11 - 13 June 2012

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Monday saw us take off from Kununurra and head towards the Northern Territory border. Unbelievable to think that this entire trip to date, six months, has been spent in just one State, but given Western Australia is about one third of Australia's land mass maybe it's not so surprising.

After taking a photo at the border, almost immediately the terrain got a lot greener as we drove further into the NT. We were driving through mostly National Park so there were some great sights as we moved forward. As the day progressed we needed to find a place to stay for the night and came across a camping ground in the National Park. It was a beautiful spot and once the sun set the temperature really started to drop so we called it a night. Just before bed I went for a quick walk to the toilet and the stars in the sky were brighter than I had ever seen before. With no artificial light for hundreds of kilometres this is a dream for avid star gazers.

On Tuesday we hit the road early as there were a few walks to do at nearby Gregory National Park. The first was one of a kind. As the path led up the rich red mountainside there were some breathtaking views out over the landscape. We were also lucky enough to come across Aboriginal rock art and this was an extraordinary experience as I had previously only expected to see such unique art on a guided tour.

The second walk was tough but led us up through more stunning terrain to a vantage point that looked out over a horizon filled with only trees and a river cutting through the middle. By the time we reached the bottom it was close to midday and time to call it quits as the sun started to make its mark.

We drove to the fantastic Victoria Bridge Roadhouse (possibly the best in the country) and for a few dollars were able to get a shower at their onsite caravan park. The Roadhouse itself was set on a beautiful location and the giant cookies baked that morning were big enough to almost do us for lunch. From there we travelled on to a roadside stop for the night and met some lovely grey nomads and had a spot of afternoon tea with the crew that assembled not far from our site.

It is a real travelling community vibe when you wake at these roadside stops and Wednesday morning was no different with everyone having a chat while packing up and heading off in various directions to continue their respective adventures. Our destination was Katherine and by late morning we arrived. The town itself is a lovely spot and one of the bigger towns in the NT.

The plan was to spend a couple of days but the caravan parks had not received glowing reports. About 10 kms out of town we found Manbulloo Station that is primarily for cattle but I guess over the years the owners had diversified their business and tapped into the tourism industry by creating a site for travellers in the area.

We managed to get a powered site that was set in and under gorgeous old trees and this is yet another place that makes travelling in far north Australia one of the most unique experiences in the world.

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