Good Morning Victoria
River!
Low 15°c (59°F) – High 28°c
(82°F)
OK so perhaps a good sleep was wishful thinking. Aside from a barking dog I think I woke about
4 times throughout the night – each time thinking it must be about 6.00am. The first time it was only 12.15am if that
gives you any indication of my night.
When I did finally get up just before 6.30am and stick my head out the
door to check out if there was any photo opportunity for a sunrise – there was
that bloody dog again and it started barking at me. So apparently you aren’t allowed to even go
out of your van in the morning and obviously it spent the night sleeping under
theirs! I guess what makes me a little
angry at this sort of thing is when the owners do absolutely nothing to try to
stop the dog from barking and just let it continue. So disrespectful especially at that hour of
the morning!
However it wasn’t very long before the dog had a bit of noise competition
and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the people in a caravan just across from
us who had parked adjacent to a shipping container that was now being loaded
onto a truck AT 6.30AM!!!! The
combination of a truck idling and a metal container being dragged onto a metal
tray was enough to wake the dead. I
don’t think anyone would have had an issue getting out of the park this morning
due to over sleeping because of course the dog had to bark at that as well.
We were in no huge rush with only a short distance to our next stopover
and left the park just after 9.30am (and the dog hadn’t shut up all that
time!). The first European to explore the
Victoria River was Captain J.C. Wickham in 1839. He reached the mouth in the
HMS Beagle and duly named the river after his sovereign, Queen
Victoria. I wish we had a little more
time to explore this area ourselves as the landscape is stunning.
It was a short but scenic drive through to Timber Creek which I’ve read
mixed reviews about over the past couple of years while researching our trip,
and along the way encountered a wide load that may or may not have qualified as
a big ass something! Not quite sure
exactly what it was but it was wide so I suppose BA applies. We arrived before 11.00am which is the
check-in time and had to wait while a road train carrying fuel offloaded as he
was parked right across the entrance to the park. I had to smile at the entry pass we were
given – 2 adults and a paw child. We
were surprised to find the caravan park behind the hotel was a delightful spot
with plenty of shade and green grass and the amenities on the side of the park
where we were guided to were brand new. The park didn’t take long to fill up
and by about 5.00pm pretty much looked as though it was at capacity.
There is a huge bat colony here and they were certainly making their
presence felt the entire day. One
wonders when they actually sleep as the noise continued until sunset! We enjoyed a lovely salad and roast pork
lunch and spent the afternoon relaxing, reading, and of course – me catching up
on blogging and photos as we had no reception at all at Victoria River – really
its only downfall. Around 5.30 or so I
wandered around the park to have a look and took in the creek that runs along
the boundary. Low and behold what did I
see floating around – a Freshwater Crocodile about 1.5 metres long. Apparently a few days a week they feed a
couple of crocs from the park so I’m guessing he just had his days wrong.
Timber Creek is an isolated small town on the banks of
the Victoria River and is the only significant settlement between the
Western Australia border and Katherine, in an area known for its scenic
escarpments and Boab trees. In
September 1855, Augustus Charles Gregory and a party of 19 men
reached the mouth of the Victoria River. The party's schooner proceeded
along the river, landing near the present town of Timber Creek and a base camp
for the expedition was established. Gregory named a nearby stream
"Timber Creek" on 24 November while seeking timber to make repairs to
the boat. Gregory inscribed of the dates of this expedition on a large
boab tree near the original campsite, located approximately 15 kilometres
(9.3 mi) from the present town; the tree, and the inscription, can still
be seen today.
The Timber Creek School is a public primary and middle school catering
for students from Transition to Year 9. As of August 2010, there were 59
students. The school employs five full-time teaching staff, as well as a
support staff member; 96 per cent of the students are Aboriginal.
Timber Creek has an automated power station capable of generating 1MW
for the community. The generator was installed in 2005 and is owned and
operated by Power and Water Corporation.
We’re here for two nights and hope to take a drive tomorrow to check
out the area a little more.
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