Early in 2018 we purchased a pre-loved Bonito 5.6 m vessel from a lad in Darwin. As a result it was the perfect excuse to travel to the NT! We could pick up the boat, and have a short holiday exploring Dundee Beach NT.
As luck would have it, the exact travel dates coincided with a vacancy at the “Sholly Shack“ . The Shack is located right on the beach cliffs about 10 minutes from the Dundee Beach NT boat ramp.
This place books out far in advance so if you want to stay here we suggest you book early.
Because…
As far as 5 start glampling goes, it had everything including a pool, air conditioning and a fully fenced yard for our sea dog Roxy. Plus a crab cooker and sunsets to DIE for. Even a cricket set for the kids.
The boat ramp at Dundee Beach NT is two lanes and protected from the Indian Ocean swell by a break wall.
While it’s protected, it would still be a difficult proposition to launch in a big westerly, so in the case of too much swell, just walk across the road to a country style pub called the Lodge of Dundee.
The Lodge served us up a couple of great counter lunches, however we are told the accommodation is very basic and I reckon it could get a bit rowdy at night.
So if you can’t get into the Sholly Shack, or your budget is pretty tight, there is some lovely accommodation and camping at the Dundee Forest Retreat, also about 10 mins from Dundee Beach (from the other side) and only 5 minutes from Bynoe Harbour boat ramps.
The owners of Dundee Forest Retreat were delightful. They have cabins, a lovely pool, and private en suite bathrooms for each campsite. Yep – no need to worry about anyone stinking out the toilet before you head in there.
There were plenty of things to see and do when exploring Dundee Beach NT.
Obviously we did a bit of fishing, but mostly we went beach walking and exploring – fishing rod in hand.

Land based fishing at Dundee Beach NT
There are plenty of locations for land based anglers and we had quite a bit of fun catching small barra and threadfin from the beach.
There are also many options for the boat based fisho.
Bynoe Harbour boat ramp is about 15 minutes drive and for the serious barra fisho, the Finniss and Little Finniss Rivers are only a short 20 - 25 minute boat ride away.
But to take all the guess work out of your fishing and for a completely hassle free Dundee Beach NT fishing holiday, we were mightily impressed by Anglers Choice Fishing Safaris.
For a start, the business has been operational for 15 years and is owned and operated by a woman - Emma Cartright. And Karen and Emma just hit it off straight away.
Guests are treated to beach front accomodation (just up the road from the Sholly Shack) and virtually gourmet meals. We were invited for dinner on two nights and it was divine.
The boats are immaculate and the head guide Dave Rinkin really knows his stuff. We had two lovely evenings with these beautiful people and their team of fishing guides, chefs and drivers.
We can't wait to get back up there and go fishing with these guys. This is one invitation we are not going to forget!

One of the impressive Anglers Choice Fishing Safari fleet
Of course while we were exploring Dundee Beach NT we did so with camera in hand.
But this is not the typical tips video we normally produce because... well we were on holidays.
So we have called it 'RMF Unplugged' and if you like the behind the scenes insights and casual style, let us know in the comments and we will make some more like it.

If Barramundi are your passion, or maybe you're about to head north and would love to catch your very first, I explain how to work out their patterns, in my Barramundi Strategies Workshop.
It consists of three videos and I'm sure you're going to love it.
Click the button below to sign up - it's free and only takes about 40 minutes to watch both videos.

And here are a few previous posts that may also assist.
More free videos
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4 Comments
Helena Russell
January 7, 2020Thank you for this, looks amazing. We are visiting Dundee Beach in August with 3 kids. We have been advised to not go offshore fishing because of the crocodiles, what’s your thoughts on that? Also, it looks like you spent a lot of time just walking along the beach, would you deem this safe as long as you stay out of the water?
Mike Jones
December 17, 2018Great article Ryan
Dundee certainly has some awesome fishing on offer.
Krys
June 17, 2018Hi Ryan the pick of the sunset.
Looks like it is one of my photos
I truly don’t mind after all NT News paper likes to print my work
Please ask next time. As I would be more than happy for you to access more great photos of The topend.
Photo was taken at buffalo creek beach reseve.
If u want Dundee pictures just ask
Gunn point is better for photos just saying
Ryan Moody
June 17, 2018All those photos were taken by me from Sholly Shack. I took about thirty that arvo and will email them to you now. Maybe you took a picture of the same sunset on the same day. I expect it would look the same from many different vantage points along the beach. Cheers
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