Today we headed 30km out of town to Katherine Gorge to do the boat trip through the gorge.
On the way out there we stopped of at Knotts Crossing just outside of town. We learnt that this area was the site of the original settlement of Katherine - nothing left of those times - we guessed everything has been taken away by the intervening wet seasons. The crossing itself is very pretty however its obvious there hasn't been a vehicle over it for a long time.
Katherine Gorge is now known as Nitmiluk after being returned to the original aboriginal owners in 1989. The area is now run jointly by the owners and the NT government and they've done a great job in opening it to tourists while keeping this natural paradise intact.
As we arrived at the park we were greated by tens of thousands of fruit bats hanging in the trees alongside the river. We were told they are not normally here at this time of year but have stayed on longer than normal because of the extended wet season.
Then off for our boat trip. We did the two gorge tour - there are 13 separate stretches of navigable waters through the gorge system. WE start out in one boat through gorge one, then a walk across the rocks etc and get into another boat to do gorge two.
We had a cool time and were well informed by our young skipper Lauren.
On the way back into town after our tour, we came across this aircraft on a private property. Turns out it had a crash landing at Katherine airport in 1980 and ended up here. The owner is obviously a collector cause there is a heap of various old gadgets and equipment lying about - they could easily open a museum.
The Campbells
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