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| Victoria River Escarpment, Northern Territory |
I don't know what made us decide to
stay overnight at the Victoria River Roadhouse as we pulled in for
fuel, late on a Northern Territory July morning.
Perhaps we took the Grey Nomad's
experimental driving technique involving an inexpertly executed
U-turn directly in front of us without warning as a sign to stay off
the roads that day.
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| Evening at the Victoria River Roadhouse - and Sign!! |
Perhaps the imminent full moon
threatened the same thing.
Or perhaps the iconic Victoria River
Roadhouse, nestled below the wild Victoria River's magnificent
escarpments between Katherine in the Northern Territory and Kununurra
in Western Australia just looked too inviting …
Whatever the reason, we soon discovered
we'd lucked out with one of the most spectacular campground settings
in remote Outback Australia.
And 5 completely unexpected
extraordinary experiences that make this remote outpost on the
Victoria Highway WAAAY more than just a fuel and food stop.
So … what's to do? Here's how WE
spent a stay of less than 24 hours at the Roadhouse!
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| Sunrise through the new; and from the old Victoria River Crossing Bridge, Northern Territory |
1 Get a photo of … well,
EVERYTHING!
From the iconic Roadhouse sign to the
wild outback landscape to the moonrise over the escarpment* and
sunrise over what is arguably Australia's wildest river, it's almost
impossible to take a bad photo (although I did my darndest!).
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| Moonrise over the Victoria River Escarpment, Northern Territory |
BUT … here's the catch. You won't
get good pix by spending all your time having happy hour in the
campground or drinks at the bar.
Here's my tip. Do the other things on
my list, and the photos will take care of themselves!
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| Victoria River Roadhouse and Campground from Escarpment Lookout, Northern Territory |
2 Admire the landscape from the
Escarpment Lookout!!
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| I think it's a Kimberley Rose?? |
Heading west up the road and round the
corner, a reasonable walking track (with some steep sections) winds
up from the valley over the rocks and onto the escarpment.
It's worth the effort for the
staggering views over the Victoria River Valley, and down to the
roadhouse and campground, nestled amongst the trees.
The fantastic array of wildflowers**
were a pleasant surprise!
And because it's in the valley between
escarpments, the sun on the RED rock enhances the incredible view at
virtually any time of the day!
3 Get close to Australia's Wildest
River!!!
If you DO try to get close to the
river, don't get TOO close – crocodiles are common in these parts.
And while we didn't see one on the Roadhouse stretch of the Victoria
River, on
our crocodile cruise at Timber Creek, a couple of hours
west, we saw more crocodiles in a couple of hours than in the rest of
our lives put together!
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| The Escarpment Lookout, Victoria River Valley, Northern Territory |
The height of the old bridge compared
to the new gives an indication of how much water flows through the
river crossing during the wet season. The many campers who didn't
take the 5 minute stroll down onto the old bridge missed an excellent
opportunity for those sunset or sunrise photos where the escarpment
GLOWS!
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| Victoria River, Northern Territory |
A short drive south along a gravel road
down to the river gave a different perspective. On the lookout for
the crocodiles infesting the river, we weren't expecting the
buffalo*** that somehow wandered between us and our car …
4 Eat at the Roadhouse Restaurant
...
… and have a real multicultural
experience!
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| Victoria River Roadhouse by Day! Northern Territory |
The pierced Nordic backpacker**** who
rattled off her practised spiel as we checked into the excellent and
scenic caravan park nestled between escarpment cliffs of the Victoria
River Valley was only the first in a string of overseas tourists we
encountered during our short stay.
An eclectic mix of staff representing a
smattering of other European countries variously served us drinks,
took our order, served our meal and cleared our table.
And the other diners weren't all Grey
Nomads on an extended happy hour, either! My shameless eavesdropping
picked up at least 10 different accents from both sides of the
counter in the small dining room – with Aussies way in the
minority.
More fools them!!
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| Livistona Palms and Red Cliffs at Joe Creek Walk, Victoria River Valley, Northern Territory |
5 Walk the Joe Creek Loop!!!!!
The guidebook 'suggests' this walk is moderate
grade, but I wasn't so sure ... a steep, rocky track
straight up the escarpment; a narrow path under a soaring cliff;
gravel crumbling underfoot.
But the next day at Timber Creek, the
one-legged man with crutches***** on our crocodile cruise told us
he'd done it the day before and I felt like a big girl. Hardly
surprising because I AM a big girl, but you know.
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| Joe Creek Walk Amphitheatre, Victoria River Valley, Northern Territory |
Difficult or no, however, this walk
delivers the goods. Red rock, livistona palms, Aboriginal Art,
natural amphitheatre glowing RED in the evening light. It even
overshadowed the public toilet which sadly, wasn't quite scenic
enough to make the cut …
And if I can do it, and a one-legged
man with crutches can do it, what's YOUR excuse?!
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| Couldn't resist another RED Rock/Moonrise/Escarpment shot ... Victoria River Escarpment, Northern Territory |
This remote outpost in the Aussie
Outback is the real deal. But like so many Outback places, the only
way to see it is to stop and explore. Looking back, it's hard to
believe we spent less than 24 hours there – but I see at least one
more 24 hour stopover in my future ...
* I can't guarantee a moonrise for
YOUR visit!
** Nor can I guarantee wildflowers!
*** Wild buffalo might not appear!
**** And Nordic backpackers might not
turn up for YOUR visit!
***** And I certainly can't guarantee
a one-legged man with crutches!!
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