Burketown to NT

It was an uneventful trip to Burketown, where we refuelled and topped up the water tanks. Good on you Burketown for providing potable drinking water and a dump point for caravanners and travellers.

Burketown was flooded a couple of months ago and residents were evacuated, but you wouldn’t know it today. A very quiet, sleepy little town, with basic facilities. Theo has fond memories of hooking his first barra off the bridge 2 years ago, but it jumped off the hook before he could bring it in and before I could take a photo. I just have a photo of his sad face.

Before leaving Burketown, we stopped at the artesian bore. No swimming or dipping your toes here, as the water comes out of the ground at a very hot 68 degrees.

Drove through the very long (approx. 100mt) water covered causeway across the Gregory River and passed quite a few empty cattle road trains heading the opposite direction. Also had to slow down while cattle were being herded across the road and saw a small herd of wild horses run across the road in front of us and head off into the scrub. We have not seen a lot of wildlife, such as kangaroos, but have seen quite a few dead cattle on the side of the road probably hit by trucks.

After the eventful start to the day, we decided not to push on any further, but found a camp on the side of the road, at Walford Creek, between Doomagee and Hells Gate. The camp is close to the sealed section of road so there was no dust, and traffic stopped about 7pm and we did not hear another vehicle for 12 hours, so it was very quiet. Tomorrow, as the saying goes, we will ‘see you in the NT.’
Wednesday 28th, and we are heading west into the Northern Territory. The road between our camp at Walford Creek and the border was not too bad, but it deteriorated and became very corrugated and dusty after that. We did see a couple of possible campsites a bit further on from Walford Creek, the hard thing to know when looking for a camp, is what is ahead. Note for next time that there are other possible campsites just a bit further on from Walford Creek.

We lowered the tyre pressure on both the car and caravan (8 tyres), and it made a small difference. Upon opening the caravan, very little dust thanks to the dust suppression fan which forces filtered air into the van, pressurising the van, but we found that the cupboard under the sink had come open spilling the contents over the floor, and we also found 7 screws rolling around on the floor, but happy to report they all found a home later. Caravan manufacturers need to use longer screws.

This has been the first full day of corrugations and dust and have passed several road trains heading the other direction and driven through quite a few creek and river crossings. Not as much traffic on this section of the road, as it is a very rough dusty outback road.

Hell’s Gate Roadhouse was an interesting little green, grassy oasis on our journey today. We topped up our diesel at $2.75 per lt (cost $89.43), it did not cost much because we filled up our tank and jerry cans at Burketown the day before.
The name Hell’s Gate originated in the early days of Gulf settlement when travellers moved west through the small gap in the escarpment. Police escorted travellers to the ‘portals of hells gate’ then they were on their own until they reached the safety of police protection at Katherine in the NT.
In those days the lands were unexplored and considered dangerous, and it would well have seemed the gateway to hell. While at Hell’s Gate, we watched a helicopter take off with tourists from an Outback Spirit coach tour. We have seen the price of those coach trips, and all the work is done for you, but they are very expensive. Fantastic way to see the outback if you can afford it.

After over 5 hours travel today, we were so happy to find a campsite and get out of the car and relax in the shade of the caravan. Our (free) camp for the night is on the Savannah Way, on the western high bank of the Foelsche River, just past the turn off for Seven Emu Station. There is one other camper here, so we are not alone.
After a late lunch of a barra wrap and a beer, we went for a walk down to the river to wash the dirt off our feet, then sat watching vehicles drive through the water crossing. Spoke to a motorcyclist who asked us about the depth of the water, then watched as he wobbled and drove through the water avoiding the rocks with water lapping at his feet. I would imagine, not the most comfortable means of transport on this road with the bulldust and corrugations.

The days are about 30-32 degrees, but the nights in the outback cool down to about 17-18 degrees, making it great for sleeping. We have taken the doona off the bed and are just sleeping with a top sheet and pulling up a light blanket if it gets cool during the night. It is a dry heat out here, and we enjoy this much more than the humidity of the coast.Read more