It was a little different sleeping with the
windows closed again, and it did cool down quite a lot over night. We actually
felt cold when we woke up in the morning (just as I’d packed our warm clothes
away) but we were fine still in our summer clothes.
We had breakfast and enjoyed being in
nature on a sunny morning, there wasn’t any shade where we were but we weren’t
hanging around so it didn’t get too hot before we left. We’d hung washing up
the night before and the air was dry enough for it to be dry not long after the
sun rose. Everyone managed OK without a toilet – using the bushes and trees and
shadows that were available for privacy was fine.
 |
| Sunrise at our free camp |
We headed off before 10 and drove the short
distance (about 30km) to Katherine. The kids really wanted to see if any of the
puppies were still at North Bank caravan park so we called in there – we parked
out the front and walked in, and didn’t see anyone we knew. It was weird to be
back, it felt quite familiar although did remind me a little of how frustrated
we felt at the time. We saw Bundy and Pumbaa and the kittens, and the kids had
a pat and a play with each of them. None of the other puppies were still there.
Satisfied to have seen them again, the kids said goodbye and we drove into
town. The kids and I went to Target to look for snorkels (no luck, though we
did get a Skylanders figure for only $2), to the Visitors Centre to use the
toilets and buy some Top End postcards and a tea-towel, and to Woolworths to get
milk and other supplies for the next few days. Tony went to Home Hardware to
get our empty gas bottle refilled (it had run out during breakfast this
morning),to get petrol and to buy meat for the next few days.
Driving around Katherine also felt familiar
and like we were almost locals. It was very exciting to head out on the
Victoria Highway, on a road that none of us have ever been on, and to start the
next stage (far more unknown) of our holiday.
This road felt very long and isolated
(surprisingly so, having come up the Stuart Highway. I guess this one is not
quite as well used, not as many people come this way, and it’s heading to even
more remote areas than the Stuart does). We saw lots more cows (Brahmins) and
lots of kites. The ground was mainly sparse woodland – not much undergrowth,
and the trees spread fairly thinly. After a while we saw our first boab tree of
the trip – quite an impressive tree.
We pulled into the Victoria River Roadhouse
to get petrol. I got a brief glimpse of the river as we crossed the bridge
before the roadhouse, and the kids and I walked through the campground to see
if we could get closer to get a better view of the river. There was a path
leading down between tall cane grass, which rustled a lot as little animals
moved around in there. It was quite spooky, not knowing how far away the river
was and knowing that crocodiles lived in the river. Every rustle made us (well,
some of us, LiAM seemed quite calm) jump a bit. We reached a sandy area high up
on the river bank and could see the water and the bridge through the trees.
That was good enough for us and we looked for a while then headed back. The
kids also met a couple with a fluffy dog and talked to them for a while before
we went on our little walk. It was hot in the sun, not so bad in the shade. We
had a cool drink then kept driving west.
The drive from here was along huge craggy
escarpments for a while, as we drove through part of Gregory National Park. The
rocks were red and high above the road and so amazing to look at. We passed out
of that section of the park and the road passed through sparse woodland again.
There were many long straight stretches in this bit – it was a lot windier
through the national park area. As we approached Timber Creek the escarpments
returned. For a while we drove alongside the Victoria River – it was incredibly
wide, the largest river we’ve seen so far. Looking at the map we could see we
really weren’t that far from the mouth and the Timor Sea (about 100km).
 |
| Gregory National Park |
Just before we reached our campsite (Big
Horse Creek Campground in Gregory National Park) there was a bridge across the
river which was signposted as a lookout, so we drove in to have a look. The
bridge crossed the (still very wide) river and led to a Defense Force
restricted zone. There was on vehicle access allowed on the bridge but
pedestrians were able to walk out and look at the river – which we did. It was
pretty cool looking along this long, wide river, with very green foliage all
the way down to the edge. We looked for crocodiles but didn’t see any.
 |
| Victoria River |
It was only 500m down the highway then to
the campground. We drove around a couple of times and the only spots left were
narrow bays in the middle, we looked at each of them for shade potential and
flatness and eventually selected one. Tony backed the trailer in perfectly,
right against one edge, and we were almost able to pull the tent out without it
hitting the bollards on the other side. We were able to work around it though –
with the kids’ beds down that end, we don’t use the bottom end of the tent so
the little dent in the wall didn’t really matter.
The kids explored the campground while we
set up, then LiAM, Caitlin and I went for a walk (bike ride in Caitlin’s case)
down to the river. There was a boat ramp at the campground and we stood on it
watching the water and the birds and noting how high the water level was so we
could see if it was tidal. Caitlin rode back and met some people with a dog and
chatted to them. We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting and doing puzzles and
playing games, and had another walk down to the river to see a ground bird’s
nest surrounded by shells and sparkly things. The kids talked to more of the
other campers and met lots of people and dogs.
In the late afternoon we drove back to the
east a little way to where we’d seen a sign saying Escarpment Lookout. We
turned off onto the road indicated and it quickly climbed the escarpment and
came to an area marked ‘Sunset Views’. We parked and got out – the sun was
setting over the river and the escarpment and it looked amazing. We watched for
a while then had a look at a memorial that was up there, commemorating and
telling the story of the horse brigades that patrolled this area of Northern
Australia in the 2nd World War. It was fascinating, a piece of Australian
history I knew nothing about. Another couple arrived and were looking at the
monument too – and the lady said that her dad was one of those soldiers. She
was so excited and moved to find all this information about it and to know that
more people would learn about these men. From there we drove further along the
escarpment and ended up at a lookout over the town of Timber Creek, with a
different view of the river. It was quite peaceful up there. We had to drive
past some parts of the bush that were being burned off, amazing how much less
fierce these fires are than the ones at home.
Back to camp where had hotdogs for dinner
(I had soup) and the kids played on the iPad for a while. It was another
pleasant evening, temperature-wise, and the forecast was for a coolish night so
we did close the windows again. We were slightly concerned about where we’d put
our tent – there was dampness around one of the pegs, which was pegged in
outside the bollards, so wondered if we’d hit a pipe or something.
No comments:
Post a Comment