In need of a dust respite we decided to stay at the Timber Creek Roadhouse and Caravan Park. It was old and the amenities left a bit to be desired but it was wonderfully shady and had a pool. One night turned into three.
Happy red flying foxes (fruit bats) hung in the trees over the creek, chattering away. There was a little bridge over the creek which we tentatively crossed, a little worried about salties, but we later learnt that the owners hadn’t seen a salty in twenty years and the freshy’s were so full they weren’t even interested in being hand fed.
We visited Policeman’s Point for a great view of the Victoria River and took a 4WD track up to a lookout for a view of the town and escarpments.
We got up close and personal with some of the burning that was working its way along the roadside; sure burns slower than a bushfire in South Australia.
We spent a day driving through the Judbarra/Gregory National Parks, visiting the old Bullita Homestead which had been turned into a great little museum and included a help-yourself tea and coffee station on the back verandah. We were amazed to see how much water was still in the East Baines River just behind the homestead.
We did a bit more 4WDing which included driving along a long section of creek filled with boulders and a couple of short hikes with views. We took another 20km 4WD track on the way home, which included some pretty nasty limestone areas and took us almost 3 hours to negotiate. The steep jump up through the creek at the end of the track had us thinking that we might have to turn around and go back the way we’d come, but the Pajero got us through once again – love that car!
On our last evening in Timber Creek the kids fed the resident kites with buffalo meat. The speed and agility of these birds was incredible to see, catching the meat mid-air with ease. The kids have become mad-keen birdwatchers on this trip, so this was a pretty special treat for them.
Touring in a tin can 