Up at 7:30 today , after a cooler night - down to 12 degrees overnight .
Today it was time to go for a paddle , so after loading gear into the ute , we headed down the road to Nitmiluk - Katherine Gorge , it is 20 klm from where we are staying . We drove past lots of properties , some more decorated than others - one had a plane wreck , along with other bits & pieces of machinery , steam engines etc .
Then we passed the heli pad where we flew from 3 or 4 weeks ago over the top of the gorge we are paddling through today . Arriving at the visitor centre at Nitmiluk , I went in and paid the $11 for the two of us to go paddling - this gave as access to 3 gorges . We drove down to the boat ramp and unloaded , then parked .
Off we went , the gorge opening up in front of us , the sides are not overly high here , or appear that way due to the width of the Katherine River . It was 3klm to the first big corner , we passed a few marker buoys and a croc trap - we were told not to swim in the first gorge - that reinforced it !!
After reaching the end of the first gorge , we were faced with a choice - carry the kayak 400m to gorge 2 and continue on , or go for a swim in gorge 2 and return , we took the first option . As we carried the kayak and 4litres of water , lunch , camera , car keys wallet & phones , I started to think it wasn’t a great idea in this heat , but we pressed on . About 100m to go , I carried a lot of the extra stuff down the track and left it where we put in again . Picking up the kayak this time was so much easier - about half the previous weight !! There were 4 tour boats go past us on the way up , all full of people . They have to walk about 400m along some walkways & rocks to get to the 2nd gorge .
We passed a lot of sand banks with signs on them “ stay clear crocodile nesting area “ , and there were croc tracks going up the sand - they are only freshwater ones , but we’ll still give them a wide berth .
Into the 2nd gorge , it has 3 x 90 degree bends over about a 2klm section and the walls of the gorge were starting to close in on us . The rocks are orange & black ,with grooves & crevices & cracks - black from algae that grows where the water flows down the rocks in the wet season .
Ferns & trees & shrubs grow from cracks that seep water , otherwise it’s just sheer rock . Other gorges shoot off to the sides - they haven’t weathered sufficiently to have water in them yet .
The walls turned to vertical cliffs , and echoes from kids ahead of us could be heard for a long way.
The final section to the end of the 2nd gorge , was about 3klm long , and we had arrived . Not sure what time it was - or caring - we had some lunch before heading back - we’d gone far enough !!
It was a stunning place to have a picnic !!
We had a look at the 3rd gorge , and heard someone say it would only take 10 mins to get to the end of it , it wasn’t as impressive as the 2nd , so we weren’t tempted !!
We had a swim before starting back , paddling through this gorge has been awesome , and one of life’s real treats and now we get to do it in the opposite direction - how good is that !!
We kept to the shady side on the way back as much as possible , paddling under rock overhangs & into small caves , the gorge walls were also giving us shade , our swimmers were still damp and keeping us cool .
We finally reach the boat ramp again and get out & carry the kayak up to the grass to dry it out . I looked at my phone - it was 2:30pm - where did that day go ????
We load up and head back to the park , time for another swim , in the pool this time - think I preferred the gorge !!
Beer , cheese & bickies followed , before we packed the kayak up and put it back on the roof racks .
Day done !!! and what a day it’s been , absolutely awesome !!!
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