Got ourselves up to Katherine Gorge relativley early but it was already stinking hot. We declined to spend more money on boat cruises and too hot to kayak so went for a quick walk up to the lookout instead. We figured Katherine Gorge was somewhere you'd come back to in later life, we were more keen to head for more remote and adventurous stuff.
First time west of the Stuart Highway for me! Took the Victoria Highway through harsh but scenic countryside. Really need to read Hell, West and Crooked to learn about the history of this area. Was very pretty driving along next to the Victoria River with all the rocks and harsh hills around. We passed a few dirt tracks leading south to the desert off the highway, would be great to do some 4wd touring up here one day. One track, the Binns Track, has only just been opened up in the last couple of years. There's something very cool about the idea of turning off the highway onto the dirt, fully self sufficient. We've done that already in the Gulf country (sort of) but not as hardcore as some of these. One day anyway.
We stopped at the Timber Creek township for a look around. Went into the very basic "supermarket" (more like a general store) and I had flashbacks to the store when we lived on Elcho Island. Not much to see so we didn't hang around long, not while there was fishing to be had. We headed up the road a couple of kays and turned off onto a track leading to the river. Chucked in our lines for an hour or so and I got heaps of bites and hooked up a fish but he jumped and got off. Gotta catch one of these buggers! Awesome scenery anyway, the Victoria River is massive, even in the dry season.
A few more kays downriver and we found our campsite and sorted ourselves out before dropping in the yabbies pots and got the lines back in. More bites but didn't bring dinner home. Oh well, a XXXX and another dvd under the stars then...
