Todays trip takes us west , the roads could be smoother - very uneven - we found it hard to stick to a speed that would let us flow along , so plodded along at 80 klm/hr for most of the trip .
Today was the first day that the vegetation matched what we had imagined savannah grasslands would look like . Leaving Katherine , there was a lot of trees that gradually gave way to more grasslands . The trees varied a lot , predominately green , but we would drive through sections with grey foliage , then back to green again . Most of the road was fenced either side and there were hundreds of cattle grazing , some spots more than others .
We had climbed up out of Katherine , and the road now started to go down more the closer we got to Victoria River . The flat lands started to get undulating and we were starting to see escarpments and many more high hills . The ground was turning a deep red colour , termite mounds were also a dark red .
As we drove into Judbarra Gregory National Park , a transformation occurred - the grass inside the park looks like it has been watered - it was green !! It was spinifex , but it was green !!
The escarpments were also a deep red colour , green grass & blue skies - what a combination !!
The road followed the Victoria River for a while before reaching Victoria River Roadhouse , where we had some lunch and decided whether to stop or continue on . The scenery coming here was quite amazing , probably the best we have seen in NT - this was also what we thought NT would be like !!
It was hard to concentrate on driving with all this scenery overload happening around us !!!
We decided to leave the roadhouse and continue on - that lasted 200m before we stopped for more photos , back on the road , we lasted about 2 klms this time - yep more photos !
The scenery started to back off a bit , we couldn't have gone on like that for too much longer !!!
Onwards to Timber Creek , the escarpment receded somewhat , the road also got back to its uneven self again - you could tell you had left the national park - it was better there . The national park is in two sections - we had just been in the east section , the west section is a bit further on and stretches to the south . There are a lot of 4wd tracks in the west section that require you to have your vehicle set up reasonably well with a winch , 2 spare tyres , a good jack , tyre repair gear , sat phone , epirb , etc , etc , it has made us realise we are not set up to go on these tracks !! Its a steep learning curve we are on at the moment !!
At Timber Creek by 1:30 and set up , we wandered down the street and booked a cruise for this afternoon down Victoria River . It left at 4 pm , so we went & had a swim beforehand . At 4pm we were picked up out the front of the park in an old school bus , and taken on a brief tour of Timber Creek , before heading down to Big Horse Creek , and getting onto the cruise boat - and quite a weapon it was - a large aluminium boat that would seat 34 people with 2 x 200 Hp Honda motors on the back .
There were only 16 of us , so there was plenty of room on the boat . Neville gave us a running commentary all the way down the river . The river was quite wide and is the major river in the NT , it averages only 3m deep though and Nev knows where all the rocks & sand bars are , as we weave our way down the river 35klms .
We start to see some crocs on the banks of the river , big and small , some blending in with their surroundings better than others .
Nev has been feeding the whistling kites for years - they are a bit partial to buffalo chunks !! and will swoop down beside the boat getting the meat off the river bank .
Onward down the river , the right hand side is now an armed services bombing range and training area - it used to be a large cattle property till the gov't bought the owners out . There is another cattle station on the other side of the river .
Before much longer , the escarpment was getting closer , and we zoom past a house boat and then down to a pontoon , where we are stopping for half an hour . There are nibbles & drinks supplied .
Nev throughs a fishing line over the side and gets one of the other guests to do the same - they are catching catfish to feed the resident sea eagles . Nev catches the first one and puts it out on a platform , then bags his pliers on the side of the pontoon , shortly after , on cue a sea eagle arrives and swoops down picking the fish of the platform as it flies by .
He catches a few more and also feeds the kites , who swoop down and pick the fish out of the water .
Before long its time to get back on the boat and head back , but we don't go too far before Nev slows the boat and turns it around for us to witness a stunning sunset over the escarpment behind us .
With that picture embedded in our memories , we headed back at great speed back the 35 klms to the bus , reflections in the river were superb .
We probably saw more big crocs out in the water as we whizzed by them on the way back , nearly hitting a couple - this boat gets up and boogies - we were traveling about 50mph on the way back !!!
And so ends a great day , we arrive back at the jetty at dark , and clamber back onto the bus for the slowest 10klm trip we've had .
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