We had camped only 50K out of Katherine, so we were in Katherine early, around 9.30. The first caravan park we passed had a sign out the front saying it was full and that there were no checkins before 11. We pulled over and called a caravan park that was on the road to the gorge, so we called, they didn't answer, so I left a message for them to call me back (I'm still waiting). As we drove past the caravan park we had called there was a sign out the front saying they were full too.

When we arrived at Kathrine Gorge we went into the visitors centre to see what we needed to know about the gorge and while we were in there we thought we would try our luck and asked about a site. We were surprised when they said unpowered sites weren't a problem, we were a little surprised that it would cost us $48 for the two of us though!

After finding a spot and setting up we went back to the visitor centre and asked about walks. There was a walk of around 5K that took us through different forest types, along the river and up to a lookout over the river. It was a good walk, even in the heat. We had a good view along the river from the lookout and the contrast between the woodlands on top of the plateau and those in the valleys was very noticeable.

Back on the river near the visitor centre we were amazed by the number of Black Flying Fox in the trees, all fanning them selves with their wings to try to keep cool. We looked for information on these bats and there were estimates up in the tens of thousands. It was an incredible sight that night when they all took flight to find food, what wasn't so good was the mess they left on the awning of the camper and the noise they made when you were going to bed.

We had been lucky getting into camp so early, as it was well on its way to being full by mid afternoon. This place reminded us a lot of places we had visited in America, they were handling the huge numbers well, the visitors centre was big and modern, perched up high with a covered deck suspended out over the bush overlooking the river, paths in the area were all paved and trails well marked. This is all great, but not what Julie and I like, helicopters started fling at 8.30 and seamed to be going every half hour and boat loads of people were catch the boats up and down the river. With all these people around there is no enjoying the energy of the place, let alone seeing any of the wildlife. Someone once said to me that we love these places to death, they no longer are what attracted people in the first place, but for some reason people still want to tick them off the bucket list.

After leaving Katherine Gorge we stopped in to have a look at Edith Falls, an absolutely beautiful spot, green grass growing under trees where they have BBQs, pathways to the swimming area at the bass of the falls and a lovely looking campground. The problem was by around 10.30 we had to park up the road with a line of other cars because the carpark was full, as was the campground. After looking around, testing the water and taking some photos we made our leave.

Next stop, Pine Creek where we thought we would pickup some lunch. Pine Creek is off the highway, so we didn't expect much, normally it is a bit of a sleepy old town, well there is nothing normal this year. The place was full of caravans parked in any parking spot available, the caravan park was doing well and the cafe we went into had a sign on the counter asking patrons to be patient as they were short staffed. The food was good and the establishment was lovely, it was made to look like old railway carriages.

After lunch we visited the railway museum, which was quite interesting, they had an old steam loco there and an old carriage, they had been used when they made the film 'We of the never never'. While there our guide, an old chap, told us all about the town as well and when a couple of vehicles pulled up out the front towing caravans, Julie and I said that he had more visitors now, to which he replied, "No, they'll just take a couple of photos from out there and say they have seen Pine Creek and the museum and drive off". He was right, they did drive off.

We then left and said we hoped we would be able to call in for a better look on our way back.

Next stop was near Humpty Doo. The friends that had met us in Wyndham had friends with a property near Humpty Doo where they had said we could stay and set up our camper, we would also meet up with our friends again. We ended up staying for a restful couple of days and in those days we had a look at a very changed Darwin. Julie had been there in 1978 and Michael in around 1998. The new water front area was very nice with lots of eateries, a beach and water park and lots of grass and shade.

After our few days of R&R we moved to a friend of Julie's sisters place in Palmerston. Here we were spoiled with food and a bed in their new caravan. On the Monday though, we had an appointment in Darwin to get new tyres fitted to the van and because we were in the city, we caught up with our friends and another friend who we hadn't seen for two years. We had a lovely catchup at a tavern for lunch. Also while we were in the city Julie and I visited a number of parks along the coast.

Tuesday we headed to Litchfield arriving early so we could have some chance of getting a campsite in the park. We arrived midmorning and were able to get a spot in Wangi Falls campground.

I'll tell you about Lichfield National Park later, along with our visit to Kakadu, two icons of the Northern Territory