Katherine Gorge...Happy Birthday Lois !!

I have a few things on my 'wish list' and this was one of them...Cruising down the Katherine Gorge...But I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be....

Katherine Gorge is a deep gorge carved through ancient sandstone by the Katherine River. The  Gorge is made up of 13 gorges, with rapids and falls that follow the Katherine River, which begins in Kakadu. 


During the dry season the Katherine Gorge waters are placid in most spots and ideal for swimming and canoeing. In the dry season the gorges become separated as the level of the river falls. The cruises only go as far as the 5th gorge.


We chose to go on a 2 hour cruise taking in the first 2 gorges..a beautiful hot day, made it a lovely atmosphere  to cruise through the gorges...The first gorge was a lot like other cruises we had been on...

After we had been through the first gorge we had to change over boats, we had to walk several metres to connect with the second boat because of the water levels.

 Aboriginal art

 Disguarded snake skin

It was an awesome feeling being at water level to these huge gorges...and I would have loved to canoed down it, but it would have been too risky for me...especially if I would have had an angina attack whilst out there a long away from anywhere...


The 2nd gorge was more spectacular...

I was disappointed that we didn't see much wildlife...birds etc...except one...up high on a ridge...

Grey Falcon

We did see one crocodile asleep on the sandy banks..Most of the sandy banks were out of bounds to land on as they are nesting grounds for the crocodiles...


Today was a special day also.. it was Lois' birthday..so I bought her a tea cake and put a candle on it..and we celebrated at morning coffee...

A Walk through Town..

Katherine, is known as the “Crossroads of the North”. The Katherine region stretches from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Western Australian border and is an area steeped in pioneering and Aboriginal history. The town of Katherine is 317 kms south of Darwin and after the Overland Telegraph was established at Knott’s Crossing in the 1870’s the settlement became a service centre for the surrounding cattle industry. The Katherine Icon, a magnificent bronze statue, greets you as you drive into Katherine from the south. The project of the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association, it was erected in 2002, the Year of the Outback and pays homage to those who work the land, past and present.

Katherine Low Level Nature Reserve is just outside the Caravan Park...It was Built during the War , the Low Level Bridge enabled traffic to cross the mighty Katherine River.

Being only 6 feet above the ‘Dry Season’ water Level, it is impassable during the majority of the wet season (Dec- April) when the water level is 40 feet above it. As all the trees you can see in this photo go under water...

Since the building of the Katherine River Bridge in town the low level area has become a nature reserve and a local swimming hole. The water depth here is only around 3-5 feet max and ideal for families.

Under the Low Level Bridge is a weir which although made of concrete gives the River a bit of character as the water cascades several feet to the lower level.

I gave Little Ted and Patsy a bath today they were getting a bit on the nose...

 

Hot Springs..

The township of Katherine has its own little "Hot springs" to relax in.

Tucked away in the Katherine River bed (Off the Victoria Highway) the springs pump from deep within the earth at a mild temperature. It's just down the road from where we are staying...we checked them out today...The terminology "hot springs" is probably stretching the truth a bit. "Tepid" would probably fit the bill better. Averaging at a lovely temperature of 32C it makes the springs very enjoyable  ...We found it was a very popular place...

Considering it goes underwater each year by about 14-16 metres it does quite well.


We didn't go in today but we came back 2 days later and tried it out... Hummm so warm it was lovely...

22nd - 28th June 2012 Katherine

22nd June

On our way to Katherine today... looking forward to staying for a week...On the way Michael and Lois hit a kangaroo in the middle of the morning... when  you don't expect them to be hopping around the road..Just as well he had a Roo Bar on... it put a nasty bend in it :(

There was a lot of road kill on this road... and the kites were everywhere on the road having breakfast..only just getting out of the way themselves...

We stopped off at Victoria River to check out the damage...

Arrived at Katherine Holiday Park a Big 4 ...what  a great park ... we had a lovely spot to set up in..and plenty of room to move...

The park had a beautiful pool area and outside the pool was an outdoor restaurant and bar and we had live entertainment every night it was great !!

And the bird life is amazing we see something different every day....

A Blue winged Kookaburra