Blogs from Timber Creek, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania

Eventually we dragged ourselves away from Mataranka as we still had a lot of ground to cover. Such a lovely place but we couldn't spend the rest of our days floating in a creek! Katherine came and went (maybe another trip - we know it has a lot to offer) and we turned westwards towards the Kimberley. Almost immediately, the scenery changes and Georgi remarks on the flora and the colour and the escarpments. Yes, this is a fabulous place that we are heading to. We see escarpments and eventually Boab trees become common. On my earlier trip to Kununurra in February, the bus had stopped at Timber Creek so that the passengers could refuel. There was a boat cruise on the Victoria River which was advertised. I asked and was told "the operators are on ... read more

Late in the afternoon the day we arrived at Bitter Springs we went for a walk down to the springs and the surrounding vegetation. The area is very lush and pretty. The springs themselves are small but have been set up with areas where you can view the bottom if you choose not to swim. Apparently there are turtles on the bottom. The most noticeable things about the area is that the vegetation has not been degenerated by the sheer number of people who overrun the Mataranka thermal area and it has no fruit bats, hence no stench. Personally we were put off by the amount of algae along the edges of the springs themselves. That did not deter anyone else but us. When we went through Mataranka in 1990 it was smelly but lush and ... read more

After Kakadu we stopped overnight at Katherine to replenish our supplies. The evening was entertaining. First we had fighter jets screaming overhead numerous times. We assumed that it was the guys from Tindal base practicing night manoeuvres. We have come to the conclusion that we must look approachable. After dinner as we sat outside sipping our wine, a young Chinese man approached us and asked if he could borrow an implement to cook his 2 minute noodles. Then his three companions appeared, to join in the plea. The two boys and two girls sounded a little desperate so we loaned them our wok. They were heading to Darwin to try to find work. The next day we headed west. As we approached Timber Creek the countryside changed. We began seeing spectacular escarpments, lots of creeks and ... read more

Mercredi, comme prévu nous allons à Edith Falls qui se situe à Nitmiluk National Park. Après une bonne marche dans les roches et broussailles, on arrive à un premier bassin. Le décor est magnifique et bien que l’eau soit fraiche on pique une tête bien agréable. On continue de marcher jusqu'à un autre bassin où on déjeune sur les rochers. Le retour se fait sous un soleil cuisant et on bifurque jusqu’au bassin principal qui est impressionnant. On se baigne à nouveau mais impossible d’aller sous les chutes d’eaux qui sont trop puissantes. On quitte le parc vers 15h00 et on s’arrête de nouveau à Katherine, ville carrefour quelque soit la direction d’où l’on vient. On en profite pour aller voir Springvale Homestead, la plus ancienne propriété de pionniers de Northern Territory (fondée par un fermier ... read more

24-8-09 We went into town & did some grocery shopping, tried to catch up with the guy that sold us the Satellite dish, but no luck . Left for Victoria River 195 km away & set up in the Road House Caravan Park , $20 a night. It was very hot 38 deg, we left the girls in the Air Con & went to see the old Victoria River Crossing . We had asked the lady in the Road House weather it was safe to swim there & she said it was safe if you kept an eye out for crocs. We arrived & you needed a 4 wheel drive to get to the crossing, once there we walked the crossing & decided to sit in the small rapids & keep our eyes peeled. We did ... read more