Nitmiluk (Katherine gorge)
One of the serious features around Katherine is the famous gorges. They are 35 k out of town and are best viewed by boat. We checked out the options and decided a 9 o’clock start was not too onerous and in 4 hours you got 3 gorges and smoko at a pool under a waterfall. Bewdy.
We popped out there the next morning and had our first encounter with fruit bats. These are quite large beasts and pretty wiffy too. A big bunch of them were sitting in 3 trees and one with attitude sitting in one on his own. Must have been one cool bat.
Now we are in the dry season, the water flows are more sedate than in the wet and the water level is about 5 meters lower. What this means is you have to walk between the different gorges to change boats. Quite a pleasant experience. The walls of the gorges are spectacular and the plant growth amazing. How they survive high water levels is beyond me.
After getting to the end of the 3rd gorge we back tracked to the waterfall and a few brave folk took a dip in the chilly waters. Sadly we didn’t see a freshwater croc on our trip but other folk in the park went the following day and saw one sunbaking near the starting point. (Else it was a plastic one to give em a thrill.)
Enjoy the shots
Photo 1 the fruit bats
Photo 2 transport for the more athletic tourists.
Photo 3 shooting towards the sun for the sparkle on the water effect
