Alan & Lyn's Huge Adventure: It all came in a rush

After some internet problems , we are now with Telstra - so should be better !!!!

After another cool night , we get up at 7:30 . Decisions are made over breakfast to do some maintenance - cleaning the RV , checking wheel nuts & cleaning the ute - it's a job that needs to be done .

Everything completed , we sit back for a few minutes deciding what is next on the agenda - we will go down the road to Knotts Crossing - the second crossing over the Katherine River - and have some lunch there . Good plan , but no tables & chairs , just very fine sand that is very close to dust !!

We head into town and cross over the river , then turn off and head to the Low Level Nature Reserve, which is the first crossing over the Katherine River 5klms to the west of town . We sat down to lunch, while watching some aboriginal kids playing in the sand and in the river - it's pretty shallow along this section . There are some rock platforms , a weir and a low level single lane road bridge and a great picnic spot . There are tall paperbark trees lining the river and some palms , nice green grass - obviously being watered regularly .

Walking down to the river , we got talking to a couple from WA , who have come across the Nullarbor , gone up to Townsville and are heading to Darwin, before heading back to Albany WA , it's taken them 11 weeks to get to here , and have to be back home in 6 weeks ( 4 months to go round Australia - that's some driving holiday !!! )

Back to the ute and headed to the thermal pool - about 2klms from where we are . The pool is fed from a hole in the ground beside the river , where the water bubbles out of the ground - cooler than Bitter Springs , but just as clear . There is a lot of water flowing from this spring , which flows into the river , there are steps and a ramp for wheelchairs . The water was only about 28 degrees , we didn't bother to have a dip .

We drove back into town and headed out toward Nitmiluk Gorge National Park . The countryside started to change from flat to undulating and then into hills - rocky ones at that . Not a great deal of grass around either . There is a helicopter tour spot or two on the way out , so we decided we would stop and check them out . Wouldn't you know it , they had a vacancy for later in the afternoon - we took it .

Off down to the gorge to fill in some time - it was about 10mins away . The park is run by the local indigenous , they have cruises , kayak hire and walking tracks as well as heli tours . There were bus loads of people , car parks were full , as was the restaurant , and tour desk - and that was at 3:30pm.

We headed back to the helipad / grass runway and waited patiently , while 2 other flights happened . Before long it was our turn , safety briefing done , entry & exits shown , safety gear located , safety belts on and away we go . Heading straight over to Katherine Gorge ( Nitmiluk ) , we followed the gorge for a while , then turned and headed back to go to Northern Rockhole , Biddlecomb Cascades , Crystal Falls and 17 Mile Falls . The wet season wasn't good here either , so most waterfalls were just a trickle , although Crystal Falls was still flowing well . Views were excellent , with the top of the escarpment basically flat , and valleys carved out by the rivers & watercourses . Grooves in the the rock continued into the distance and the flat top continues into Arnhem Land and to the coast . We followed part of a 60 klm walking track up to 17 Mile Falls , there is a camping area on top , beside the falls . We followed an escarpment back to the gorge and across the river again to the airstrip . We landed and had a couple of photos taken . The flight was awesome , we got a running commentary as we flew , and the scenery - rugged , deserted , and huge , with many areas burnt to help manage the threat of bushfires .