OUTBACK ODYSSEY - KATHERINE

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Day 6 - Katherine & Nitmiluk National Park

This morning we drove back to Edith Falls which is in the northern part of Nitmiluk National Park. There was no shortage of water here and yet the surrounding countryside was so arid. Kevin and the kids went swimming but the water was a bit cool for me. I was surprised at how large the plunge pool at the base of the falls is - it would be a good 100 - 150 metre swim over to the actual falls from the edge of the pool. Saltwater crocs aren't really much of a problem here but I still couldn't relax completely. Because of this, we decided to swim where there was already another family of four - safety in numbers I guess.

There is a campground here with lovely grassed sites - I've become obsessed with checking out the grass for the campsites ever since our experience at Jabiru. 😱 There is also a small kiosk and the amenities are clean.

Our gorge cruise was booked for 3pm so we still had a bit of time to fill in once we got back to Katherine. Kevin and I decided to do a bit of shopping while the kids sat around in the airconditioned cabin getting their fix of TV. Katherine isn't a large town but it seems to have a decent variety of shops. The camping shop was quite well stocked (if a little overpriced) and there was even a computer shop. We tried getting another SD card for my camera as I had run out of space on the one in the camera (and had forgotten to bring the cable which links the camera to the laptop to enable the photos to be uploaded) but they didn't have one for my camera. In the end, we managed to get one from the Betta electrical store.

It took us just over half an hour to get out to Katherine Gorge from Katherine itself and we had been told to be ready to board the boat about 15 mins beforehand. We arrived at the carpark about 20 mins before the boat was due to leave and thought we were doing really well - until we were told that we had to walk to where the boat was and it was a 10 minute walk! As soon as we got to the boat mooring area, they boarded everyone onto the boat and we set off down the river. It was still way up in the 30's temperature wise but there was a nice breeze as we cruised up the gorge. We passed a group of canoeists who were returning back from their trip up the gorge and I was thankful it was them and not me having to paddle a canoe in that heat.

At the end of the first gorge we got off the boat and walked a short distance to the mooring at the start of the second gorge. Obviously during the wet season you can cruise right up the gorge without disembarking but as the water level drops the cruise boats can't get through. It's not far to walk and the path goes past some aboriginal rock art. Once we got back on the boat again, we began the cruise up the second and third gorges and the late afternoon sun began to bring out the beautiful reds and deep rust browns in the gorge walls. There were little overhanging cliff ledges that were home to maidenhair ferns and larger overhangs where swallows had built their mud nests. I couldn't get over how crystal clear the water was - apparently it isn't always that clear, particularly just after the wet season, but we could see fish in the water and even the rocks on the bottom in some places. It's truly a magical, awe inspiring place and definitely should be on everyone's list of things to do.

It was still daylight when we got back to the cabin so we thought we'd take a quick look at the hot springs. Once again, the water was waaaay too cold for me but the kids went swimming. It was only a short swim though as it was starting to get dark so we headed back to our cabin for our last dose of technology for a day or two.

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Photos

The stunning 2nd Gorge
Our tour guide told us that this is the deepest part of Katherine Gorge