Day Sixty Two - September 6th, 2013
Katherine Gorge

After a much needed sleep in, we were on the road by 10 and headed out to the Katherine homestead. Unfortunately, it was closed, possibly for the start of the wet season, so we had to press on. The small grave site just outside the gates made for grim reading. Two children, one which lived only 24 hours and another for 3 short years. It was hard going on this unforgiving land back in the heyday of Katherine.
We drove a little further to the small museum and spent an hour or so learning all about the history of Katherine, from the aboriginal people who live here, to the bombings in the war (the furthest inland the Japanese got) and the establishment of TV in 1974. We also saw the Gypsy Moth, a flying doctors service which gave life to so many in the remote area, and learned about the overland telegraph. That's a lot of information for me to take in, and not being a great lover of museums, I was keen to get to the Gorge.

We drove the 30k down the road, and made it to the visitors centre around lunch time. We sussed out a picnic area for lunch, and ate surrounded by big birds of prey and little finches and lorikeets. Mum wasn't so keen on the roo poo littering the ground, and the ants were everywhere which made it hard to eat, but a beautiful setting by the water made up for it. We set off on a walk, and up the steep cliff face steps leading to spectacular views of the gorge and river below. Mum almost had a fit when she saw a little 2 year old toddling around on the viewing platform, despite there being no danger whatsoever. She's stood way back from the edge the whole time.

We continued with our walk but soon discovered (well, Angus and Elliot realised) that we were on a loop which was too long, and we'd have o turn back if we wanted to make our 3pm cruise. Mum and I would have just kept on walking! We descended the frightful stairs, and took the short drive back to the visitors centre for a cold drink and a little time in the air conditioned building before our 2 hour cruise on the river.

We headed back to our picnic area an our departure site. The cruise was half empty, and we had plenty of space to move around and get good snaps. Our tour guide was funny and informative, but probably not easy to understand if English is not your first language! We cruised up the first gorge, disembarked and walked 400m or so to the second gorge and waiting boat, taking in the amazing views and marvelling at the aboriginal art high on the cliff face. The second gorge was even prettier, and we got a fab view of Katherine Canyon Jedda Rock. The boats for the second and third gorge are towed in by a power boat at the end of the wet season, and the tours for that time of year are done at high speed in 35 minutes! Definitely a reason to visit the Top End again drug the wet! Our guide pointed out a few croc traps, used to get the salties which can get in when the river is running high, and are removed to make the area safe for swimming and canoeing. One of the indicators of a salty is when the strategically placed red buoys have large teeth marks or puncture wounds. Then the rangers move in! There are still freshies all year round, so we were keeping our eyes peeled for them. The gorge is very shallow in areas, and then 43m deep in another! Such diversity. As we headed back, I was looking out at the huge walls of the gorge when something caught my eye - a croc! There was a bit of a tense moment as the guide turned the boat around to let everyone see - what if it had gone, or it was just my eyes playing tricks on me? Luckily Elly spotted him camouflaged on the rock, and we all crowded to the front to get a picture. Mine, Elly's and Angus's(!) first wild freshie! The guide says he will now be known as 'Sophie'! We saw another lazing on the bank on the way home, as well as some great birds. All in all, a fantastic tour and a great way to learn about the rich history of the area, known as Nitmiluk to the aboriginals. If you see the river from the air it looks like a giant snake, or the rainbow serpent. This is a sacred area for the tribe, and they don't swim, fish or drink from the river. New tribe members and pregnant ladies in their culture cannot visit the area, as they believe the rainbow serpent will come o life in some way and destroy the area he created.
We headed back to the dock and were shown just how high the water can reach in the wet, it's crazy! We drove back into Katherine, visited Woolys ad came back to the campsite. Another yummy meal at the surprisingly good bistro, and it's into the tent for our last night in Katherine!