# Snake Island - Lord of the Flies



## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

Slick (for that is what we call him) asked me at the end of our last gig in December to take him out kayak camping. So monday, thats what we did.

After doing a lap of Little Snake island last week with The Other Guy, one of the other paddlers we bumped into mentioned "The Gulf" campsite down on the eastern side of the island. It turns out this was the same spot i had been looking at on google earth for a while now so i decided to give it a go. This spot is one of the 3 "proper" campsites on the island. By proper i mean you get a nice big grass clearing full of roo poo & 4 sleepers arranged in a square to sit on round the fire. Pretty luxurious really.



















I took the sea kayak, Slick got the AI. 
The trip down was nice & easy with a light following breeze pushing us along & since i had taken advantage of Slicks inexperience & loaded up the AI with half my gear as well as all his, i had a nice light kayak to paddle.

As soon as we arrived the flies started. March flies, Sand flies, tiny little biting midges. My legs got torn to shreds in the 2 mins it took to change from paddling shorts into long pants and then again later when we went out for a fish.



















The rest of the day was spent just faffing around really. Flicking lures from the banks of the channel out the front, waiting for the afternoon sea breeze to die down so we could get out for a fish later in the evening & just general lazing about. There were swarms of little blue crabs hanging around too so there should be fish in the channel.















The evening was beautiful & clear & we both slept without tarps or tent flys & i had a great night hanging looking up @ the stars.

Waking the next morning & checking the wind i saw it had changed from a nice calm day to 14knots of headwind for the whole trip back. Bugger, but not too bad. There were a few bits of messy water such as crossing the swashway between the 2 islands where the tide was running in 2 directions & the wind in another. This made for an interesting 400m of paddling getting bounced from all sides.

interestingly enough i made it home before the AI as i was still able to travel in a straight line while slick had to tack out fairly wide. I have found this when sailing on other trips too.

Another great overnighter & slick has even made promises to come back & do it again.


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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.

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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

SurfanFish said:


> Sounds like a great trip Mark. Some good pics there.
> 
> You must be keeping better company these days. No talk of roadkill (unless you had something to do with the Wallaby), bakery raids, tussock burning, axe wielding Mr Happy's, mingled trees etc.


Thanks Rob, the bakery still got raided but it was all rather civilized. Too dry to start lighting tussocks as well. 


patwah said:


> The VIC camping trips are up there with my favourites, always a great read.


Ta Wah.


RedPhoenix said:


> The Fishin' Musician said:
> 
> 
> > About 20m up the beach from where the campfire was a dead wallaby had washed up
> ...


if we were on the other side of the island, facing Singapore deep, that would not be out of the question! :shock: Id make mingle tow it out though.


BigGee said:


> Ah Red and his finesse approaches to fishing ... :lol:
> 
> Always a pleasure to read your reports Mark. You guys really are the dudes when it comes to Kayak camping .... now if only you caught a fish ..... I know I know ... call me crazy. :twisted:
> 
> ...


ta Gee. The sea yak went fine & I managed to get the AI & it both up on the roof racks side by side!

Plenty of room inside, I only used one hatch. Slick had my cooking bag & food plus a sleepingbag on the AI but they would have fit on mine no worries. I was just being slack. ;-)


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

Yep, about 4-5m deep. Massive sand flats that drain into it so should be good for something.


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

Funnily enough, the flies were doing laps of the camp & you got this great Doppler effect as they went past. Sounded exactly like mini F1 cars! It had slick & I in stitches for hours!!


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## cheaterparts (Jul 3, 2010)

The Fishin' Musician said:


> Red.
> 
> if we were on the other side of the island, facing Singapore deep, that would not be out of the question! :shock: Id make mingle tow it out though.


whats the camping like around the west side I have been thinking about droping a couple of heavy land base set ups in there for a while

I have heard that some realy big toothies call that place home


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

There's a few spots to camp on the west side with the cattle huts being the best bet. Theres a Few flat spots up in the dunes too if you have a look on google earth. Only problem over there is the sand flats are hundreds of m wide before you have access to Singapore deep where the big boys hang out. Makes land based tricky.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

You guys are lucky to have such an accessible, uninhabited island to call a destinaton. The camping looks superb, with or without the March/Horse flies. BTW, you haven't seen March/Horse flies until you've been to Teewah beach (Double Is Pt), or to Fraser Is.

The Valley looks good Mark, even if it is a trifle slow. :shock: :lol:

trev


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## Zed (Sep 18, 2006)

Foxes eat native birds? Is that why they're controlled?

Nice report. That place seems like an obvious choice. Plus maybe some wagering on the fly races.


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

kayakone said:


> You guys are lucky to have such an accessible, uninhabited island to call a destinaton. The camping looks superb, with or without the March/Horse flies. BTW, you haven't seen March/Horse flies until you've been to Teewah beach (Double Is Pt), or to Fraser Is.
> 
> The Valley looks good Mark, even if it is a trifle slow. :shock: :lol:
> 
> trev


 :lol: 
I did a quick count. 
Over 170 sandfly bites. :shock: 
I think there's a reason we usually camp in winter down here!

The valleys not that slow. The fat bastard paddling it sure is though!


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

The Fishin' MusicianI did a quick count.
Over 170 sandfly bites. :shock:
I think there's a reason we usually camp in winter down here!
The valleys not that slow. The fat bastard paddling it sure is though![/quote said:


> :lol: I'm with you on that one Mark, but you're not 63.
> 
> Sandfly bites (I'm sure you know already...just that the memory starts fading at 40  ):
> 
> ...


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

SurfanFish said:


> kayakone said:
> 
> 
> > I'm with you on that one Mark, but you're not 63.
> ...


DO YOU MEAN HIS GIRTH DIAMETER? What do you mean? I have already heard about his his horn playing. :lol:

trev


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## burgerzoid (Aug 14, 2012)

Group of us camp there every year, planning on getting down there by kayak this year hopefully.

There have been large flathead caught in that channel right in front of the campsite, and schools of hungry salmon move through now and then.

The sandflies are very bad there, definitely. Last time we also had a mob of confused roos come through the camp and cause some mayhem.


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## burgerzoid (Aug 14, 2012)

Also a good spot for flounder, around that point to the North. Floundering seems like a logical thing to do out of a kayak, haven't tried it yet but.


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## Ado (Mar 31, 2008)

Zed said:


> Foxes eat native birds? Is that why they're controlled?


Foxes eat native everything Zed (well maybe not Roos ... or Tiger Snakes).

These camping trips make me so envious. The lack of fish does not. Great camp site though.


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

Ta Ado, although the lack of fish is really a reflection on us not trying all that hard this time.

Burgerzoid, the sandflies seemed to be in the big patches of short grass, usually we camp there in colder times, & also our other spots are bush so we avoid them luckily. 10 days later & they're still itchy! It's crazy how bad these things are!

That whole area out the front looks real good fish wise.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

The Fishin' Musician said:


> Burgerzoid, the sandflies seemed to be in the big patches of short grass, usually we camp there in colder times, & also our other spots are bush so we avoid them luckily. 10 days later & they're still itchy! It's crazy how bad these things are!


Try antihistamines Mark.

trev


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

kayakone said:


> The Fishin' Musician said:
> 
> 
> > Burgerzoid, the sandflies seemed to be in the big patches of short grass, usually we camp there in colder times, & also our other spots are bush so we avoid them luckily. 10 days later & they're still itchy! It's crazy how bad these things are!
> ...


Ta, done that & creams, lotions, rhinoceros piss, sandpaper, angle grinder. 
its starting to fade a bit now but wow!


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## spork (Jan 21, 2012)

Is that a Hennesey Hammock? Which one? Good bit of gear?
As for the dead wobbly - Aussie icon. There's even a song.


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

spork said:


> Is that a Hennesey Hammock? Which one? Good bit of gear?
> As for the dead wobbly - Aussie icon. There's even a song.


nup, its a tenth wonder hornet 2 layer
http://stores.ebay.com.au/Tenth-Wonder- ... -Tarps-Aus
about 1/4 the cost of a hennessy & so far so good. i'm really enjoying sleeping in it & finding it a lot more comfy than the tent.
1 bonus of this particular style of hammock is it can be used as a bivvy if trees are scarce.

nice song too


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## spork (Jan 21, 2012)

Thanks TFM.
Might grab one of them. Not always practical to take the camper trailer for 1-2 nights, but I loathe sleeping on the ground and the back of the car isn't a great option either. This could be the ideal solution!


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Cant believe I missed this.

Where's Mr Happy?

Hows the new rig Marky?

Hows the Gout http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2010 ... r-victims/

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5903307_suppl ... -acid.html


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

spork said:


> Thanks TFM.
> Might grab one of them. Not always practical to take the camper trailer for 1-2 nights, but I loathe sleeping on the ground and the back of the car isn't a great option either. This could be the ideal solution!


No worries spork, they really are a comfy night sleep. 
I'd be inclined to grab the 3 layer tenth wonder with the removable waterproof bottom if i did it again, just more versatile. 
The other hammock in that sort of range is a dd frontline. It gets rated quite highly amongst the cheaper stuff.


ArWeTherYet said:


> Cant believe I missed this.
> 
> Where's Mr Happy?
> 
> ...


Sadly mr happy had to work. ( we find its good to set him free amongst the general populace from time to time. ) 
The new rig is lots of fun. I've got some good trips planned for it.

Gouts been good, nothing since the attack that nearly killed me last year. Keeping it in check with allopurinol & diet. 
I'm choosing to believe the mozzies like me coz of my high pheromone levels & lusty sex drive!!


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## Kenza (May 28, 2011)

Finally got some decent internet connection to read this  sounds painful! i've got some citronella plants and lads love in my backyard im cultivating to get rid of the flying stuff..will also be cultivating a big bush of pyrethrum daisies hehe..cant wait to join you with the sea kayak


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## SLB (Jul 8, 2010)

Arrrrh Island life is the best even when getting bitten by critters a thousand times. Nice shots, serenity would be awesome there.


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

Thanks fellas, 
Kenza, when are we doing some rolling practice?


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