May 3, Nitmiluk, Edith Falls, Adelaide River, Litchfield NP

After breakfast we walked down to the Katherine River for a cruise through 2 of the gorges. It was pontoon type boat and it was nice on the water. Even at 9am it was getting warm, but there was a good breeze at the river. There are 13 gorges, but only 3 are accessible by cruise. After the first gorge we had to walk to the second and board another boat. On the walk we passed Aboriginal paintings on the walls. These were done about 2500 years ago, but some in the gorges are 35,000 years old. We learned about the sandstone rock formation and the Aborigines in the area. The guide also told us how these people used the plants here. The leaves of one plant were put in ponds where there were fish. In about 8 hours the fish would be stunned enough to be picked put of the water.

After the cruise we drove to Edith Falls. We ran into the couple next to us at the Nitmiluk campground. They were from Holland, spending 6 weeks touring. It's their 7th year to vacation in Australia. At Edith Falls we spent some refreshing time in the water, then moved on.

One of the sights a person had told us about was the Adelaide River Inn. It's a roadhouse and was in 'Crocodile Dundee'. I don't remember it, but there was a water buffalo involved. That buffalo was stuffed and on display at the inn. Also in town was the only War Cemetery in Australia. Australians, British and Canadians who were killed in the bombings of Darwin were buried there. It was a peaceful place that had been well cared for.


On the road north we saw smoke and there were fires in the bush beside the highway. Then we ran into several more areas that were burning. The smoke wasn't too bad, but I don't think we would be driving through that in the States.

Our next stop was Litchfield National Park. It was mid afternoon so we decided to go to the end of the park, camp and explore the park in the morning. Later we arrived at the Safari Campground and it seemed like the end of the world. We drove through 80km of bush sprinkled with palm trees and several times we saw signs warning us of proscribed burning in the park. It was hot and humid and the camp was a welcome sight. It was pretty rustic, but had showers and toilets and electricity. That was good.

Pictures - Katherine Gorge, Samson between gorges, Jeanne at Edith Falls, Bush fires, Safari campground