May 29-31 The East Kimberley

We left Katherine and drove for a couple of hours before stopping at Sullivan Camping Ground for morning tea. The camping ground is in the Gregory National Park. Dogs were actually welcome in the camping area. It was a short stroll down to a lovely creek, which had both a large, wide area of water as well as rapidly flowing shallow stretches over rocks. We liked the spot so much that we decided to stay for the night. I discovered that there was no gold in the creek bed and we enjoyed a refreshing bath in the creek, despite the now ubiquitous warning signs about the risks of crocodiles in any waterway in this area.

We met an elderly couple who were staying there for a second night. During our chat we worked out that their daughter lived in Alice Springs and lived next door to our Ruby. What an amazing coincidence! They told us that there were about 10 vehicles in the previous night. We were a bit worried that the camp ground would fill up during the day, but people came and went with the exception of 1 car and this was a left-hand drive Land Cruiser emblazoned with the logo – www.twodutchies.com. We chatted with the 2 dutchies, who had swapped their home in Holland for the car and the opportunity to spend time touring around Australia. And then New Zealand, then South Africa, then South America, and then somewhere else, perhaps never to return to their homeland. That makes our little gap year trip seem almost lame in comparison.

We had a quiet and restful night. And forgot to take any photos.

The area around Timber Creek is famous for the Boab tree. It is a truly beautiful tree. It is sometimes called the "bottle" tree, which is very descriptive. They make the long drive a bit more interesting to see the many different shapes and sizes of these trees.

3 young Boab trees

Boab tree complete with seed pods

We heard good reports about another camping site only about 100km down the road, just past Timber Creek. That was our target on the following day. We got there in good time (before lunch) and found a camp site. Caravans kept pouring in to this place. By 2pm, the last of the available sites was taken. Too many and too close for us. And we noticed the neighbours were equipped with a generator. There is nothing worse than trying to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of camping in natural surroundings when the motor of a generator starts up. So we packed up and left. On our way to the camp sire we had visited a lookout at Timber Creek. We noted that there were some nice spots suitable for camping. So we went back to the lookout and spent the night. Good decision. Great views and very, very quiet. The only concern was that we could see fires across the valley in the next mountain range where they were back-burning and the wind had sprung up quite gusty. We survived the night and were very happy.

The dogs enjoy the view a rugged mountain ranges at a stop along the way

Our camp site at the Timber Creek lookout

The view from our camp site

The view at sunset

Another lovely view at sunset

The view after sunset, of the fires across the range

Time to cross the border and get in to Western Australia. There is actually a border control point and all vehicles are stopped and searched. No fruit and vegetables are allowed. Even the dogs were searched for any hidden goods (grass seeds in their coats, I presume). We unsuccessfully tried to finish a packet of trail mix (nuts, seeds and dried fruit) before arriving at the border. We offered the remainder of the mix over to the border guard who delighted in telling us that that sort of food is OK. After stuffing ourselves with as much as we could eat, we haven’t had any desire to eat any more since.

The other thing that happens at the border is that clocks get wound back 1 ½ hours. That’s crazy! Sunrise was about 7am – now its 5:30am. And it’s pitch black night at only 6pm. Poor old Spike – his body clock was set for 5pm EST as his dinner time. He struggled with moving to central time. He’s finding it very difficult to cope with Western time. And we’re finding it difficult to cope with Spike after about 3pm in the afternoon.

We passed through Kunuurra, the first town in WA. It’s quite a large town with a large lake/dam that is part of the Ord River / Lake Argyle scheme. We had a picnic lunch in the Celebrity Tree park, but only realised that it had trees planted by celebrities after we left. We checked out some caravan parks, but decided to drive on towards Wyndham. Along the way is a place called the Grotto. The Grotto is a grotto, a pool of water tucked into the rocky corner of sheer cliffs. In the wet season it can be a spectacular waterfall. For us, it was a cool calm pond with a trickle of water dripping from the mossy cliff faces. To get to the Grotto was a short but steep trip down 140 steps, so I did it on my own while Jude minded the dogs. One of the best places I’d seen.

The cool pool at the bottom of the Grotto

A view from the other side of the Grotto

We found a place to spend the night a short distance on from the Grotto – Maggie Creek. Lovely spot, which we initially had all to ourselves. We had a refreshing bath in the creek, watching of course for the possible crocodile attack. By the end of day, 3 other vehicles had also pulled in to the spot.  

Our camp site at Maggies Creek

The creek view

Very refreshing

We went into Wyndham to see what we could see. Wyndham is the northern most town in WA. It was originally founded as a supply port for the gold mining towns in the region. Now it is resurging as the exit port for iron ore that is being mined in the region. The iron ore is shipped from the mine in huge trailer trucks. We thought the 3 trailer rigs were big and bad enough. These are all 4 trailers long. Brand new shiny orange and blue trailers, which we were passing on the road at a rate of every 15mins at some times. That’s a lot of iron ore being shipped out and more road traffic than we wanted to contend with.

Wyndham is perhaps best known for its lookout – the Five Rivers Lookout. It’s a terrific view in all directions. I take their word for it that there are 5 rivers out there. You can also see the port area and Jude was lucky to see the big iron ore trucks unload their pay dirt. The truck simply lines up along side a dumping area and each trailer is tilted to pour its contents out. Quick and easy, and then off for another load.

View of one (or two) of the rivers from the lookout

Another river; another mountain range

Note the pile of iron ore in the middle of the photo

We had a bite to eat at a lovely modern café and contemplated the advertisement in the front window – for sale at only $60,000. It seemed very popular amongst tourists and locals in the time that we sat out the front. If it wasn’t profitable, it wasn’t due to a lack of customers. However, we are still in holiday mode. Places to go and see. Maybe later...

And did I mention the big crocodile?

We went back to the Grotto as we had to pass it on the way back to the highway and Jude hadn't seen it yet. We heard the local radio say that fish had died in the water of the Grotto so don't swim in the water there. But we saw lots of fish and lots of different types of fish. We also saw 3 goannas in the water and the lady coming out before us even said she saw a platypus. Nothing wrong with the water. Beautiful place.

We drove along the highway for a while. Saw a camp site but already filled with a dozen or so caravans. We drove a little further and lucked out - we found a side road to a lookout. It was well back from the highway, secluded and no-one there except us. A lovely place to spend the night.

View from the lookout

Another view from the same lookout

Our campsite

Jude enjoying the view

Nice sunset

Our morning view from the caravan window the next morning

May 27-28 Katherine

After arriving at Katherine, we decided to stay at a caravan park for 2 nights so that we could get around and see the sights without having to tow the van. We checked into one of the dog-friendly parks - Springvale. It is at the site of an old homestead, the home of the original pioneers of Katherine. It has a fresh water spring flowing into the park and into a swimming pool and into a lagoon. The park has its own resident crocodile called Elvis. However, we were a bit disappointed with the facilities and the "crowds" of other campers and this reconfirmed to us how we much prefer to free camp in secluded areas.

The old Springvale Homestead

Jude and dogs walking in the parkland of the caravan park

Kangaroos coming out at dusk at the caravan park.



They were obviously intrigued when they saw me



Elvis, the resident crocodile at Springvale caravan park

Here's one reason why we didn't want to stay any longer

Katherine also has natural hot springs, so we checked them out (twice). The springs themselves are great. The amenities nearby were disappointing again - dirty toilets, broken showers and picnic area littered with beer cans.

We went out to the neighboring national park to see the Katherine Gorge. A bit tricky again with the dogs that had to be left in the car. I did a quick walk up to a lookout while Jude minded the dogs. Not ideal, but it works. The walk and the gorge were pretty impressive and apparently there is a lot more to see and do in the park if one has the time. Another thing for our next visit.

Robert at the lookout over Katherine Gorge

View of Katherine River through the gorge

First live snake that we've seen on our trip so far. This one was spotted in the Katherine national park.
I think its a deadly tree snake but what would I know.

Our original plan was to set off to Darwin. However, Katherine is the turning point to the west and during our stay we decided that we would head across to the west towards Broome. We will come back to Katherine and then on to Darwin before heading east across to Cairns. Being winter, this is the best time of year to spend in tropical northern Australia.  (Please note that any of our plans are subject to change at any time and without notice...)

So we left Katherine on the Victoria highway heading for Western Australia.