North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Matt Flynn wrote:I'm not sure what he meant

Crackers has been to Sweers and Betinck Islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria, he is now at Karumba ... caught more fish, had more adventure, eaten more mud crab dinners ... http://www.facebook.com/FriendsofPapuaNewGuinea

He'll be heading up the west side of Cape York soon, then to Seisia, then to PNG in the Little Red Boat ...

and he's had a few "morning glories" lately

Crackers has been doing it hard in the south-east Gulf of Carpentaria, he has probably set a FFF record for time spent on a mudflat, several days in fact, and once he got off the flat his motor played up and he had to have a part flown in at Coleman River for his motor.

Better to have trouble now though, than in PNG ... his story so far is a crackin' read ... http://www.facebook.com/FriendsofPapuaNewGuinea

Track him here ... http://www.esriaustralia.com.au/

Motor troubles ?? Poor fella big blue ocean when he leave the mainland !!
Be a trip of a life time did he have a set time at all been going on a while !

He wants to go to PNG and then head down the East Coast (FNQ) before the monsoon season, so time is now getting short.

I think he would happily keep on sailing, when I spoke to him after the mudflat experience he didn't seem phased at all, although he was a bit unwell at Coleman River, might have been the campers there feeding him grog ... or a mud crab overdose

Looks like the engine has let him down near Pormpuaaw, might have to do a fundraiser if ETEC doesn't help him out ... http://www.facebook.com/FriendsofPapuaNewGuinea

Will await his advice.

Hi Matt, that Honda 90 that NathanL is selling might be the go!

He says he is organising a tow from Pormpuraaw - it's going to cost a few bucks, anyone who has been following his story and wants to help out with a donation can click on the link on the top right side of this page ... http://www.friendsofpapuanewguinea.org/

If you haven't been following his Darwin-to-PNG trip, it's here ... http://www.facebook.com/FriendsofPapuaNewGuinea

Quite unfortunate that he has decided to exclude people without facebook accounts, I was looking forward to following his journey.

think he be better off trying to get a decent engine crowd to sponsor him and save the day

GoodLookinPete wrote:Quite unfortunate that he has decided to exclude people without facebook accounts, I was looking forward to following his journey.

I hope he puts a DVD out, hint hint. I can just imagine some of the terrific adventures he must have had on the trip so far.

Crackers has been doing it tough, he went to retrieve his boat because of engine trouble that couldn't easily be fixed, and hit a beast on the road near Palmer River Roadhouse ... he has installed a new radiator etc in the vehicle already ... http://www.facebook.com/FriendsofPapuaNewGuinea

Dunno if he plans to finish his trip or put off the final PNG leg until next year - it's getting late in the year now.

Darwin to Pormpuraaw in a 15-footer is a bl..dy good effort, he has eaten that many mud crabs and crays he'll probably grow a couple of claws. It is his third trip to PNG in the little red boat, he doesn't seem fazed by everything that has happened.

Anyone who wants to help him out can make a donation here ... http://www.friendsofpapuanewguinea.org/

Hi Matt,

Something isn't right with the Cracker Tracker - or has the intended track and actual been (sort of) taken off?

http://esriaustralia.com.au/crackertracker

The CrackerTracker did play up for a while with incorrect dates on the latest logs. His boat has been stored at Pormpuraaw the past few days.

I spoke to him an hour ago, thinking he would be putting the trip on hold until next year, but he is not fazed at all and said he actually left for PNG later on his last trip, so he is going ahead, unless the repaired vehicle plays up. He rebuilt the front of his truck at Palmer River and is taking his boat into Weipa today.

The repairs however have put a big hole in the trip budget - anyone who has been enjoying reading his exploits and can spare some dosh can donate here ... http://www.friendsofpapuanewguinea.org/

For those who are unfamilar with Crackers - he takes his 15-foot boat loaded with domestic goods to a tribe that lives in a remote area in PNG. Last time there he set up a VHF radio for the tribe, giving them their only communications outside of the tribal area. It is a charity trip, but Crackers does it because he likes the adventure. This is his third such trip.

OK help me out a little here, I can accept that his donk crapped itself, got stuck on a mud bank for a week or so etc etc, fine with all of that and also extremely envious of the adventure. Where I am struggling is how he fitted his dual cab hilux onto his 15 foot boat in order for it to hit a beast just out of Palmer River Station in the first place? And on that note, what happened to the Pajero? that thing got him to (and back from) quite a number of places that would surprise a few engineers in Japan. In one of his DVDs he drags that boat up a sand dune with highway tyres on a stock standard Pajero, I would suggest anyone has a long hard look at this segment before spending big bucks on a 4X4. I digress, Crackers you da man, nothing can detract from that but how the frig do you get a twin cab Hilux on to a 15 foot boat?

Just happened to be in a Telstra reception area & read this post. Sorry i don't get time to respond to all sites, thank you to Matt Flynn for forwarding on my information for me.
I needed to get my boat from Pormpuraaw to Weipa to the mechanic. Only 300 klm's by sea but there is no barge for a tow. Transport costs by road are over $3,000 & will be a 3 week turnaround via Cairns. Lots of hindsights will pop up but the cheapest & quickest way to Weipa at the time was to fly to Darwin & pick up my car (Mitsubishi Triton) & trailer to pick up the boat & take it to Weipa myself. I have done that in 9 days including hitting a cow, pulling out the front of my car with a rope attached to a tree, some handy work with the crow bar, replacing the radiator, top hose & 3 belts, taping up 1 headlight & the timing belt cover, adjusting the accelerator idle controls, removing other things & delivering a dozen live chooks to the policeman in Pormpuraaw who was looking after my boat, which i managed to do so although the chooks don't want to go driving past cows again & i just pulled into Weipa now close to midnight. Bonnet, guards, air-con & other things will have to be repaired another day.
.....on the other point, i was towing my boat 400 metres down that sand dune in that DVD clip, wait til i get time to put out the footage one day of me towing the boat back up it