Day 20 (10 May) – Darwin to Katherine

We left Darwin at 9.00am after calling to make a booking for the Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge tour.  We decided to do this on our way to Western Australia as we had half a day to spare.  I called the National Park people a few times the day before we left Darwin and again before we drove out to book a caravan site and the gorge tour.  No answer.  The message referred you to sending them an email which I did twice.  To this moment (now 7pm) and after we have done the tour (I booked that through the Katherine Visitor Centre), I have still not got a response.  They want tourism but are not answering the phones or emails!!!!!

We stopped at Adelaide River on the way south and called in to the War Cemetery.  Adelaide River was a big military base during WWII and they were attacked by the Japanese many times as were the airfields further north on the road to Darwin.  This place is exceptionally well kept and a fitting tribute to the veterans from this region who died.

Next stop was the Nitmiluk Gorge.  We did this tour a few years back and it was an option on The Ghan stops that we didn’t take, instead doing the Outback Experience.  This place is stunning but I didn’t get the same buzz as I did on the very first visit.

We also came across this Freshwater Crocodile sunning himself on a rock.

We left the gorge about 4.30pm and headed to our campsite at Manbulloo Station about 10km the other side of Katherine on the Victoria Highway heading west.  I picked this from Wikicamps as all the reviews were glowing.  Plus it’s on the Katherine River.  Well, what an eye opener.  I knew it would be a bit rustic but this beats them all.  It’s beautiful under the trees, but the amenities leave a lot to be desired and the river is inaccessible.  There is a sign warning of crocodiles in the river but you can’t get to it anyway.  Still for one night it’s quiet, off the highway, and not crowded.

Tomorrow we have a short run of 300km (about 3 hrs) to Timber Creek which will be a camp behind the hotel.  Again, it got good reviews on Wikicamps, so I’m sceptical now.

Helen’s Highlights/Minnie’s musings

Really enjoyed the Adelaide Creek War Cemetery. The grounds are perfectly manicured and it is a beautiful acknowledgement of the service of so many.

Nitmiluk Gorge was stunning, and I learnt some different facts about the place. Seeing 3 freshwater crocs was a definite highlight, particularly as we were in the boat and not on the bank.

 Given Michael’s past history when it comes to booking motels and campgrounds I was a tad dubious when I first saw this park thinking that this is another to add to the list, but it is clean and shady; however, there are lots of bugs flying around (I know, to be expected) but not in my hair and down my blouse. I will definitely be showering in the van as I do not want to share the walk with members of the insect world.

Day 21 (11 May) – Katherine to Timber Creek

Today was a relatively 3 ½ hour drive.  We left Manbulloo Station about 9.30am and headed west to Victoria River Roadhouse, about 200km down the road.  Not much traffic on this leg so far but the scenery was beautiful.  It started as flat and uninteresting and in places you could see where the original sealed road was only single lane and they added edges to it to for the two lanes.  Must have been an interesting road with a single lane and road trains.  The scenery then changed and was rather gorgeous with stunning rock formations.

We stopped at Victoria River Roadhouse for a break at about 11.00am expecting a place with yummy food, coffee and booze.  We saw one of those three – booze.  The food was not on the menu until lunchtime and the coffee was instant coffee sachets and hot water.  Very disappointing.  The sign out front was amusing though.  In the planning, I did think about making an overnight stop here because there is a walk along the escarpment.  But glad I didn’t now.

Arrived at Timber Creek about 1.00pm and booked for the night.  It’s about 300km to Kununurra tomorrow and we have a border crossing to go through.  Not sure what will happen there or how long it will take so best stop here for the night.  It’s a nice park at the back of the roadhouse and others were also checking in, so I think it will be busy come late afternoon.

We decided to go for a drive around the town as we had a bit of time before our dinner at 6pm in the roadhouse.  On our way to the lookout we came across a couple of large boab trees.  These are such an interesting shape.

Up at the lookout we unexpectedly came across a memorial to those who served in this area in WWII.  These guys were the North Australia Observer Unit keeping watch for Japanese invaders.  They had nothing to support themselves and relied a lot on the local aboriginal tribes for survival.  They became known as The Nackeroos and were self-disciplined relying on each other.  When the Unit was disbanded the troops found it hard to adjust to the Regular Army discipline. A note on the plague stated that one of them (Corporal Alan Ashbolt) when transferred to an Intelligence School in Bathurst NSW went AWOL and was charged.  He was let off for the following reason:

“Corporal, you have spent 18 months with the most notoriously undisciplined unit in the Australian Army.  And for that reason I am forgiving you”.

Bradshaw Field Training Field is just north of Timber Creek and we could see the access bridge across the Victoria River.  This area was a former cattle station purchased by Defence.  They built a dirt airstrip for landing C-17 Globemasters.  It’s also part of the North Australian Range Complex and is used for Australian and US forces ground and live fire exercises.  The bridge is out of bounds to civilians.

The view over the town and Victoria River was stunning.

At the end of the lookout was a 4WD access road that we thought might take us higher up the escarpment.  So into 4WD low range to climb the rocky track.  The car kept beeping and 4LO light flashing.  It didn’t seem like low range but we went up anyway.  I couldn’t stop the beeping and after trying many times going forward and reverse to get it to stop and lock in, finally with a clunk it engaged.  So down we went in low range.  Helen took a few pics and it doesn’t look as bad as it was.  Ok, now to go back to high range.  Bummer, it won’t come out of low range.  Tried everything and finally called Luff Motors in Yass to see what to do.  Yvonne was very helpful but the bloody thing won’t come out.  I was getting really worried about travelling hundreds of kilometres with a caravan in low range.  Just as it had engaged suddenly, it disengaged with a horrible gear grinding noise.  I’m hoping it is now fine and I’m not engaging low range again on this trip until I get it back home for Luff Motors to look at.  What worries me is the 4WD tracks we still have to do into the Bungle Bungles, Part of the Gibb River Road, and Cape Leveque.  Let’s hope all goes well and the track is not one that needs low range.

We then drove down a track to Policeman’s Point where the Victoria River and Timber Creek meet.  It’s just magnificent but full of crocodiles.

At 5pm in the park, they had Crocodile and Kite feeding.  The Freshwater crocs have been in the pond for years and the eldest is about 80 years old.  Above the pond was a family of Kites.  The guy threw meat into the air and the birds caught it in flight.  Beautiful creatures.  Not the crocs though.

Tonight, I’ll be a good husband and take Helen out for dinner.  A Chicken Schnitzel in the roadhouse sounds good.

Helen’s Highlights/Minnie’s musings

Chicken Snitty for Michael and I had a piece of grilled barra. Very delicious. Today’s highlight is that we are not busting ourselves to get to the next place and the hops are shorter and we can relax and enjoy the places we stop at. And what a great place to stop. The best part was seeing the whistling kites and the black tail kites diving down to catch the meat on the fly. Majestic.

Day 22 (12 May) – Timber Creek to Lake Argyle

We were going to have a sleep in this morning but last night we received a text to say that our son-in-law Matt was going to be interviewed on FM104.7 radio.  So as we are behind the east coast by 30 minutes the sleep n didn’t eventuate.  Matt is the Executive General Manager of Pegasus, a charity that works with disabled kids and horses.  Matt was a star.  He should be a radio personality.

We left Timber Creek about 9am and headed west.  It’s about 200km to the Western Australian border and I was hoping we had all our paperwork in order.  They have a quarantine checkpoint for fruits and vegetables coming into WA but they now also have restricted access because of Covid 19.  We needed to apply for a border pass at least 7 days before entering.  There was still a constraint that we could be forced to isolate at our expense for 14 days if we had been in a hotspot area but as far as we knew we were clear.

The process turned out to be easy.  The quarantine inspector set off with Helen to search the car and caravan while I dealt with the two policemen on the border pass.  They scanned the documents, photographed the number plate on the car and asked me a few questions on where we had been.  “Good to go” was the reply.  Relief.  We are in WA.

The turnoff to Lake Argyle is only about 20km into WA.  The scenery and colours are just stunning.

We arrived about 11am WA time.  There is a 2-hour time difference between WA and the east coast. So for us it was really 1pm.  Lunch time.  The reception check-in at the Lake Argyle Resort and Caravan Park was a line up.  At this time of day and this early in the season I was surprised.  Later, one of the staff told us they were not expecting it to be this busy at this time of year as it’s the shoulder season before the peak tourist season.  They are working with limited staff and are run off their feet.

We set up and drove the 70km into Kununurra for shopping as we had to eat or give away our fruit and vegetables to cross the border.  Interesting place Kununurra and even more so with an incident that I will let Helen tell you about.

Helen then went for a swim in the infinity pool. This is what this place is renowned for.  Stunning views.

Later we went to the bar in the reception area and I had a Matsoe’s Mango Beer.  Matsoe’s is a small brewery in Broome where we are heading and this beer was very nice.  So much so I had a second.  Helen had a boring Coke No Sugar.  We met Nigel No Friends there again too.  Here he is in the beer garden at Lake Argyle.

The sunset over the lake was stunning.  Tomorrow night we get a better view from on the lake itself as we do the evening sunset cruise.

Helen’s Highlights/Minnie’s musings

I actually have a ‘lowlight’ today as well as massive highlights. We went into Kununurra to replenish our food stock. I had given all our fruit and vegetables to the family who were in the next van to us at Timber Creek as they were heading east, and I was not going to throw all the stuff in the bin at the quarantine station. When we got to the supermarket, I could not find my purse and I was 100% sure I had taken it out of the van. We rang the caravan park and asked them to look where our car had been parked and around the caravan to see if it was there. I actually felt physically sick as I was SURE I must have dropped it. Michael was quietly stressing (which is most unusual for him not to explode) and quickly took some cash out in Kununurra in case we had to cancel cards. Raced back to the park only to find it on the bench. I think I am losing it as I still can’t remember leaving it behind.

The infinity pool was very cold but I really wanted to go to the edge and look down at that stunning view.  Which I did.