When I received the call from the lovely Imelda telling me I had won the James Squire Journey Into Flavour competition we laughed about how hard it would be to find nine other friends who would be willing to share the trip with me and that if I had any difficulty filling any of the places Imelda had more than a few willing applicants in her office.
As usual with every bit of luck I have, there was a catch. Stefan and Aaron and myself had made a pact to bring the others should one of us win. A group was quickly drawn together (based on who responded to my phone calls first) consisting of Stefan, his wife Lisa, Aaron, Kellie, Jack, Charlie, Struan, Anthony and Ian and we booked in for the trip in mid February. We all frequently visited the Bamurru Plains website in anticipation.
Arriving on a dirt strip not too far from Kakadu we were greeted by John and Colin. John was the manager of the site and as it turns out comes from the Hills District in Sydney where I lived as a child and where Lisa and Stefan live at present. Driving to the camp Colin explained the origins and the ultimate destination of the water buffalo that crowded the skirts of the road. The yearlings were to be live exports to Asia. Their meat is not fit for Australian consumption though they looked pretty large and healthy to me.
On arrival at the camp we were greeted by John’s wife Cathy. The ice cool face washers divvied out only provided temporary relief from the warm day but for our trip’s duration the heat never posed a problem, certainly not one that couldn’t be remedied by a couple of James Squire brews.
The main hall at Bamurru is enmeshed to keep out the forty gazillion bugs that live there but don’t really make their presence known until night. In here is the kitchen, dining area and lounge areas. As nice as it was we spent most our time out on the deck admiring the view of the floodplain from the pool with a cold beer in hand. They get a lot of their custom during the drier part of the year but I would recommend the end of the wet season while the water covers the land and fills the world with wildlife.
The rooms were very comfortable and have you sleeping amongst the wildlife. With only netting and a few feet from the ground keeping nature at bay, you are immersed in the jungle. There was one bird that started up just before dawn that woke us all, but he only squawked shortly before the early morning knock on the door for those who wanted to partake in the day’s activities.
Taking advantage of the water, the resort provides three deafeningly high powered airboats that skim their way for miles around the flood plains. What looks like immense fields of grass is actually two or three feet underwater all moving out to sea through millions of reeds. Needless to say we saw plenty of wildlife from the ubiquitous Plovers to Magpie Geese, kingfishers, water buffalo, brumbies, wallabies, Jabiru, eagles, frogs, insects, ants, termites and of course the ominous crocodiles.
They took us to some truly magnificent spots that really underscore the eco-tourism that Bamurru Plains promotes. My favourite spot was known as Kingfisher Cafe where the barrage keeps the land under water all year around. The Melaleucas sit submerged in still water which is so black it gives the impression of immeasurable depth. The trees also afford a great deal of shade which made it a perfect place for a morning tea.

Michael Jackson from James Squire came up to celebrate the trip with us and officiated over the 7 course degustation meal which was designed with each of the James Squire brews in mind. Starting with Spring Bay scallops through to kangaroo back strap, local prawns, a cucumber and rose sorbet, pork loin, confit duck leg and finishing with a wattle seed and dark chocolate pudding. My compliments to our chef Lisa Menzies and thanks to Michael for hosting.
I am renowned for several things, master home brewer, master brew consumer, all-round-super-handsome-dude and also World’s Worst Fisherman. However, on this trip I was first to land a Barramundi. One among us frequently and loudly proclaimed being learned in the ancient lore of fish, managed to catch nothing more than some rays of sun but even then most of them bounced off his shiny head. Charlie caught the largest and arguably the trickiest fish of the lot. Due to Greg’s expert knowledge of local fishing everyone on Greg’s boat had a fish. Hang in their Colin, you’ll figure it out.

Our last night saw much conversation and relaxation in the hall where we stayed up until the wee hours chatting with the staff. If there was one thing that stood out from the trip, something that I really appreciated, was the staff. Their knowledge of the flora and fauna was exemplary and they upheld the standards employing the term luxury entails. If there was anything I required all I had to do was ask.

Finally I would like to thank the gods of good fortune, the James Squire range of beers and all the people at James Squire who put this together for us. A wonderful time was had by all and we thank you graciously. I sincerely look forward to visiting the Malt Shovel Brewery sometime to further express my gratitude to the brewers in person.

For more information on the Journey into Flavour competition, click here: