Corporate Packages :

ESCAPE SPORTFISHING and WILDERNESS LODGE

Corporate groups have never had it better, with our Escape Sportfishing and Wilderness Lodge offering the best venue for team building, conferences, incentive trips, board meetings, and management getaway’s.

For a remote Northern Territory destination Groote Eylandt and its archipelago offer a unique experience for the corporate traveller. Our Lodge sits adjacent to the 22 Million dollar Dugong Beach Resort with its Licensed bar and “Seagrass” Restaurant, swimming pool, and conference room. The combination of our spacious Lodge with lounge and entertainment area right on the water and the well appointed Dugong Beach Resort enable guests to enjoy the full facilities of this eco venture.

We cater for all levels of fishing experience, from experienced anglers to first timers. Our guides led by our manager Rob McCulloch will be happy to run Fishing Clinics to explain the “how to” and run through techniques and tackle. We do a lot of lure casting and jigging and our aim is for everyone to catch plenty of fish, stay safe and have fun.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

	Carolyn Forrest: Carolyn Forrest our Business Services Manager is often our first point of contact and is an integral part of ESWL . No doubt you will be impressed with Carolyn’s skill in simplifying your booking.
Ruth Hennessy and Rob McCulloch: Heading our Sportfishing & Wilderness Lodge management team are your hosts Ruth Hennessy and Skipper Rob McCulloch. Rob and Ruth spent several years running a successful fishing and eco lodge south of Cairns on the east coast of Australia before being head hunted to operate ESWL.
	Andrew and Sandra Darby: Our second Groote Eylandt management team of Andrew and Sandra Darby will also be on hand to help service your client’s needs during your stay. Andrew will skipper one of the 8 metre Sportfishing Vessels and Sandra will help Ruth with the day to day operations.

Service is important to us at ESWL.

 

AIRLINES

Air North and Vincent Aviation fly from Darwin to Groote Eylandt daily. Morning and evening flights are available to suit guest’s needs.

PRIVATE CHARTERS are also available on request. These are easy to organise and can be discussed when you make your booking enquiry.

ACCOMMODATION

We have been designed to entertain corporate Groups of up to 24 guests at the Lodge, with 12 double air conditioned rooms, all with ensuites. All room’s have water views and are raised off the ground to allow the native flora and fauna to remain in its natural state. The Lodge takes in views across the water to nearby Connection Island and the evening sunsets add a class of their own to the setting.

We provide our corporate guests with options to make their stay a remarkable and special experience. Depending on what time of the year you wish to travel a custom made trip is designed to meet your every need. For Corporate Groups above 16 persons we are happy to provide the lodge exclusively to you.

 

ACTIVITIES

As Groote Eylandt is the third largest island in Australia we can always find areas that can be fished in all conditions. A number of exciting activities are available to ensure every taste is catered for with Aboriginal Cultural Tours available. A quality 9 hole Golf Course with golf carts and clubs is located for our use right next door.  

We can do full day Sportfishing charters or divide trips up into half fishing with an afternoon of golf, or an Aboriginal Cultural Tour like Shallow water Hunting, Bush Tucker, or viewing the amazing Rock Art sites.   

We have a large Cultural Centre based on our grounds with gifted local Artists creating new paintings, crafts and carvings each day.

We can set up friendly competitions between corporate guests, as to who can catch the biggest fish, the most species in a day, or we can set up a fishing and golf “biathlon” where individuals and groups set out to catch certain size fish on day ,1 to give them a better handicap for the Golf event on Day 2.

Loads of fun, with trophies to be won.

 Like many of our guests a swim in the Resort pool with a refreshment in hand is the perfect way to end the day.

 

FOOD

Late afternoon guests are invited to sample a variety of fresh seafood dishes at the Lodge and share refreshments with friends before heading across to the Resorts Seagrass restaurant for dinner. Breakfast is also a fine dining affair with a full hot buffet available each morning before departure.

We often set up special Menus for our corporate groups and examples of these can be viewed by visiting these links. Menu A, Menu B

5  SPORTFISHING VESSELS  and 50 ft LIVE ABOARD

Our 5 eight metre vessels are powered by twin 225 hp Evinrudes and have all of the necessary marine electronics including Lowrance GPS, Plotter and Sounder as well as Radar. We have UHF, and global HF Radios on each vessel with Satellite phones and safety gear to ensure everyone has a safe day out on the water.

We generally fish 4 anglers per boat without difficulty. Our surveyed boats are full walk around design with centre cabin, toilet, and have been custom designed specifically for use in the waters around Groote Eylandt. At 8.3 metres they are much roomier than the average 5.5 metre to 6 metre boat generally used across the top end, delivering a brilliant ride and incredible fish ability.

From April 09 our new 50ft live aboard “Escapade” will be available for small corporate groups of up to 8 guests for exciting overnight trips to the more remote and untouched areas of Groote Eylandt and the Archipelago. The fishing in these areas can be “ballistic” and you are never far from your anchorage.

 Larger corporate groups of up to 30 guests will be able to enjoy afternoon cruises to the magnificent Archipelago on board our vessel with refreshments and light meal.

Take in the sights and explore this region’s untouched beauty, unique landscape and marine life including Dolphin’s, Turtles, and Dugong from the comfort of “Escapade”. Check out the“Escapade” link on our website for more details.

 

FISHING TACKLE

We use quality fishing tackle with over 120 Shimano rods and reels ready for action. Small overhead outfits can be used to cast lures for “Barra” in the morning, and by lunch you could be casting to Tuna schools and jigging for Mackerel with more specific spin gear. In the afternoon you can change to robust tackle to fish the reef for Coral Trout, Red Emperor and Golden Snapper before again switching to light tackle game gear to battle Sailfish and Black Marlin to end the day.

No Lodge is better equipped to tackle the many varied species across all terrain than ours.

We use lures from all over Australia. Basser Millyard Classics and Bombers, Halco Lazer Pro’s and roosta poppers, Gillies jigs, Raider and Spaniard’s, Reidy’s B52’s , etc.

We use Hollow Point Lures and assorted tackle from leading brands like Black Pete, Berkley, Schnider, Gamakatsu, Plano, and more.

Our Guides are always ready to change tactics to put our clients on to fish, and our boats are rigged and ready to go with all bases covered.

We can offer corporate clients first class conferencing facilities at the Resort or if you desire a more relaxed venue can be sought at the Lodge.

 

OUR AIM

We aim to provide your clients with tremendous service, professional guides, quality boats, terrific meals, and waterfront accommodation in a magnificent Resort and Lodge Facility. More than this is the ability of our venue and staff to create a unique experience that will build team harmony, create friendships, unite team members and deliver life long memories.

What sets us apart from other corporate venues are our amazing facilities in such a “remote” location.

Groote Eylandt and the Escape Sportfishing and Wilderness Lodge welcome you to share a special corporate experience.