Top End Treats

From Kununurra we travelled the short distance to Lake Argyle - Oz's largest man made body of water currently several metres above its normal level and covering a vast area with islands, coves and headlands stretching away in all directions. A massive torrent was pouring down the main spillway as we arrived at the camp ground for a couple of nights giving us time to enjoy the sunset cruise courtesy of Triple J Tours and their knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. A few freshwater crocs were seen plus marsupials on the islands and birds of prey overhead all set against a setting sun and rising full moon. A walk to the relocated homestead provided an insight in to the former station's harsh beginnings when cattle were walked here several thousand miles over three years from Queensland as well as the more recent changes when following the dam's completion the lake filled far more quickly than anticipated during a very wet 'Wet' season.

A night at the excellent Victoria Road House camping area brought us to Katherine and its gorges where we stayed in the national park and enjoyed a couple of good walks out to viewpoints over the dramatic main gorge and down one of the side gorges. A wind had blown away the smoke from bush fires and cooled down the days which were reaching the high 20's whilst at night it was pleasantly cool to enjoy the spectacle of thousands of flying foxes or fruit bats leaving their tree roosts.

Katherine's museum filled us in on much of the area's history and the damage caused by extensive floods in 1998 and 2006 whilst its shops enabled us to fill up with food and fuel, enjoy lunch out and then stay here at Spring Vale Station where Elvis the freshie lives apparently benignly in the billabong - quite a cool character.

The van is booked to leave Perth on August 26th and we fly out the same day so return to the UK in ten weeks time giving us plenty of time to finish off up here, drop south through Alice Springs and meet up again with friends in both the south and west before we leave.

Photos at this link, locations at this one and the slides come from our journey through SA and WA back in May.