O what a night!

A bonfire, a series of 'midnight flits', and a visit from some of NT's finest This all took place at a peaceful roadside stop called Sullivans Creek, a nice little roadside stop run by NT Parks.

At dusk there were eight vans or campers at the stop, and we retired early, as is usual on the road. A few hours later we were awakened by some of our fellow travellers - who let us know they were moving on. One van had already left, and a couple of German tourists in a little hired Getz went as well. They all a little were scared! - for themselves and for their equipment.

While we had slept peacefully one fellow (a lone traveller) had continued drinking, and then began to behave in a bizarre fashion. He had prowled the campsite and then progressed to lighting fires, adding a dash of petrol, and enjoying the result. Those parked nearby took the decision that discretion was the better part of valour.

By the time I emerged from the van he had fires on each side of his own vehicle - a Ford van. Soon the fires had ignited the front of the guys own vehicle and nothing that was going to douse the flames. No reticulated water here, and the nearest fire brigade was about 180 kms away, and it was close to midnight.

Fortunately the night was still, and the fire did not go more than just a few feet. My next hour and a half was spent watching it burn, and chatting to an intoxicated owner who did not really seem to comprehend what had just taken place. Some aspects of the conversation were quite memorable - and quite sad as well.
I guess it was years of experience dealing with people with problems, but I never felt threatened. Then again I had not been around before he started lighting the fires, and our van was at least 75 metres from his, not just next door.

As we watched and talked the other campers all departed and it looked like I was going to be watching over this guy all night. He would not rest, and decided to walk to the next stop. Now I was worried that some poor truckie would find this guy in his headlights before he had time to stop! Aside from that Beth and I felt a little more at ease, but still not comfortable enough to sleep. We passed the time watching the fire die, and chatting quietly under the stars.

Just after 2 a.m. a vehicle stopped down the road some distance, and we could hear voices. Shortly after the police van rolled into Sullivans Creek, with our friend in the cage and two polite officers going about their duty.

Forty five minutes later they were on their way to Katherine to find some suitable accommodation for their guest, and maybe to get some rest themselves. It was at least another 45 minutes before we got back to sleep.

In the morning our policemen friends dropped in and tidied up the scene, before heading to their station at Timber Creek.


O what a night!


We were grateful that the first campers to leave took the time to call the police, that the police responded, and we were able to get a few hours sleep before the sun signalled the start of another day - hopefully with less drama than the last one.