Timber Creek

 18 - 20 July 2022

We seem to have revisited a number of places we'd already been to on this trip and previous journeys and Timber Creek was one of them. We stopped there for a night when we travelled Australia in 1991 so we thought a return was in order.

It was only just over an hour from Sullivan's Creek in Judbarra National Park so we hung around the campground chatting and sharing stories before having morning tea, then setting off for Timber Creek. We were set up at the hotel caravan park in time for lunch. We drive down to Hickey's Beach in the late afternoon to look for birds. Not much luck in that department, but a nice spot to spend and hour or more, despite the lack of promised beach.

In the morning we went for a drive to two scenic lookouts just out of town. The first is home to a monument to the "Nackeroos", a local army unit which assisted in the defence of the North during World War ll. As with many such units, little is known by the general population so it was interesting to learn the story of the North Australian Observation Unit.

The second lookout is a little way past the first and offers great views over the township of Timber Creek and out the the Victoria River. The road up to the escarpment is narrow and windy in parts but well worth the short drive.

Freshwater crocodiles inhabit the creek at the back of the caravan park and are fed several times each week. We were there for the Tuesday feeding, which also included feeding the resident black and whistling kites. We don't remember any such entertainment last time we were there when we made our own by taking a bucket of ice and some beers down to the creek. Such simple pleasures are well remembered. 

On the way out of Timber Creek we stopped to walk on the Bradshaw Bridge. This robust structure provides a link from the Victoria Highway to the Bradshaw Field Training Area. You can walk across the bridge but cannot drive across or enter the military area. 

From there we continued west with a lunch stop at a rest area/free camp at Saddle Creek. There were lots of caravans set up there. Although the rest area itself is not very well kept the view is fabulous. After lunch and a chat with some fellow travellers we drove on to Keep River National Park.