Daly River Esplanade: Douglas Daly
Daly River in Douglas Daly Region
Daly River Esplanade
The ideal way to gain access to the upper Daly River providing the opportunity for fishing and bush camping. Bush camping is free but offers no facilities at all, including no access to drinking water. Land-based fishing with many snags to hide barramundi may be found along the banks. Just over two hours of travel from Darwin makes this a great weekend getaway.
Daly River Esplanade not to be confused with Douglas River Esplanade that is located at the Douglas Daly Holiday Park.
This is a section of the Daly River that the Parks and Wildlife NT took under their wing as a conservation area and made campsites available for bush camping along the riverbank. Unfortunately, from around 2017 it seems that Parks and Wildlife NT has abandoned this venture. The facts sheet and information regarding this area have also been removed from the Parks and Wildlife NT website. The road into the campsites has become very overgrown and many of the campsites are no longer usable.
However, for those that are seeking a great bush camp experience the camp spots that are still open are incredible. As time passes you may need to clear some undergrowth to facilitate camping. The river has tall shady trees, and the very high and steep banks of about 10m help reduce the threat of crocodiles. A good spot for land-based fishing or a small river craft.
“You should always be aware of the risk of a saltwater crocodile attack in all Top End waterways.”
The Track
Access to this section of the river is along the “riverside” of a track that travels along a boundary fence line. The bush has overgrown the track and your vehicle will get very scratched on this road. I expect this will become more overgrown with each passing season. This poses a further restriction on the area. As an alternative to using the original track that follows the fence line on the riverside of the fence, you may opt to use the road on the inland side of the fence. This is PRIVATE PROPERTY, however, and a gate controls access. The property is Ebenezer Waters and is owned by Mike Farrell. Give him a call, to obtain permission to use the road and the sites along the river. We travelled up the riverbank for at least 7km discovering campsites along the way.
Getting There
Located midpoint between Katherine and Darwin it is about 200 km from both Darwin and Katherine. From Stuart Highway take Dorat road (route 23) and then turn onto Oolloo Road. Oolloo Road is initially a sealed road.
The turn-off to Daly River Esplanade is located on the right 28 to 29 km south of Douglas Daly Holiday Park on Oolloo Road. At present (2017) a sign showing Daly River Esplanade is still up but is rather overgrown. Follow the fence line for 900m and the road will then turn to the right, to find the gate that controls access to Ebenezer Waters, or use the overgrown track.
Notes
This area would only be accessible in the dry season and is a four-wheel-drive track.
No facilities are available at these sites.