We arrived in Katherine Township in the late afternoon and spent some time refuelling our pantry and vehicle. We then travelled the 30kms to Katherine Gorge or Nitmiluk as the local Jayowan people call it. Our first impressions was that it was to be an expensive stay at $34 a night for an unpowered campsite! That night we enjoyed setting up camp earlier than usual in preparation for an early start the next day. We had decided our first day in Nitmiluk was to be filled with an early morning boat ride and then some walking, however the  tour operator thought otherwise and we instead opted for the 3pm cruise and some walks in the morning.

On a hot tip from one of the camp staff, we headed off on the 8km walk to Butterfly Gorge via a scenic lookout.

Our first realisation was that it was so much hotter than what we had previously experienced! We had quickly left the cool of the gorge, its water, plant life and cooling breezes for an arid and dusty plateau. Thankfully National Parks provides water tanks (refrigerated at one point) along the track as heat stroke is a serious problem amongst tourists exploring the area. The heat however made for a refreshing dip once we arrived at our destination. The gorge was spectacular and we had it all to ourselves for a short period and spotted a friendly turtle and made time for some sunbaking on the rocks before heading off on the hot walk home.

 

On our return to the campsite, the $34 a night was all worthwhile as we dived into the resort style pool and cooled off! (it was a nice change from the $6.50 a night pool from a few days ago!)

The afternoon was filled the obligatory cruise down the gorge which had all the highlights of crocodiles, amazing rock formations, aboriginal rock paintings and tourists….hundreds of tourists! Our guide Rocky filled us in along the way of various plant and animal uses and traditional fishing techniques as well. Unfortunately the large numbers of tourists everywhere made it difficult to get many photos without someone else appearing in the shot.

After a full day at Nitmiluk, we were ready to move on as many of the walking tracks were closed due to a wildfire in the region. Next stop Kakadu!