of conventional cars, especially little red Swifts. Granted, in 2001 maybe I should have adhered to it but this was 2008 and the BOM records for the NT indicated the last wet hadn't been too severe. So, I ignored it yet again._

After 50ks of ruthless vehicular maltreatment where speeds never exceeded 40kph and thoughts often drifted back to that sign, I reached the intersection to Cape Crawford finding the continuing Savannah Way only recently graded and offering respite from the hell someone had mistakenly called a road (I later learned that this was the first grading in 18 months). My target was the 'Lorella Springs Tourist Park', a 1 million acre cattle station encompassing billabongs, hot springs, the Rosie River and some of the 'best fishing on Earth'(as quoted in their colourful flyer).

I camped five days at Lorella and on my first attempt fishing on day two, managed to boat an 80cm barramundi on 9lb mono in a local billabong. The fish broke the long standing PB record held at the Station and easily put me into their Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, that was the only thing I caught there. A writer/photographer from 'Australian 4WD Action' arrived on day three to feature Lorella in an upcoming publication and would have put the fish into his magazine if it hadn't been dissected for dinner. He managed to take a few snaps of campers in various activities though including yak fishing the billabong, so there's a chance I might be famous yet!

*B*








_The billabongs at Lorella are very fishy but as mentioned above, I only managed to land a sole 80cm barra on the lure which put up an incredible fight as it wrapped me around several snags before miraculously coming free to continue the battle on the surface. Logic said there should have been more sitting in the depths but hours of casting couldn't produce another strike. The fish was kept for the table and shared around camp, and made me a lot of friends. Another spot with yakking potential was the Rosie River however the 80km track to the fishing camp is strictly 4WD. The caretaker said it has never been paddled. Not surprisingly, he said the same thing about the nearby billabongs._

*On to the Limmen River *
Lorella Springs became a nice little social stopover but the fishing really sucked and I tended to think their promotional flyer exaggerated a little. And, I felt some of the other campers were deliberately aiming to get me bogged by sending me out to distant billabongs through some horrendously deep sand tracks. I was desperate for a landscape change and couldn't wait to reach the tidal Limmen River, my next port of call. My last visit unfolded there in 2001 and unfortunately, it didn't produce well then. 2008 became entirely different though, finding the fishing having undergone a major transformation for the better. As was the usual I had it all to myself and laughed when the 4WDs rumbled by with their tinnies in tow looking for more accessible launch sites - If only they knew what they were leaving behind!

The Limmen is actually a beautiful wild river to paddle and dishes out some superb scenery. National Parks got their claws into it several years back and created the Limmen National Park, a huge expanse of Gulf allegedly the size of Belgium. The NP established new rules and restrictions one of which stipulates, 'No Shooting'. Naturally, to paddle the Limmen one requires the protection of a rifle so I could see a dilemma unfolding if I was ever questioned by the one ranger who tries to manage the huge place.

*C*








Prior to reaching the Limmen, a minor diversion rewards motorists with these remarkable geological features known as the 'Southern Lost City'. 'Lost Cities' are found all over the Gulf but only a few are accessible by road. When I first visited here during 2001 the Lost City was a primitive place to call in on and completely undeveloped. Now, a nice new signposted road eliminates the 3km walk from the impassable boggy creek and a marked track around the features means no more blazing your own path. They've even stuck a toilet block in the carpark and built some barbeque grills. If this ever happened to River X, I would cry.

*D*








While following the loop track around the Lost City, I came across this large spider suspended on a 10m thread moving about in the wind. From what I gathered after observing it for a while it I realised it was trying to catch something 'on the wing'. Considering how this spider was positioned at bare stomach height directly above the track, I very nearly became its next meal.

*E*








The photo here shows the Limmen viewed north from the causeway. Motor boats have strict limitations between these rocks and the following 3.5km of river because of frequent shallow bars which are exposed at low tide. A shame really, as the area ideally suits a yak and there's a ton of awesome water and feature to enjoy.

*F*








My camp was positioned in the top left of this picture behind the trees. A typical launch scenario each morning involved glassing the pool for crocs, splashing the edge with a branch for anything concealed below the surface then sliding the yak down the bank into the pool. In this photo the water over the road is barely a trickle but on the larger tides it funnels upstream and pushes quite deep and fast over the cement. Bull sharks were attracted to these same tidal movements and would position themselves at the base of the flow waiting for mullet or gar to swim past.

*G*








Roughly 2km downstream, the Limmen widens into a very fishy environment ahead of some mesa type structures known as the 'Four Archers'. In 2001 I always wanted to climb one of the 'Archers' and in 2008 I did just that, taking time out from catching fish to scale the peak in this photo. From the summit I got some fantastic views across the land and an appreciation of how remote my travels can take me.

*H* 








I picked up this nice jack trolling the bank in the background, which is in the area of the photo directly above. I often had screaming runs from jacks along here but all except this fella spat the lure.

*I*








Fifty metres down from where the jacks loved to strip mono, the river passes over this shelf into deep water bursting with structure. It proved to be a barra and queenie hotspot with some of the fish being caught right near the shoreline. (One barra was actually picked up next to my toes on a metal spoon cast for queenies.) Frustratingly, it was difficult to set the hooks on the queenies and I lost every one.

*J*








Unlike the queenies that forever teased me, the barra weren't so lucky. This fish was nabbed probably a hundred metres down from the above photo. The appeal of this part of the Limmen was that it most likely hadn't been infiltrated by anyone since I left it in 2001. I always look for clues evidencing human infringement (e.g. scrapes on rocks, discarded fishing line, cans stuck in branches) however I saw none around.

*K*








These tidal rapids limit upstream access of anything that draws too much water. At low tide they are fully exposed and a major deterrent to outboard motors. In this photo the tide was ebbing and I expected the river below the surge to be swarming with fish however whenever I stopped to cast a lure there, was always unsuccessful.

*L*








The Limmen River is quite scenic which is clearly shown here. This outlook takes in the Four Archers and the segment of water where the above barra was caught. Approximately 150m to the right of my position is a clearing and campsite accessed via a 4WD track from the main road. There used to be a relatively easy carry/drag/launch for small tinnies down the bank but I noticed the shoreline terrain has entirely changed since 2001 and that option has all but disappeared, substantiating the fact that the slice of river I was working was untouched.

*M*








Being in the wilderness I appreciate not just the unique landscapes, but the many diverse animals I come across. These lizards normally flee from human intrusion yet this little guy I spotted while casting from the shoreline felt safe enough to get onto a public forum.

*N*








Another barra caught and released in the Limmen. Later that day I travelled much further downstream than usual and came across what must have been a shoal of barra along the bank biting their heads off. They weren't huge but who cares when the rod's continuously bent!

*O*








Amongst the barramundi carnage I also picked up a threadfin salmon, not large but a change from what I had been enduring.

*P*








During this particular morning the tides were exceptionally high and pushed right over the crossing. Whilst fidgeting around watching the level rise and snapping off a few photos, I realised there were small barra schooling on the road. Large black bream often hung around the rocks during tidal changes and would have been easy targets on bait if I weren't hunting larger prey.

*Q*








And it became larger prey I caught. The fishing began to wane at this stage though and I had to cover more ground to get a pull on the line. Luckily, I had some snags marked that provided fish almost 99% of the time. One of them was a series of sunken trees that always had a resident barra on standby but it proved expensive and damaging to lures. By about now most of my favourite and productive HBs had been either reduced to rubble or lost.

*R*








This photo of a croc isn't exceedingly clear as it was taken on full zoom from some distance away. I expected more action from the Limmen's saltie stash but they remained quiet until the third day and even then, their behaviour though challenging wasn't seriously threatening. Because of this, I took it upon myself to conduct several experiments on them by mapping their responses to a yak-fisher thwarting the approach with a persuasive counter-charge of his own. The croc in this picture became one of the subjects and the results compiled over 2 days of testing on a range of animals produced the following conclusions:
•	A saltie will stand its ground when being challenged by a yak.
•	A saltie will release a 'wtf' expression to the paddler.
•	A saltie will follow this with a 'you're not serious' stare.
•	The paddler will develop unheard of braking skills never before seen on this planet. 
•	The paddler will tell himself that this is really pretty stupid, but for the sake of science will do it again.
•	The paddler will accept ridicule in a forum.

*S*








As mentioned earlier I climbed one of the 'Archers' to take in the land from an upper viewpoint. The area of water in the photo where the camera is slightly zoomed embraces pictures G - I above. Gazing across the country from the rocky summit reinforced how wild, remote and stunning parts of this amazing country can be. We Aussies have to be the luckiest people in the world to be a part of it.

*T*








It's hard to imagine that the mighty Limmen comes to an actual terminus but it does as this shot shows. Wishing to explore the upper reaches of tidal rivers such as this one can be dangerous because large crocs can and often hole up there. In 2001 while trying to do the same paddle I met a large brute that sent me running the other way. Luckily the crocs I saw on this day hadn't attained a lethal size and I was able to make the full journey without distress. Interestingly, in the peak of the monsoon there'd be a 10 metre torrent above the yak. It's always fascinating to follow the river's path in the dry season and see how the land has been moulded from such incredible liquid energies.

*Conclusion:*
Part 4 of my journey across the Gulf Savannah climaxed on an absolute high. Lorella Springs unfortunately became an advertised disappointment full of inaccuracies unlike the Limmen which was entirely natural and without promise projecting false hope. I brought 27 barra to the net from her waters, probably lost half that many again and never saw another soul downstream. The few people I did meet at the crossing must have thought I was lying when I mentioned I was 'sick' of catching barramundi and wished for something that pulled a little more line. Part 5 will finally bring the trip to an end. We visit a few more rivers, deal with the odd croc or two, and mix with my toothy buddies the bull sharks.

(For those who want to catch the action from Part 3, heres the link: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=20895 And, thanx again everyone for the many positive comments!)


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## yakfly (Jun 8, 2006)

Great read and pics mate


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## melbourneandy (Apr 21, 2008)

Bloody fantastic mate!! very inspiring. I have been waiting for the fourth installment and it was great. Would have made a great doco


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## Rstanek (Nov 5, 2007)

Once more, a fantastic read. I can't wait for the next installment...


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## Cheeky (Jul 8, 2008)

Bloody sensational 8) 8). Reading your report just makes you want to go to NT and do it all yourself.

Very inspiring. Look forward to the next report.

Cheers,
Cheeky


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

Awesome as always murd.
Very nice Jack, looks to be 50+? 
Great scenery, love those old rock formations.
Interesting that a wild, not used to humans at all croc ignored tha yak charge, not what I would have expected. Wonder what he thought you were :shock: 
Oh, well done on the barra too


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## Y-Knot (Sep 26, 2006)

Living the dream of a thousand kayakfisho's - top effort. 8)


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

----

QlpoOTFBWSZTWd+fACkAABxfgAAQYGUACLClHIA/79/wMACloajVPaUZpNNB6j09U9CHo0aQim9TRDRoAAAAAqfqCaZDI0AAADQmEP1V8kTQhpEklX5eYp3JxTzzyaK538l3eII9i4NVvcOJ2HihgLyH2XV+sZqq1XMrVYiDaOFDDosezbZotNkjEm2KPkyhQ2MXkpaTScEy9GMfnA5QSwZKQEQhpXwMiSHNBGbm+WxMb2tMHAoBAh8ikHYFzrMQwUcFeCUkETs4H4u5IpwoSG/PgBSA


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## BJM (Oct 5, 2008)

Again, simply amazing to read !
Prefect use of pictures and comments to narrate an amazing journey

This needs to be a book or an article at least !


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## theclick (Jun 25, 2007)

Absolutely brilliant mate. An inspiration for us city bound folks to get out and actually explore something different


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## sbd (Aug 18, 2006)

Rick, you're a dude. Nice Jack (etc).


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## DougOut (Dec 31, 2006)

Another "sen-Bloody-sational" instalment ..... thanks Mate 8)
sounds like Part 5 will be a Ripper


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## redman (Jun 5, 2008)

Once again Murd you have taken not only the cake but the whole bloody bakery


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## rnmars1 (Feb 21, 2008)

Love those reports and pic's murd.


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Loving it!

You _are_ lucky/blessed w/ where you reside!


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## ringwoodrunner (Apr 28, 2008)

you're a lucky man murd, treasured memories of an adventure will last a lifetime, cheers mate.


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## Grantos (Jan 28, 2008)

Another great read, so thanks again for sharing.

You should seriously see whether you might be able to secure any form of "sponsorship" for your next trip up north.

ps. You can count on me to contribute a packet of hollow points, at least. :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## T-curve (Feb 19, 2007)

Bloody awesome as always Murd...love it...well done once again ;-)


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## MrX (Feb 7, 2008)

Another superb report Murd - yak fishing can't possibly get better than that! 
I hope to one day report on this forum: "I was 'sick' of catching barramundi [kingies] and wished for something that pulled a little more line." (and not wear any ridicule).

Imagine the salties 'wtf' expression if he charged, and the paddler panicked and fell out. :?

Cheers,
Tom


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## Daveyak (Oct 6, 2005)

Geez, you certainly had a great trip. Some great fishing & you sure made the best of it. I spent a couple of days at Lorella Springs in August but didn't get the opportunity to even try fishing  .

You did well in your little 2WD on those roads. I enjoyed myself on my 1WD (bike) on those same roads up to & in to Lorella Springs, however on the way out, in a long sand stretch I stuffed up & bit the dust. I saw a lot more of the NT from the plane flight to Katherine Hospital :roll:


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

occy said:


> But wait, only one more installment ?  Bugger. ;-)


Rick having only recently read this thread, thoughts are are the same as occy's


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## fourbee4 (May 6, 2008)

Murd,

Once again a great read and thanks for sharing!!

Your trip should be published in a magazine for others outside this forum to read and enjoy?! I know if I read part 1 in a magazine I'd be taking out a subscription to read the next installments in future issues!

I can only wish that one day I'd get bored this catching Barra.

Cheers
Fourbee4


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## wobbly (Jun 13, 2007)

Thankfully some of us have the drive to do something left field and different.

Planning a trip for next year with the Bro. A cunning plan is developing which involves Murd being filled with the amber fluid and interrogated for more details to add to the long bucket list.

Well Done.

We have a Steve Erwin type in our midst.

Regards

Brian


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## Seasquirt (Jul 17, 2007)

You are a legend murd with yet another thrilling instalment. Can't wait for pt 5 but it can't be over then .... can it????? NOOooooooooooooooo
Cheers
Pam


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## Duane (Oct 20, 2007)

Thanks Murd, looking forward to the next episode


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## madkeensam (Jul 27, 2008)

Bloddy hell mate, great report   Keep em coming please 8)


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## AJD (Jul 10, 2007)

Once again Murd a great read and awesome pics mate. I'm just wondering about your sanity counter charging crocs though :shock: Can't wait for number 5


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## troutfish (Jun 21, 2007)

WHAT

A

BLOODY

FANTASTIC

REPORT!!!

someone get thsi man in print, that was a fantastic read, with great images

much kudos to you


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## murd (Jan 27, 2008)

_Lazy bugger_ -


> I think you may have baked your brains in the sun at some point


Don't disagree there one bit! The sun up there doesn't have the intensity of the east coast so once you get a colour up you can spend all day shirtless without getting burnt.

*Junglefisher *-


> Interesting that a wild, not used to humans at all croc ignored tha yak charge, not what I would have expected. Wonder what he thought you were


The blackfellas once told me the green yak resembles another croc. Crocs seem to love mine which is a pain at times. I don't know how a different colour scheme would go - maybe its time for a few more experiments using colour?

*Redphoenix *-


> will the NSW government export you back there for us, so we can have more episodes?


I actually have seven other Gulf trips which I can resurrect but am not too keen at the moment due to the amount of work involved in putting the stories together. If peer pressure prevails I might change my mind :?

*the Click* -


> An inspiration for us city bound folks to get out and actually explore something different


As Nike said, 'Just Do It!' Lose your fears and try new things. With the right planning and attack you can do anything! I gave it a shot and succeeded.

*Grantos *-


> You should seriously see whether you might be able to secure any form of "sponsorship" for your next trip up north.


This is happening as we speak. 'Coopers Breweries' and 'Australian Penthouse' have come to the party for my next adventure 

*Mr X* -


> Imagine the salties 'wtf' expression if he charged, and the paddler panicked and fell out


Mr X, judging by your impeccable record, I think you _would _fall out! ;-)

*Daveyak *-


> You did well in your little 2WD on those roads. I enjoyed myself on my 1WD (bike) on those same roads up to & in to Lorella Springs, however on the way out, in a long sand stretch I stuffed up & bit the dust


That same long sand stretch took me my surprise as well but I got through 'rally style!' How long did it take for someone to come along and find you?

*fourbee4 *-


> I can only wish that one day I'd get bored this catching Barra.


I like to catch say, one here, then work a new place and get another. But in that session, they kept taking the lure every 5- 10 paddle strokes and the challenge was lost.

*BrianJ *-


> A cunning plan is developing which involves Murd being filled with the amber fluid and interrogated for more details to add to the long bucket list.


Awesome plan! I like Coopers by the way. Seriously, if you need advice/help etc just ask.


> We have a Steve Erwin type in our midst.


Without ridiculing Steve Irwin, from what I have experienced/seen/done in the Top End makes me feel that a lot of his work with reptiles was staged for the camera. I still loved the bloke though and appreciate what he did for the preservation of animal species.

Now, back to working on Part 5!


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## adventurelover (Dec 5, 2007)

i lived in boroloola for a yaer


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

Like everyone else murd, cant wait for No:5. It is an awsome country we live in, and you are certanly making the most of it. MODERN FISHING MAGAZINE should be tapping you on the sholder, great reading and photo's.


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## vertigrator (Jul 25, 2006)

WOW

Trip Report of the year. I want to do that too. 8)

You said it when you said " Australians are so lucky what a great country..." I'll say. ;-) That place is just worlds appart from what we have down here in snowy Tasmania. You get so much in this country of ours. From catching trout in highland lakes with shores blanketed in snow in Tasmania to super hot tropics of NT with wild barramundi and saltwater crocodiles and everything in between. Mate you've got yourself some awesome memories from that trip. ;-)


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## Daveyak (Oct 6, 2005)

murd said:


> That same long sand stretch took me my surprise as well but I got through 'rally style!' How long did it take for someone to come along and find you?


Murd, there were a heap of us on bikes there that weekend & help was at hand almost immediately as I had just blasted past several other riders (before coming down within sight of some :roll: ) Within 30 mins I was in a 4WD on way to Borolloola Clinic.

Did you get the barra in the big lagoon to the right (as you arrive) of the camping area? I'd love to go there in a 4WD & get out to Rosie Creek for some good fishing. Theres supposed to be some decent crocs out there though. The manager (wheb we were there) kept a tinnie out there & told us of some good catches. He got the sack while we were there & he, wife & kid given 48 hours to vacate the property, owner was a bit of a strange unit.


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## joey (Jul 5, 2008)

Brilliant, inspirational story. I cant wait for the next one.

I wouldn't mind seeing some photos of the bull sharks if I can make that request.

I agree with troutfish, these stories should be printed, or even better - a tv documentary like the ones they have on the ABC.


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## bongorust (Jan 31, 2008)

Top shelf report again, Im glad you clarified the results of your experiment because I was guna go try charging a croc in a plastic yak.........or not. You might be able to start a yak school & teach others that 'never before seen braking' technique.

We all apprieciate the time & effort you put into these reports mate.


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## crazyratwoman (Feb 26, 2007)

Awesome read as usual!!! you should write a book with yr adventures!


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## Glenno (Jul 24, 2008)

Awesome read , what a great trip , well done .

Glenno


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