Day 36 - Keep River National Park, Day 1

Sunday, 4 July 2021

Still no word from the state government on borders. Obviously not a pressing concern, especially on a Sunday. We pack up and head back into Timber Creek for a last hook up on the internet before heading to the border. If we can’t find out what’s going on online, we’ll go find out ourselves.

It’s late afternoon and not a lot of traffic as we near the border. Next to none, surprisingly. The formidable border station, designed to create the impression that quarantine is taken seriously in this state (which forbids a number of agricultural items from entering), is quiet, save for a few campers set up in the parking lot on this side of the border, and one car in the queue to get across. We pull up behind that car and wait our turn. A police officer, guns on his belt and a chest full of paraphernalia that gives him that alpha-male-monkey look, steps down from the portable office and walks towards our car, clipboard in hand.

Despite the authoritarian armour, the officer is amiable and courteous. This isn’t Lebanon after all. He explains that unless we have a verified booking within two days drive of the border where we can quarantine for 14 days, we’re not allowed entry. He seems sympathetic to the plight of the WAussie traveller, just wanting to come home. He can’t say for sure, but there’s some indications coming down ‘from the top’ that the situation might be changing in the next four or five days. We’re better off on the NT side of the border, he advises. If we go into quarantine in WA we’ll be restricted to our caravan, but if we stay in the NT we’re still free. Go back to Katherine (a mere 400 kms), he suggests, and you can go to pubs and out for coffee while you wait.

We thank him for the information and he allows us a u-turn back into the Territory. A few kms back is the entry to the Keep River National Park. It’s late in the afternoon and we’re pretty sure getting a spot in one of the two campgrounds is a long-shot. They’re undoubtedly full of stranded travellers like ourselves, wanting and waiting to get across the border.

Johan drives faster than he’s prone to on a gravel road, as though getting to the campground quicker might increase our chances. Unlike other parks in the NT, this one seems more organised and regulated – the only tracks off the main gravel road in have clear signs, Authorised Vehicles Only: No Entry. In a pinch it looks like we could park under a boab tree near the side of the road, but it’d be pretty exposed and far from ideal.

As we turn into the side road that leads to the first campground we’re surprised there are no campers parked in some makeshift overflow area. Everything seems so quiet and still. Unpopulated. As we loop around the grounds, we discover to our amazement that there are still 3 or 4 campsites available in the ring of a dozen. We snag a large site on the edge with nice views of the massive red-black rock that towers over the campground. What luck! Where is everybody??