THE distant thunder rolled on as I found a flat site high on the southern bank of the Roper River; the bush campsite within earshot of the fresh rainwater, now gently flooding the old causeway. Overland explorers have been crossing the river at this natural rock bar for nearly 180 years, most famously Ludwig Leichhardt in 1845 (Roper was one of Leichhardt’s crew) on his epic journey from Brisbane to Port Essington, and Augustus Gregory a decade later in 1856, from Victoria River to Brisbane.
By morning, the gentle rain had cooled the late dry-season temperature, and the morning air was calm and heavy. Freshwater crocs combed the causeway for their morning meal. The nearby Yurlhbunji Bridge (opened in February 2018) now virtually flood-proofs the new Roper River crossing on the road east to Ngukurr.
I had stopped by Gregory’s Tree a day earlier and 800km to the west, having just left the Kimberley amidst a two inch downpour and on my way home to Brisbane. I was on a similar-length journey to Gregory and Leichhardt, but nowhere near as
