If football is the number one love, hunting and fishing are not far behind, and I was keen to experience both of these. The community is perfectly positioned for both, as it sits on the bank of Snake Bay, and the island is covered by over 400 km of thick forest.

When hunting, an early start is essential, so at 5.30 am we packed up the Hilux and set off. I enjoyed the air-conditioned comfort of the cabin, while Aussie and his mates were relegated to the tray.  Having sat on the tray the day before, my posterior could do with a rest, 45 minutes of bumps and dips on rain affected roads can become a pain in the a__! Not that it bothered the quick witted quartet in the back, they spent the whole trip this morning giggling and playing pranks on each other non-stop.

The pre-dawn beginning gave us the best chance to spot our target - buffaloes. After 45 minutes on the road, we turned the corner and saw this large creature bathing in the puddles beside the road.  It raised its head and looked at us, actually it stared at us, paused, then ran. It was our first sighting, it wasn’t to be our target, but it certainly increased the heart rates of the party in anticipation of more.

It didn’t take long before we spotted a group of four young bulls and the race was on.  With two shots from the rifle, our sniper had hit his target. The whole community would benefit from this success, all receiving some meat upon our return.

Driving on the island we swerved to miss frill-neck lizards, watched carefully as wild horses ran along beside us, and stopped to watch a crocodile pass under the road through a pipe into a swollen waterhole nearby.

Further along is land owned by the Wonaeamirri family and others, which has been leased for mining ‘black sand’. When you experience firsthand the effect mining has on the forests, you can’t help but be disappointed, however mining and plantations only affect approximately one per cent of the island, so there is still plenty of natural growth to admire.

There was no time for an afternoon sleep when we returned to the community; next in this adventure filled day was fishing. We had managed to secure three boats, donated by locals, which we would use in Snake Bay and its surrounding rivers.

Each boat skipper claimed that at their favourite spot “you’ll get plenty of barra there mate”, and the surprising thing was, they were all spot on. Although personally I didn’t catch much – actually, the only thing I landed was a piece of coral - my TEAMMATES ensured that our dinner menu that night would rival any five-star restaurant in Melbourne.

We caught barramundi, snapper, dew fish, sharks and a huge mud crab. Late in the afternoon, a twenty minute battle with another unknown fish would have been catch of the day, but we only have a broken rod and line to show for that one.

Weatherwise, our fishing adventure had everything, from calm, glassy water to choppy seas with big downpours. That’s the wet season for you.

As we neared the end of an amazing day and began heading back to the boat landing, a mini disaster struck. The boat’s engine stopped, as we had run out of fuel. Here we were, 200 metres off shore, right on sunset, floating in water where only a couple of hours earlier we had seen a three to four metre long crocodile passing by. After a brief period of panic, we regrouped and found a full fuel can on board.  In a few minutes, we were on our way.

It did not take long before dinner preparation was in full swing. Check this out:

Entrée: 
- Boiled Mud Crab
- Barramundi (cooked on the open fire)

Main:   
- Salmon (open fire)
- Buffalo (back straps) accompanied by a fresh garden salad, home made potato crisps.

Dessert:
- no room for dessert!

With a full stomach and a head filled with memorable experiences it didn’t take long to fall into a deep sleep, dreaming of that one that got away!

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Check out melbournefc.com.au tomorrow for Josh's final instalment of his trip to the Tiwi Islands