Day 9 - Katherine to Katherine via Nitmiluk

An early start for a cruise up Katherine Gorge. And then retracing it on foot to go swim.

Quick Stats

• 45 minutes on bike
• 58 km
• 3535 km total

Nitmiluk, a local Jawoyn (pronounced Darwin with a J) portmanteau meaning land of the dreaming cicada, is a National Park about 20 clicks out of Katherine. The Katherine River flows through a number of gorges that make up Nitmiluk (13, I think). Each gorge is distinct and usually inaccessible by water from the last. Except in the wet season, where water levels rise 20 metres.

Anyway I decided to book a last minute cruise up the gorge last night. Everything except the 7 am cruise was booked, so 7 am it was. Being as organised as I am, it was only today I find its a public holiday in NT on Monday, explains things.

Keeping track of sunrise when travelling up, across and through timezones is tough, but I can assure you it was still dark when I left on the bike at 6.30 am. 20°C though, welcome to the Top End.

Up there in plenty of time, I join the line of retirees and board the boat. Following the first gorge, we then do a short walk and transfer to another boat for the second gorge. Definitely good information from the skipper on board, but the pace of the whole thing was a bit slow for me, while being intrusive enough to give me no time to absorb nature.

So after two hours, I'm back at the visitors centre. A coffee and a muffin and I'm off on foot to try cover the first three gorges, mashing together a bunch of trails. And finding a place to swim.

Gaining elevation to look over gorge one, but no where to swim here. They make every effort to remove saltwater crocs from the gorge as they aren't 'native' and they threaten the already endangered freshwater crocs (mostly from cane toads) in the area, but they can't guarantee they won't get into the first gorge.

Gorge two looks promising, theres a swimming hole below that palm in the top right photo. The first photo is the view from Jedda's Rock. Famous from the first colour Australian movie, and also the first film featuring lead aboriginal actors, 'Jedda' (1956). I think she jumped off the cliff, will have to watch it. They lost the last bit of film though, so they apparently reshot this scene in the Blue Mountains near Sydney to save money.

Anyway I think I can do better for swimming, onward to Butterfly Gorge.

Yep. Nailed it. What a spot. Accessed via a scramble through a butterfly filled gorge, I had my doubts as the gorge was full of stagnant ponds. It's only at the last second you emerge onto the gorge proper to realise where you are.

I spent nearly two hours relaxing in and around the water, swimming halfway down the gorge. Met a couple of nice local girls and we explored some of the rock walls and beaches.

This is easily in my top 5 swimming holes of all time.

NT continues to deliver on the birdlife, ospreys, hawks and eagles. No freshies though, which was a disappointment. Haven't seen one in the wild in many, many years.

Already starting to look like a lobster, I dried off and headed back. Two gorges would have to do, will have been 19 kilometre hike by the time I got back.

Back by around 4.30. Short nap. Then off for a walk for food.

I don't know what Asian Multi means, but the Indian from the Kashmiri family was spectacular.

At this point I'm still debating whether to head north into Darwin, somewhere I've spent a lot of time exploring, or start heading west into new territory. Naturally, I flip a coin. Heads it was and its off to Kununurra tomorrow and crossing the WA border.