User:Djambalawa/Sandy Creek (Arnhem Land)

Sandy Creek is a small tidal creek that is a camping/fishing destination in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is approximately located halfway along the Top End's north coast, on the mainland around 10km east of Wunyu Beach (the western base of Cobourg Peninsula) and is close to the Goulbourn Islands.

Access
Sandy Creek is Aboriginal Land and access to the public is via a permit system and limited to only a certain about of vehicles at a time. Permits must be obtained from the Northern Land Council (NLC). The campsite can be accessed by a 4wd track off the main Cobourg Peninsula road. Due to annual wet season flooding the roads are only passable once the rivers and creeks have dropped in the dry season which is often between June to October.

The roads in can be very rough and corrugated and therefore vehicle and trailer spares are recommended in what is a fairly isolated area. Caravans of any kind are not allowed on the Cobourg road and trailers should be limited to offroad camper trailers and small boat trailers in good condition.

Access from Darwin is via the Arnhem Highway. You travel east on the Arnhem Highway for 215km before turning left onto the Oenpelli Road just before Jabiru. Unless you have plenty of spare fuel for your vehicle it is recommended to fuel up at either the South Alligator (about 50km back from the turnoff) or at Jabiru. There is another 37km of bitumen road before you get to the East Alligator and need to cross the potential dangerous Cahills Crossing (need to cross at low tide - tides are approximately opposite to Darwin).

From the East Alligator it is all dirt roads and 34km from the crossing you turn left onto the Cobourg (Murgenella) Road instead of going on to Maningrida. The turnoff to Sandy Creek is about 52km on the right along the Cobourg Road and it is then about 16km on the track to Sandy Creek.

Camping
There are no facilities at all and visitors need to be fully independent - this includes bringing enough fresh water for their needs. No litter is to be left on site although there is a signed dumpsite a couple of kilometres inland that can be used. Sandflies can be bad if there is little or no breeze. "Bindy eyes" are also prevalent in the grassy areas on the sand. The campsites start approximately 100 metres from the actual creek. Often Traditional Owners also camp at the site and it is often used by them as a base to boat to the nearby Goulbourn Island community. Visitors should not move away from the main campsite as the the permit only allows access to this campsite and the surrounding waterways.