Edith Falls to Kununurra

From Edith Falls we headed back to Katherine and spent two days at the Springvale Homestead which is the oldest homestead in the NT and is on the Katherine River. We listened to a talk on the history of the place. In the early days settlers were allowed to choose a block the only requiremnet was to stock it within 3 years. This resulted in severe overstocking which lead to degredation of the land. Lickily the manager talked the owner into cutting down on the numbers of sheep he stocked which turned out to e a good decision as the area was too hot for sheep.
Unfortunately we were camped near the camp kitchen and there was a noisy family there so it spoilt the peace and quiet of the place. There was washing and shopping to do which kept me busy and Brian changed the oil.

The next day I went to the Cycad Garden which had some very ancient and interesting plants.




From Katherine we turned west across the Victoria Highway towards W.A. The road takes you past the Gregory National Park which has some spectacular rocky ridges which are layers of rich red rocks dotted with ghost gums on a background of green. We were surprised how green it was.

We spent the night at a free camp called Sullivan Creek. A short walk down to the creek revealed a peaceful scene of greenery lining the creek banks. That night we joined with other campers for a happy hour and we laughed and laughed.
We left early the next morning for our next free stop of Saddle Creek. We knew this was a popular one so you need to get there early to get a good spot. Even so it was busy and all afternoon the vans rolled in. It is set at the foot of a rocky outcrop and the evening sun on the rocks brought out the brilliant colours.
We were starting to see some boab trees with their thick rounded trunks and fingerlike branches. Some are huge and very old whereas other grow right beside each other and create some interesting shapes.
Crossing into WA there is a quarantine station where you have to stop and they inspect your van and your car. You are not allowed to take any fruit, vegetables or honey in. We had some wood in a bag and they took that.

From the border it is only 70 kms to Kununurra – a town which we love.We were very lucky to get into the CP that we stayed in last time we were here 2 years ago.
It looks right our over the Lake which is covered in lilies. There are masses of birds here and the Buddha Rock acts as a backdrop (it looks like a reclining Buddha) As the sunsets in the evening the rock changes colour and turns red and reflects its glory on the Lake. We were in the exact same shady site we were on two years ago with a clear view of this scene.

The clock goes back 1 and1/2 hours so we had to adjust to it getting dark at 5.30 instead of 7 and getting light at 6 instead of 7.30