Katherine Gorge to the WA Border

Having spent a lot of time driving around Kakadu, we chose to do a walk rather than a cruise along Katherine Gorge. Feeling energetic,  we set out on an 8.6km walk to a couple of lookouts. 
We were impressed by the new mountain bike trails and bike repair station.
Tempted by the possibility of seeing just one more lookout, we went a bit further,  and then decided to come back via a loop track, so ended up walking about 12km, but it was worth it!
After walking down more than 200 steps from the last lookout, it was a relief to find the Cafe still open, so I had an iced coffee AND an iceblock.
At this stage, we were unsure when the WA border would open, but guessed we might be waiting a week, so headed a little way in that direction to Flora River Nature Reserve. We discovered a lovely quiet shady campsite amongst  bauhinia trees, with clean facilities, including hot showers, fireplaces and starry skies. It seemed a good place to relax for a few days.
Unfortunately there was no swimming,  but there were some tufa waterfalls, similar to those at Boodjamulla. 
With no phone or internet coverage, it was difficult to get any specific information on the WA border closure, although we did listen to the radio news bulletins.  We travelled on to Victoria River, and heard that the border would open in a couple of days.
We decided to continue on to Timber Creek, and then stay a couple of nights at Keep River NP, just a few km from the border.
I really enjoyed the scenery from Victoria River onwards.We did a short walk up the escarpment and,  although there was a lot of smoke haze, the views were stunning. 
The very distinctive boab trees started to feature in the landscape as we headed further west. The Gregory Tree is both an historic landmark, carved with the dates of the explorer Gregory's base camp on that site in the 1950s, and a significant tree for the local aboriginal people. 
Keep River NP scored very highly on scenic value for effort. Just a short detour from the highway, walks of just a few kms gave us these lovely views. 

Climbing up to a lookout we found we had internet, and found out that once again we had to update our border pass again. So as well as enjoying the view, we had to do admin. 



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