So, where to begin? I had several goals while visiting Gregory National Park. My first was to track down some full-breeding plumage Purple-crowned Fairy-wren. I had seen them before, but never in full-breeding plumage. After that, I wanted to explore the region for a couple of days, look for some of the escarpment birds, such as White-quilled Rock-Pigeon, visit a few birding sites a bit further west, and see some of the region’s wonderful finches, such as Gouldian and Star Finch and Yellow-rumped Manikin. That’s not asking too much.

Some Background Notes and Where to Stay
First, a bit of background to Gregory National Park. It’s ~160 km west of Katherine on the Victoria Hwy and covers 1.3 million ha, which is big. It’s been described to me by a friend of mine, Tim Bawden, as one of the most beautiful places in Australia. This is because it features open woodlands that are dissected by fantastic rugged escarpments and deep gorges. The magnificent Victoria River carves and weaves its way through the top end of the park. To me, it reminds me of the area around Lawn Hill  in north-west Queensland. Indeed, there are a lot of parallels in terms of plants, animals, birds, and the landscape generally. In my opinion, Tim Bawden was right, Gregory National Park is one of the most beautiful places in Australia!

At Gregory, I camped at the Victoria River Roadhouse. In October and the late dry season generally, staying at the roadhouse was a good option. They had some large trees that provided permanent shade, and there are good showers. The average temperature was around 38 degrees Celsius, so the order of the day was cold showers. There are also basic cabins here. It is worth noting that there is another option for camping is at Sullivan Creek, 17 km east of the Victoria River Roadhouse. It is a small, but good campsite. There’s also a caravan park at Timber Creek and a range of campsite in the south end of the park.

My rental car for the trip was a Mitsubishi Outlander, which proved to be a perfect car. Being AWD, it can travel all the roads in the places I’ll mention below. In addition, the new Outlander is designed so you can sleep full length in the back.

A final thing to note. When packing your bags for the Top End at this time of year don’t bother packing warm clothes, such as jumpers, warm long trousers, etc. You’ll never wear them. For example, to give you an example of the heat, while showering, I never used the hot water; the cold water was always warm to hot.

Plants in Gregory National Park
Here’s a quick rundown on the plants at Gregory National Park. It’s an extremely remote area, and features tropical and semi-arid plant life. There are a number of iconic trees in the park.

The Boab (Adansonia gregorii) is a widely recognized icon of the Kimberley and Victoria River Regions. It’s an interesting species in terms of phytogeography, representing the ecological link between Australia, Madagascar, and continental Africa. It was culturally significance to the local Ngarinyman people. Some trees are sacred sites, while others have carvings dating to the pre-European contact period. European explorers carved names and dates on Boab trunks, the most famous of these being the ‘Gregory Tree’. This tree marks the site of the base camp of the North Australian Exploration Expedition led by Augustus Gregory in 1855-56. Ferdinand Von Mueller was a member of this expedition. Von Mueller is one of Australia’s greatest botanists. For instance, as the director of the Melbourne Botanical Gardens, he pioneered an appreciation for the importance of Australian native plants. Von Mueller named the tree Adansonia gregorii in honor of the expedition leader.

Another of the iconic trees of the park is the Victoria River Palm (Livistona victoriae). It’s confined to sandstone range country, where it grows in escarpment gullies and along streams where there’s permanent seepage water available for its roots. When you first drive into Gregory National Park, the sheer majesty of these trees is one of the first things you notice. The trunk can grow to be 18 metres tall. The fruit was an important food source for the local Aboriginal people, and the fronds were useful as place mats and for covering food in bush ovens.

Aside from those two trees, the two most prominent woodland tree species were Small-fruited Bloodwood (Corymbia dichromophloia) and Northern White Gum (Eucalyptus brevifolia). While the plateau side slopes and valley are dominated by Darwin Box (E. tectifica) and Desert Bloodwood (C. terminalis) woodland with tussock grass and Curly Spinifex (Triodia bitextura) understory. In the open-woodlands, you also find Jigal Tree (Lysiphyllum cunninghamii) and Turpentine (Acacia lysiphloia).

Along the ephemeral creek line and the banks of the Victoria River, there were Northern Swamp Box (Lophosyemon grandiflorus), Durin (Terminalia platyphylla), Ghost Gum (Corymbia papuana), Broad-leaved Paperbark (Melaleuca leucadendra), Canary Cheesewood (Nauclea orientalis), River Red Gum (E. camaldulensis) and the iconic Boab (Adansonii gregorii).

In addition, it’s here that you’ll find River Pandan (Pandanus aquaticus), Leichhardt Tree (Nauclea orientalis), Freshwater Mangrove (Barringtonia acutangula), and grasses such as River Grass (Chionachne cyathopoda), Grass (Mneisthea rottboellioides), Black Speargrass (Heteropogon contortus), and Dardy’s Oats (Arundinella nepalensis). The grasses are important, as they hold the banks together when the river floods, and they are the favored habitat for Purple-crowned Fairy-wren.

One of the most interesting vegetation habitats at Gregory is the vegetation that grows in and around the rocky overhangs and gullies. These plants occur in the caves and under the huge red sandstone cliff faces that tower over the foothills. These were the areas used for human shelter and for rock-paining. Although the surface is often barren, plants are able to tap the subsurface moisture by sending roots deep into the ground or relying on seeping or dripping water. The vegetation is usually safe from fire and includes species such as Figs that normally associated with remnant rainforest or monsoon vine thickets. This is the habitat in which the Victoria River Palm occurs, as well as plants such as Celtis (Celtis australiensis), Xanthostemon (Xanthostemon psidioides), Swamp Satinash (Syzygium angophoroides), Smooth Chastetree (Vitex glabrata) and Cluster Fig (Ficus racemosa). Another intriguing plant found here is a fern called Dicranopteris linearis. Known locally as Ngabujbu, it prefers moist, shady conditions where there is water seepage. From a birdwatchers point of view, it’s interesting because it’s one of the favorite roosting sites for White-quilled Rock Pigeon. The pigeons create a network of tunnels throughout the fern thickets, providing a cool environment and ideal shelter from predators.

If you have time to look, there are a few rare species limited to the park. Eucalyptus gregoriensi, first noticed in 1996 and only named in 1998, is a white-stemmed, small tree that’s known from four places on the sandstone plateau in the west of the park. Melaleuca triumphalis was also first discovered in 1996 and is only known from the Victoria River Gorge in the eastern sector of Gregory National Park. In the Northern Territory, Grevillea miniata is found exclusively in the park, while the rare wattle Acacia stipulosa occurs around the Paperbark Yard campground. There are also several small woodlands of Lancewood (Acacia shirleyi), the most westerly recorded for this wattle species.

The main weed problem in the park is Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens), a native to South Africa. The dried plants are capable of working their way into the mouths and hooves of the larger mammals, causing injury and discomfort. As a result, each year the park hosts the “Devil’s Claw Festival”, an eradication program run by park staff and volunteers. Now that’s a great idea. A public festival to eradicate weeds! Perhaps this is an idea for other national parks in Australia to think about.

Animals of Gregory
The main macropods I saw while visiting Gregory were Common Wallaroo, Antilopine Wallaroo and Agile Wallaby , the latter very common around the Victoria Roadhouse. Northern Nailtail Wallaby also occurs at Gregory National Park and, in rocky areas, look for Wikins’ (formerly Short-eared) Rock Wallaby – a species that’s easy to see at Nourlangie Rock in Kakadu. The incredibly cute Spectacled Hare-wallaby is also patchily distributed in the Gregory.

Other native animals include Echidna, Dingo, Savanna Glider (split from Sugar Glider, Common Planigale, Stripe-faced Dunnart, Rakali (Water-rat), Forrest’s Mouse, Delicate Mouse, Western Chestnut Mouse, Common Rock-rat and Long-haired Rat – the latter being the favored food source of Letter-winged Kite. The Kimberley Pebble-mound Mouse, once thought to be restricted to the Kimberley, has recently been recorded at several sites in Gregory National Park. It occurs mainly on stony and gravelly hill slopes and is interesting because it builds mounds of stones and pebbles around the burrows in which it sleeps. While Black Flying Fox and Little Red Fly Fox are common there, not to mention over fifteen species of microbat.

For the record, there are nine introduced fauna species recorded including Donkey, Feral Horse, Feral Cattle, Water Buffalo, Camel, Wild Pig, Rabbit, Cat, Black Rat and, of course, Domestic Mouse.

There is a fantastic array of reptiles in the park, with seventy six species recorded. The waterways are home to large numbers of both Estuarine Crocodile and Freshwater (Johnstone’s) Crocodile. In terms of lizards, there is thirteen gecko species and approximately thirty skink species. Monitors to look for Ridge-tailed Monitor, Pygmy Mulga Monitor, Long-Tailed Rock Monitor, Pygmy Rock Monitor, Yellow-spotted Monitor, Sand Goanna and Merten’s Water Monitor. Many of the monitors are considered vulnerable because of their propensity to eat Cane Toads and die from the ingested toxins. Thorny Devil has been recorded at Judbarra, representing the northern extension of its range. Other lizards to look for include the Slender Blue-tongued Lizard, Common Blue-tongued Lizard and Centralian Blue-tongued Lizard, as well as the Two-Lined Dragon and Gilbert’s Dragon. Look for three species of legless lizard including Hooded Scaly Foot, Burtons Legless Lizard and Sharp-snouted Delma. Pig-nosed Turtle, the only member of the genus Carettochelys, occur in the Victoria River.

In terms of frogs, one of the fauna highlights of Gregory National Park is the Magnificent Tree Frog. First described in 1977, it is a large, impressive frog, mostly restricted to the Kimberley but extending eastwards as far as Timber Creek, Jasper Gorge, and Joe Creek.

Gregory’s Birds
Gregory has a wide selection of key target species, most notable being Purple-crowned Fairy-wren, White-quilled Rock-Pigeon and Sandstone Shrike-thrush. While it is also a brilliant place for Australia’s most spectacular finchess such as Gouldian and Star Finch and Yellow-rumped and Pictorella Mannikin. Other species to think about while birding are Chestnut-backed Button-quail, Pale-vented Bush-hen and Varied Lorikeet. Both Victoria River and Gregory National Park also seem to generate more than their fair share of Grey Falcon sightings. Masked Owl is also occur in Gregory National Park, but little is known about this population.

The Roadhouse
While staying at the Victoria River Roadhouse (as mentioned above in the introduction), there was a flowering Desert Bloodwood in the campground. When these trees flower, the nectivorous birds go crazy! It was full of lorikeets, both Varied and Red-collared Lorikeet, as well as some honeyeaters such as Banded Honeyeater and Little Friarbird.

Great Bowerbird was a common campground bird, as were Red-collared Lorikeet, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Little and Silver-crowned Friarbird. Aside from that, birds Red-backed Kingfisher, Pheasant Coucal, Red-winged Parrot, White-breasted Woodswallow, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Spangled Drongo, Paperbark Flycatcher and Crimson Finch. An unusual sight was seeing Blue-winged Kookaburra hunting insects at night at the street lamp near the campground. At night, I heard Large-tailed Nightjar, Australian Owlet-nightjar, Barking Owl and Southern Boobook. Also in the campground Agile Wallaby were everywhere! Note: Purple-crowned Fairy-wren occurs around the Victoria River Crossing Bridge next to the roadhouse. I had a brief look without any luck.

Victoria River Boat Ramp
The Victoria River Boat Ramp is probably the most accessible site for seeing Purple-crowned Fairy-wren in the Northern Territory. Living in small family groups, they display a distinct preference for the narrow band of pandanus and cane grass along the riverbanks. As mentioned, one of the main reasons I was at Gregory National Park was to see Purple-crowned Fairy-wren in full breeding plumage. I’d seen them before, but in eclipse plumage. They’re an interesting species among fairy-wren, and birds generally. Most fairy-wren when entering an eclipse phase during the non-breeding season revert to a dull grey form of their original self. Purple-crowned Fairy-wren, by contrast, completely changes into another bird – the purple crown turns a greyish-blue, and they develop chocolate-brown cheeks. Their plumage is almost as interesting in eclipse as in breeding. However, in full-breeding, their plumage is spectacular!

As one of the national park signs said, Purple-crowned Fairy-wren has high tastes for real estate, with a preference for river-frontage. This is certainly true. In fact, if you think about the places they’re found (Victoria River or Lawn Hill), these are some of the most spectacular and sublime places you ever visit.

I concentrated my search for Purple-crowed Fairy-wren near the Victoria River Boat Ramp. It is located about 1 km south of the Victoria River Roadhouse. To get there, travel west along the Victoria Hwy, then turn south down the boat ramp access road. I got there early, and found the best place to look was the cane grass between the carpark and the boat ramp. Indeed, I heard them calling almost immediately within the first few metres of the walk to the boat ramp (here -15.630781, 131.133018).

There was a nice selection of honeyeaters in the trees around the boat ramp including White-gaped, Rufous-throated, White-throated, Brown, Blue-faced Honeyeater and Little and Silver-crowned Friarbird. In addition, there were Pheasant Coucal and Dollarbird. Down near the boat ramp itself, Azure Kingfisher hunted for fish, and Crimson Finch were common. It’s worth noting that a range of uncommon species have been recorded along the river here, such as Pale-vented Bush-hen (in grassy fringes), Black Bittern, Star Finch and Yellow-rumped Mannikin.

Escarpment Walk and Around the Carpark
There are two main things to do when you get to the Escarpment Walk (3 km return), accessed from the Victoria Hwy 2 km west of Victoria River Roadhouse.

Firstly, before heading up the escarpment, stop and bird the grassy areas around the carpark. I found the best time here was immediately after dawn. Later in the day (around 10 a.m.), it becomes quiet. Like a lot of carparks, it is a surprisingly good spot for birding. In fact, it can be fantastic. I’ve visited there a few times, and each time I’ve had several flocks of Yellow-rumped Mannikin feeding in the grass. In addition, there were Crimson, Masked, Long-tailed and Double-barred Finch, Golden-headed Cisticola, a few Ground Cuckoo-shrike, some very friendly Rainbow Bee-eater, and several Pheasant Coucal who bashed around the bushes looking for grasshoppers. I got the impression that it’s the sort of place where anything can turn up. When there, it is also worth looking out for Gouldian and Star Finch and Purple-crowned Fairy-wren.

Secondly, head up the escarpment walk, about 3 km return. Again, best in the morning, so you’ll have to drag yourself away from birding around the carpark. There are two main escarpment bird specialties; White-quilled Rock-Pigeon and Sandstone Shrike-thrush, and you may also see Short-eared Rock-Wallaby. I saw a White-quilled Rock-Pigeon about three quarters of the way up, with the bird flushing from rocks before me. This was near an area with a large rocky overhang, pictured in the image above. I didn’t see Sandstone Shrike-thrush here, but I did hear them calling melodically in the distance. Other birds here Pied Butcherbird, White-throated Gerygone, Silver-crowned Friarbird, Yellow-tinted, Banded and Blue-faced Honeyeater, and Black-faced and Little Woodswallow.

Nawulbinbin Walk and Joe’s Creek Picnic Area
It’s worth having lunch beneath the towering foothills and escarpment along the Nawulbinbin Walk, a 1.7 km loop. It starts from the Joe’s Creek Picnic Area, 10 km west of Victoria River Roadhouse. The Nawulbinbin Walk leads from the picnic area up a steep rocky slope to the base of the escarpment, where you will see fantastic examples of rock art and tall Victoria River Palm growing on the scree slopes. Here you can also see the intriguing Ngabujbu Fern. It’s a good spot to have lunch because it isn’t until the afternoon that the sun reaches the walk due to the shade created by the large cliffs located here. The walk is a good spot to look for White-quilled Rock-Pigeon, Sandstone Shrike-thrush, and Northern Fantail; this fantail has a lovely little call, sounding very much like Western Gerygone. On the road into Joe’s Creek, there were a few Spinifex Pigeon (white-bellied form), the only place I saw them at Gregory.

Timber Creek and Policeman’s Point
From the Victoria River Roadhouse, I headed west to the township of Timber Creek. While stopping for lunch, birding around the grassy area in front of the shop was quite good. Timber Creek is well-known because Gouldian Finch occasionally feed on the lawn and drink at the sprinklers. There weren’t any Gouldian’s when I was there but, bird-wise, it was quite active. Spotted Bowerbird were very tame, and harassed me for food. Indeed, I lost half a salad roll, snatched from my table, when I went to the car to get my drink bottle! Large numbers of Red-collared Lorikeet called from the trees, and several Black-chinned (Golden-backed) Honeyeater called in the gums on the south side of the hwy. A walk along the creek at the back of the caravan park proved good for Buff-sided Robin, listen out for their distinctive call.

West of Timber Creek, I specifically wanted to visit Policeman’s Point (here: -15.630144, 130.476565). It’s a well-known spot for finches, and it didn’t let me down. The birding here was superb! It’s reached via track that proceeds north off the Victoria Highway 4 km west of the township.

Parking at the end of the track, between the carpark and the river, there’s a small area of scrubs. These shrubs provided a vantage point for finches and honeyeaters to roost before they’d fly down to the river for a drink. How’s this for a list of finches congregated in one group: Star, Masked, Long-tailed, Crimson and Double-barred Finch, Pictorella and Chestnut-breasted Mannikin! Not bad! Unfortunately no Gouldian Finch or Yellow-rumped Mannikin, but hey, you can’t see everything. There was a nice selection of honeyeaters to drink with the finch, including Banded, Yellow-tinted, White-gaped and Rufous-throated Honeyeater. Another pleasant surprise was a Caspian Tern hawking up and down the Victoria River. I still get a surprise when I these tern so far inland along our large watercourses.

Next stop was the Timber Creek airstrip. Here I saw a small group of Star Finch in the grassy areas beside the airstrips fence line. A good strategy for birding here is to walk west, then east, long the fence until you stumble upon groups of finches. Also at the airstrip were several Australian Bustard, Brown Quail. If you are visiting in late springs or summer, keep and eye open for Oriental Plover.

The Nackeroo Lookout, just south of Timber Creek, proved a good spot for Black-tailed Treecreeper, with half a dozen or so calling around the lookout. Here I also flushed a Chestnut-backed Button-quail. It was in an area of hip-high grass just west of the lookout.

The woodland along the track to Policeman’s Point was quite birdy. Here I saw Australian Bustard, Red-winged Parrot, Black-tailed Treecreeper, Northern Rosella, Brown Quail, Red-backed Fairy-wren, Masked and White-browed Woodswallow, Black-chinned (Golden-backed) Honeyeater, Northern Fantail, and I managed to flush a Spotted Nightjar.

At the start of the Buchanan Highway (the road down to Jasper Gorge), I visited several sites for finches. The waterholes along a small, unnamed creek 4.5 km from the Victoria Highway is known to attract Pictorella Mannikin and Gouldian Finch. All I saw, however, was Masked, Long-tailed and Double-barred Finch. Skull Creek, a further 9 km south, attracted similar species. The Buchanan Hwy is also a reliable (if that’s the right word) place to see Grey Falcon.

Jasper Gorge
If you have time, head down to Jasper Gorge, where there is a permanent waterhole in the gorge. The creek lines here hold a good number of finches, with 10 species on the Jasper Gorges list, including Painted, Gouldian and Star Finch, Yellow-rumped and Pictorella Mannikin. While Sandstone Shrike-thrush, Spinifex Pigeon, and White-quilled Rock-Pigeon (its southernmost limit) can also be seem here; and keep an eye open in the grassy woodlands around the gorge for Northern Nailtail Wallaby.

2. VICTORIA HWY

After visiting Gregory National Park, I traveled back east along the Victoria Highway, stopping at a few spots en route to Nitmiluk National Park. It’s a fascinating drive, typical of the outback, with a pleasant range of features and habitats along the way. It reminded me of the section of the Savanah Way between Normanton and Atherton in Queensland.

While driving the Victoria Highway, I tended to stop and look at any flowering trees. At one spot, there was Desert Bloodwood (Corymbia terminalis) that was flowering prolifically. Like the tree at the Victorian Roadhouse, it proved a magnet for nectar-feeding honeyeaters and lorikeets. The list of species in this one tree was outstanding. How is this for a list! Varied and Red-collared Lorikeet, Little Friarbird, Banded, Bar-breasted, Yellow-tinted, Rufous-throated, White-throated, White-gaped and Brown Honeyeater, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Varied Sittella (race leucoptera, ‘White-winged Sittella’) and Rufous Whistler. That’s basically the complete set of northern woodland honeyeaters, and all in one tree! Stunning!

About half way along the Victoria Highway – I didn’t take note of the location – there is a large farm dam. This proved a drinking site for the largest flock of Red-tailed Black Cockatoo I’ve ever seen. There must’ve been at least 1,000 birds in one spot!

173 km from the Victoria River Roadhouse (21 km west of Katherine), I stopped at Chinaman Creek. I looked for the rare Chestnut-backed Button-quail in the grassy savannah woodland on the northern side of the highway, about 500 m west of Chinaman Creek (here -14.606594, 132.143024). I specifically searched in the taller areas of spear grass, ~ 1 m high. I reckon this time of year (mid-October) is the perfect time to look. The grass is tinder dry and consequently was easy to walk through. My basic technique for searching was to walk quickly and directly through any tall grass, trying to flush a bird. After about 30 minutes, I luckily flushed an attractive female Chestnut-backed Button-quail. Button-quail are bit like Ground Parrot, flushing the bird is only half your task. The other half is hoping that it lands somewhere nearby so you can have a decent look! Then, perhaps, just perhaps, you might get a decent photo. Fortunately for me, she landed about 10 metres away and I was able to walk with the bird for about five minutes. In birding terms, it doesn’t get any better than that!

From Chinaman Creek, I travelled a further 4 kilometres east to visit a series of pools known as Horse Hole. This is another highway crossing of the Chinaman Creek (here: -14.571294, 132.178172). (If you’re coming from Katherine, it is 16.3 km west of Katherine.) The water holes are reached via a small track that leads north of the Hwy for ~100 m. I parked near the old Victoria Highway. Horse Hole is a well-known site for Gouldian Finch, Hooded Parrot, and Chestnut-backed Button-quail. By the time I reached there, the heat was oppressive ~40 degrees, and bird activity was low. I did manage to see several Crested Shrike-tit. This is the northern race whitei, known as the ‘Northern Shrike-tit’, a good candidate for being considered a separate species. It’s worth noting that Black Bittern have also been recorded here, a bird that tends to move to the waterholes along inland creek lines during the dry.