East Arnhem Land Queries

Been 7 years since I left. Spent 15+ years there working remote. Doubt very much about being allowed via the Rammingining rd. Spoke to a mate about 3 months ago up there and he was saying not much has changed and all the roads except the road in are still off limits. I was lucky to have an open permit to travel where ever I wanted due to the nature of my work. I ,d visit the various small beaches..Turtle Beach Maccassen Beach etc....close to town and a good day out. Permits reqd for nearly everywhere you go. Last thing you,d want to do is tow a van via the Ramminginning Rd..If you break down or have an accident you,ll have no hope recovery. Road can be good or an absolute nightmare. I know they are allowing camper trailers in but you must nominate where you will be staying as there are no parks . The best hope is to contact the Northern Land Council in Nhulunbuy.

Hi Mark and Sandy

First of all you are going to be in for a fantastic trip, and it is one area that we will be returning to.

First of all, they need tourists into Nhulunbuy, so you will not have an issue getting your permits.

Next, you will not get a permit coming in from Oenpelli, its just out of bounds......well sort of.

One of our friends was working up there when we went, and she had great privilege to ask which way did we come in, knowing that tourists can only get in 1 way, and then she went on to say, "I never go that way, its too long and come in from Ramingining".

As she was a nurse and based in Nhulunbuy she went to all the outreaches , that is how she did it......and she smiled when she told us...as she was known in all the Communities and went in that way, but she still had to have permits.

Firstly the Dhimurru mob and not in charge of the Central Arnhem Highway, its under the control of the Northern Lands Council, based in Darwin and Katherine. Yes they do say no caravans, yet there were caravans there when we were there, and basicly as long as you get your free permits, they were not worried.

I ended up collecting our permit from Katherine (long Story) and took our time heading to Nhulunbuy, doing it over 2 days. We booked into the Walkabout Lodge, where there were also 2 caravans in the back.

Once you get to Nhulunbuy, that's when you need to get your other permits from the Dhimurru office, but note the opening hours.

The general permits gives you access to all the major spots in the area, but to get to those special places, that's when you need to get your Special Permits.

With the Special Permits, they strictly limit numbers to those special areas. The largest number of people for any one day, is out to Cape Arnhem, that are limited to only 12 vehicles per day, with most other places limited to only 5 vehicles a day. Of the places to see, do not miss Cape Arnhem drive, we had the place to ourselves and was fantastic.

If doing that run, make sure you take some MaxTrax (we left our home...lol) as there is lots of beach and sand driving. Make sure you watch the tides, our else you will have some real fun.

Rather than raving on, have a read of the 2 blogs that I did for the area.

The first one, if you open this link, Central Arnhem Highway it will give you an idea of what to expect on the drive in and out.

The second blog, in this link Nhulunbuy Area will give you an idea of what the area is like.

One word of warning, and not to be taken lightly, you are in Croc country, and be very careful around all water, including those crystal clear streams. We had 2 dogs with us and never let them anywhere near the water, so be on your guard, as you will see them.

It is a fantastic trip and enjoy.



Cheers


Stephen

Hi Mark and Sandy,
We travelled to Nhulunbuy in 2018 with a T-van on a permit issued by the Northern Land Council, we were told that a camping permit can be picked up in Nhulunbuy at their office, can't remember the hours, but when we got there the office was closed from midday (new hours!!), we then obtained a permit via our computer and went out and camped on the Latram River for seven days. We were challenged by a ranger on the way in but never seen them again after that. The Latram River was mostly about a foot or two deep and had a resident Water Buffalo when we arrived.
As mentioned above that Art Gallery is well worth the visit, also the beaches, the Airport, several WW2 sites and the bauxite loading facilities are worth a visit. Some of the local visitor sites may be closed by the "Elders" (according to the signs) due to vandalism, as there were very few 'others' there other than locals it seemed strange to us. Spent some time watching some local lads spearing fish from the beach near the loading facilities.
Another strange thing you need is a permit to consume alcohol, the office where you get that changed to three different locations while we were there. Once you obtain the permit you'll find it is only a permit to buy alcohol.
It was a very enjoyable experience, we took a couple of days to get up there from Katherine but drove back in one long day due to the smoky conditions making it unpleasant to camp along the way back to Katherine.
Cheers
Graham

We traveled to Nhulunbuy last July and stayed for 7 days. Obtained permit from land council in Katherine via email and picked up day before travel. Stayed at Mainora on the way out. Towed AOR Quantum no problems at all, just drive to the conditions. You can now obtain permits for the outer camps online on the Dimiri website. Most places were booked out for weeks when we went to the office on the day after we arrived in Nhulunbuy. We did get a permit for the local area (compulsory to all travellers to Nhulunbuy) and also a permit to Scout camp for one night.
Walkabout lodge is a great base but do try and get permits for the other camp spots. We could not get a permit to Cape Arnhem.
Best first Australian art but do shop around.