Blogs from Katherine Gorge, Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 3

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Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Katherine » Katherine Gorge September 23rd 2009

Day 150 - Katherine We’re off to Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge) today so wanted to get up at a reasonable time to make the most of whatever coolness was available in the morning. Our intention was to spend the day canoeing with possibly a walk at the end of the day time permitting. The journey out to the gorge takes about 30 minutes but we still made it just before 8am to join the queue of like minded people! Once you’ve got your tickets you then take the short walk down to collect your canoe, paddles and life jackets. We listen to a short instruction / safety briefing and then we’re off on our own to face the waterway. The transition from land to canoe is surprisingly easy, perhaps some canoeing tactics are beginning to ... read more
Portage point for the 3rd gorge
View over Katherine Gorge
Howells canoeists

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Katherine » Katherine Gorge September 10th 2009

Alice to Katherine After a week’s rest in Alice Springs our exploration of the MacDonnell Ranges had rekindled our desire for touring. We packed up and head off to Gemtree, 140kms from Alice Springs. We had read about Gemtree Caravan Park in an old issue of “On the Road” magazine. It is on the “gem trail” from Queensland along the outback on the Plenty Highway and is one of many places in Australia where you can fossick for gems. Gemtree caravan park is unique in that it offers tours, providing all equipment and instruction. There are basic facilities with great fire pits and barbecues over the pits. However, I would not stay at Gemtree unless fossicking as the park’s appearance is not much more than your average roadside stop. We chose to look for zircons, which ... read more
Devils marbles
Gemtree
New friends


21/7/09 Up early & dropped the girls off at the vet for Doggy Day Care, Then off for our Helicopter Ride. We hopped on & I was holding onto to Den’s hand pretty tight, we took off & the view was amazing from the air. We were taken in a four seater helicopter & we saw all the 13 Gorges from the air, the Katherine river wound it’s way to the Gorges & you could see all the canoes paddling up the Gorge & the cruise boats as well. The helicopter swooped over the Gorge & then flew back .The pilots are very clever how they land the helicopters on such a small spaces. The flight was 15 mins long & informative & gave us a taste of things to come. We drove the rest of ... read more
3  21-7-09  Waiting for Our Helicopter ride I found a friend
11  21-7-09  From Above Katherine Gorge on our Helicopter ride
19  21-7-09  From Above Katherine Gorge on our Helicopter ride


Distance traveled 3276km/4060km(81%).Stayed two nights.Another very short hop from Kununurra to Lake Argyle(70 kms)suggests we are dragging this out a bit…..not really wanting to get to the final destination?Not quite.One of the hidden upsides of being part of the campervan fraternity is the amount of information you share with your fellow ‘vanners.And thus it came to pass in Broome that we befriended an Australian couple by name of Les and Sharyl Tuton….grey nomads from Queensland.Les is a recently retired engineer and a brief “How are ye?” turned into a fascinating discussion about the amazing Argyle Dam which had been built on the Ord River.He has done a fair amount of research into the engineering aspects and other nuances and such was his infectious enthusiasm,we decided we needed to go check it out.This also highlights the appeal ... read more
A short eared wallaby....no fear of cars here
Sue in the warm waters of the lake...crocs?
Sorry....yet another stunning sunset


Distance traveled 3206km/4060km(79%).Stayed two nights.The distance to be covered between Wyndham and Kununurra was a mere 100km making it the shortest leg of the journey so far.Despite it’s relative brevity,it did present an opportunity for quiet reflection.On that day(5th June)it was our 34th day since leaving Perth on 4th May.That morning we had checked out of our 11th camping site so in no small way we have seen and experienced quite a bit of what WA has to offer.How do I adequately articulate what we have seen and done?I wouldn’t even start to try and craft a suitable summary and the best I can do is to simply say……..”See it to believe it”.In one of the travelblog reviews done at Wyndham,we read a message from Bobby Craig which is absolutely spot on.His view is that doing ... read more
The Bungle Bungles from the air...spectacular
Incredible gorges in the Bungles
Back on terra firma after a great scenic flight


Day 48 (Sunday 07/06/09, NJJ) Up at 5.40am to walk to collection point for 6.15am for Katherine Gorge Explorer day trip. Also checked out of the hostel early. I slept much of the first part of the journey as it was dark and there wasn't much of interest. After a few hours we arrived for our 2 hour Katherine Gorge cruise - fantastic scenery and very informative about the local land, people and culture. On then to Edith Falls and another swim in a plunge pool, lovely once again although Wangi Falls day before was better. Drive to Pine Creek where we had a short stop - nothing to talk of. Made it to Adelaide River just before dark to have a look around the War Cemetery then back to Darwin after that. Checked into Chilli's ... read more
More scenery of river
Aboriginal rock art
The Katherine Gorge

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Katherine » Katherine Gorge November 6th 2008

A Darwin on s'est promene au bord de la mer. Pas question de se baigner, c'est la saison des jelly fish, tres venimeux. Chaleur accablante. Il y avait beaucoup d'aborigenes tout au long de la plage. Le 4 novembre est une grande fete en Australie: la course de chevaux Melbourne Race. Tout le monde s'habille chic, surtout les femmes, en robes assorties a leurs chapeaux, sinon elles ont des plumes colorees dans les cheveux. Robes soiree, decoltees, paillettes, tout le paquet. On avait l'air ignorantes de ne pas connaitre ce grand evenement. Les australiens sont vraiment des fetards. Et des cruiseurs!!! (et des buveurs aussi!). Le 5 nous avons loue une voiture : premiere experience de conduite a droite! Diane V est une vraie pro, s'est comme si elle est nee dedans!!! Nous avons commence a ... read more

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Katherine » Katherine Gorge October 22nd 2008

When the Gahn arrived in Katherine they had a bush fire, it seems that a BBQ at one of the airbases nearby got our of hand and resulted in causing a bush fire that was heading for the town including us. So when we arrived it was quite bad, we alighted from the train and made our way through the smoke to the waiting transport where we were taken to Katherine Gorge about 20 minutes from the town of Katherine. As we arrived near the Katherine Gorge, my bravado was starting to thin, what had I done well I'd just booked a helicopter tour to see the Gorge from above. With my fellow passengers, I took to the air in this flying dishwasher and after getting over the fear, it was fantastic as it was my ... read more
The Gahn
The Gahn
The Gahn

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Katherine » Katherine Gorge September 30th 2008

An early start to the day as we headed out to Katherine Gorge for a dawn breakfast cruise to gorges 1 and 2 (there are 13 in total of course!). we drove out to Nitmiluk National Park and boarded the boat at 7am. Yummy breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, tomatoes, mushies, sausages and beans. You could have cereal or bread too and some of the kids had something of everything. Our guide was a big,bearded guy called Taffy and, although he looked Aboriginal, he spoke with an English accent, so who knows where he was from. He knew an awful lot about Katherine Gorge and has been driving boats along there for 13 years (of course!). It's hard to describe the magnificence of Katherine Gorge. God given wonder. The walls of the gorge are so high, ... read more
Joey kicking the footy with other kids at the campsite
morning light on Katherine Gorge
Emma at breakfast


After packing up we headed east of town about 30 kilometres to Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park. We asked a ranger at the visitor centre what path she would suggest if you could only take one. She suggested Butterfly gorge. We made lunch and prepared for a full day of walking. The path was very rugged and hilly; however it was well worth it. The walls were at least 30 metres tall and straight up. The water was very deep and comfortable to swim in. We hopped into the water and swam to the other side exploring little shelves on the canyon walls. We swam upstream and came across a small beach. Once we got to our feet we realized that the beach was a crocodile breeding area. Luckily it wasn’t breeding time! After taking full ... read more




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