Step 89 Cooinda – Katherine – 330km's (including side trip to the gorge)

Saturday 23^rd July

Our Torquay friends had already departed for their day trip by the time we got up but we did have a quick chat to the family behind us before leaving this morning. Five weeks into an eight week trip with her husband and three kids and the mum has had enough. Yep, two adults and three kids in a station wagon and a camping trailer. That's not a holiday.

Uneventful drive of 250 km's or so down to Katherine and we checked into the Big 4 Low Level Caravan Park. All very pleasant but it's all go go go for the Kendalls this week. So after a quick lunch it was off to the world famous Katherine Gorge to take the (boat) tour.

Again, the sign posting leaves a lot to be desired and we end up parking in the wrong car park before moving over to the correct one.

Editors note: No seriously, the signposting was just down right misleading. My story, I'm sticking to it.

The park at the boat ramp is absolutely full of bats. 

They would have to be the smelliest animal around. Maybe that kids song is right:

Jingle bells

Batman smells

We opted for the two gorge tour today. It goes for two hours, you can take longer ones that go further down river but two hours sounds about right to us.

Incidentally you can also paddle your own way down and up the river in kayaks. As Vicki and Herb did. Well Herb paddled. Maybe next time for us.

That's not going to work
You need to put the paddles in the water

Again the superlatives fail me. Truly spectacular and although we know the gorge was formed by the continual wet season floods it is still difficult to imagine the sheer volume of water that flow through here each year. There are places where the water is over seven metres higher than it is today.

That's croc footprints. They go up there to lay their eggs.
Croc eggs are harder to collect than chicken eggs

Half way into the trip we have to get out and walk for a couple of hundred metres to get past a shallow part in the river. This time though, it's a nice easy walk along a paved walkway. No climbing, no clambering, no falling over.

Is this camera on ?

Then it's back into another boat for the second half of the trip.

Back at MM, while DI prepared wine o'clock I jumped in the pool for a quick cool off. Wine O'clock is much quieter tonight without our friend from Torquay.

Excellent facilities at this park. As well as the pool there is a cafe/bar and tonight there is a bush poet performing, followed by a one man band. We're not quite ready for the bush poet scene as yet and by the time the live music comes on we can't be bothered going out. (Maybe we should have gone to the bush poet).

Just an overnight stop here and we hit the road tomorrow for a solid few days of travelling.

Editors note: I have just remembered (well I was reminded) that I may have neglected to publish the results of the reader quiz "can anyone identify the plant in this picture?" from about 3 months ago. The response was underwhelming, so by default the winner was Mrs. V. Hertaeg of Jan Juc with " melons”. Thank you very much Mrs. Hertaeg, your cheque is in the mail.