Round Australia by bike - Day 020 - Katherine to Timber Creek

Day:	020
Date:	5 June 2008
Start	Katherine
Finish	Timber Creek
Daily Distance:	277km
Daily Speed:	24.6kph
Relative to Schedule:	-586km
Daily Podcasts:	Here
GPS Track	Here
Journal:	On the road soon after 1:00am, I cycled out of the sleeping Katherine and turned west on the Victoria Highway towards Western Australia.  The lights were soon behind me and I was once again riding beneath a cloudless starlit sky.  There was almost zero traffic and it wasn’t too cold.  The road was undulating, though gradually climbing, and it was relatively slow progress.  I stopped a couple of times for sandwiches I had purchased the previous days and enjoyed the bush at dawn.  As the sun rose, a large dingo sauntered out of the bush to my left, took a look at me, deciding I was of no consequence, and continued on its way into the bush to my right. Soon after, I entered the Victoria River region which comprised deep red rocky bluffs bordering the Victoria River valley.  The scenery was great and offset the strengthening headwind.  The road gradually descended into the valley and then followed its floor until finally crossing the Victoria River adjacent to the Victoria River Roadhouse (187km).  I arrived about 10:45am and had a late breakfast sitting on their verandah watching the world go by including the tourists and a National Park Ranger organizing a burn-off of grass surrounding the roadhouse.  Wherever, you go up here, it seems like they are deliberately slow-burning the undergrowth, and the smell is familiar and occasionally tedious. From the Roadhouse only had 92km to go to Timber Creek, my target for the day, but the very warm weather and gradual ascents made it hard work.  I arrived about 3:15pm and took the opportunity to do a load of washing as well as my other chores.  Dinner was a hamburger and chips, and I bought sandwiches and other supplies to get me to Kununurra (228km) the next habitation en route.  I may be camping by the roadside tomorrow night as there doesn’t look likely to be any accommodation where I will be.  I’m planning the usual very early start tomorrow morning, especially since I recall the first 200km tomorrow is very exposed and prone to be very hot.