Sullivan Creek Campground | This Adventurous Age

SUNDAY 10 JUNE SULLIVAN CREEK CAMP TO VICTORIA RIVER R/H 16kms

It had become obvious by the late afternoon, yesterday, that Sullivan Creek was not a suitable place for staying any longer. Too many people too close together. This is the trouble with half way decent low cost or free camp areas. So we packed up and moved on.

After only 16kms, reached the Victoria River Roadhouse. While John refuelled – $1.62cpl – M and I had a quick look around.

The campground looked very attractive and this would be central for walks M and I wanted to do. John was not happy that we’d “messed about” with last night’s camp, only to come 16kms today, before wanting to stop again. However, we didn’t then know how good this was, or how unsuitable Sullivan Creek would turn out to be.

Our powered site cost $20 a night. The campground was huge and grassy, with plenty of shade trees. It was very pleasant – and not all crowded! There was some TV – but only one channel, relayed from the roadhouse.

Set up camp, then set off to do the Escarpment Walk, before lunch. Had to drive along the highway for a couple of kms, to get to the carpark, from which the walk started.

This 3km walk involved climbing up to the top of the scarp. There’s that dreaded word “climb” again! It was quite steep in places. Taking photos provided an excuse to stop and rest my cramping calf muscles – always an issue on uphills.

Along the way were boards featuring some of the stories of the local aboriginals, that explained how rivers (and hence gorges) were made and how rain was made to fill these.

A local tree was flowering profusely at this time of year, and its brilliant yellow blooms were a distraction from the broader scenery.

There were excellent views from the top of the Escarpment, over the ranges, the Victoria River and associated gorges, and over our campground.

**Highway, Roadhouse & camp complex, tree line of Victoria River below the escarpment**

And what goes up must come down again…….

After lunch back at camp, we stirred ourselves again, and drove 10kms to the turnoff to the Joe’s Creek picnic area – 2kms along a gravel track. Here was the second walk we wanted to do in this area. This one was only a 1.7km circuit – however, distance is not always the indicator of difficulty! It just tells you for how long, roughly, you are going to be in pain!

**Escaprment of Victoria River valley from Joe’s Creek track**

From the carpark, in the picnic area, the range rose in a tall semi-circular escarpment. It was worth driving in here just for that outlook.

**Joe’s Creek valley – from part way up the walk track**

Our path wound through the spinifex and scrub, and then up a loose rock scree slope, through clusters of Livistona palm trees, to the base of the almost vertical scarp face.

The track along the base of the scarp wall took us past aboriginal art works on overhanging rock sections. One of the figures reminded me of the Lightning Man depictions at Nourlangie Rock in Kakadu. Another, an elongated being with a striped body, was similar to something we’d seen up near Kalumburu in the northern Kimberley. I found it interesting that there were these apparent similarities from across such a widespread area.

Then we descended back through some more scree slope and palms, and wound back to the car park, all the time with those imposing scarp walls encircling us.

**The black scar of a wet season waterfall**

This walk had been very scrambly, in sections. John did well, considering. All of us were leg weary by the time we got back to the vehicles.

Since we were close by, decided to take the short 4WD track to the Old Crossing of the Victoria River. It was only in 1970 that the road bridge near the Roadhouse was built across the river. Until then, traffic had to use the Old Crossing – basically a rock shelf in the river. It would have been impassable for significant periods.

It is easy to forget how recently it really was that these regions were opened up to the sort of modern access and travel that we enjoy today.

Our final little sidetrack for the day was to drive down a road near the Roadhouse, that led to a place on the river where boats could be launched, into what was a long reach of the river. We had to walk the last part of this, not being sure if there would be room to turn our rigs around at the end. It was a narrow little road through very tall grass.

Decided to have another, lazy, day here, tomorrow, in this very pleasant spot. John was content to do so, being happy that there was some TV.

Both walks today were excellent, but neither had been easy. The clearly hotter days made exertion that bit more difficult. The nights were still cool, though, and we needed to change into long pants.

SATURDAY 9 JUNE DUNMARRA R/H TO SULLIVAN CREEK CAMP 426kms

We left the bitumen at Dunmarra and drove west to Top Springs – some 180kms on a reasonable gravel road. In 2000, we’d camped here but it seemed the Roadhouse at Top Springs now no longer offered camping. The area we’d stayed in was fenced off.

Refuelled – $1.75cpl. Treated ourselves to cold drinks and ice creams. The days were starting to seem hotter.

From Top Springs, the Buntine Highway was narrow and sealed. It was interesting enough, with some low range areas breaking up the grassland sections. Along the way we passed the turnoff to the Birrimba station, once owned by a lady I knew back in my teaching days, who was an advocate for the needs of isolated students. I wondered idly if her family was still there.

At the intersection with the Victoria Highway, we turned west and thus onto a road travelled before – most recently last year. This time, we had the luxury of leisure time to explore.

Gregory National Park is slightly strange, in being divided into two different sections, with considerable distance between them. It is about 85kms by road between the parts, though south of the highway they are closer. I presumed, from the irregular boundaries, that both sections had been pastoral leases. The section between them was now marked on my road atlas as Aboriginal land. The eastern section contains some of the upper Victoria River and is spectacular range and gorge country, whereas the western part is flatter and has tributary streams of the Victoria River. The Park is regarded as marking the division between the tropical north and the semi arid grassland areas to the south. Thus, like Davenport Ranges, it is biologically diverse.

Pulled into the Sullivan Creek Camp Ground, just inside the National Park, which – according to one of my guide books – was a good place from which to explore that section of the Park. It looked very pleasant – fairly small, with toilet. There was a fireplace and low table in a circular central area, protected from encroachment by vehicles by bollards. The small creek looked lovely.

There were two vans already set up, parked in the most secluded corner of the camp area. We decided to stay and paid our $6.60 into the honesty box provided. Found a place to set up, parallel to the bollards of the central area, with M behind us.

John did not want to pull into any of the nicer, bushy corners, because he wanted full sun on the solar panels. He declared that he would decide where we parked, and that he did not want my input, at all! The result was that he did not get my input – and parked the rig pointing the wrong way, so the van door opened out into the road part, not towards the bollards. Eventually, he realized this, and had to drive away and come back from the other direction. Face was lost!

We wandered about, looking at the creek. It formed a small waterhole here which would be very tempting in hot weather. But it also might not be croc free…..

As the afternoon wore on, a surprising number of rigs arrived, the last couple well after dark. They ended up squashed in everywhere, with later comers just parked on the access road itself. I find it quite incredible, how late some people travel. There had also been a few who drove in, looked, and departed again.

**Zoom image of Sullivan Creek Campground**

After tea, we chatted for a while with a couple who had set up by a fireplace not far from us. They were travelling with just a vehicle, being workers moving from one place to another, and set up a foam mattress by the fire, to sleep on. She – an indigenous lady – was an interesting person to talk to. She told us they were moving elsewhere to work because she was sick of her relatives “bludging off us”.

This Adventurous Age

Adventures travelling and working around Australia.

Tag Archives: Sullivan Creek Campground

2007 Travels June 10

2007 Travels June 9