The amenity block is very modern and spotless. I will give it the second 5 Star rating of our trip. Laundry facilities are spotless as well with large front load machines and a large enclosed area for clothes lines. Top Marks for it as well!
We had some lunch before venturing back into Katherine to shop. Our first Woolworths/Coles since Mareeba a month ago! A bit sad how excited we both were to go to a Woolies and a BWS. We spent a few hours stocking up and Sandra managed a quick hair cut as well. We stopped in at the Visitor Centre which is one of the best we visited on our last trip. Still really nice and very informative. We were a bit disappointed as a few Gorge experiences are not open or cancelled. We did the 3 Gorge Boat Cruise last time through and it was wonderful but we don't see any reason to repeat it. We had considered a canoe tour or a ferry to a rockpool but neither is operational currently. The walks we took the last time were not that good as only a very small portion of walk is actually near the Gorges and an lot of backtracking between lookouts. As such our only other Katherine Gorge option was a Helicopter flight. While this would no doubt be beautiful we decided to save our tourism activity budget for something more memorable. The lady recommended Edith Falls which had just opened as an excellent day trip. We had done this before but decided to do it again as was great experience and is economical (free)!
We had planned to do Edith Falls on Wednesday but when we woke up we decided to put it off until Thursday. Spent the day doing some more laundry and cleaning of the caravan. Took the car into the Katherine car wash in the afternoon which took quite a few Gold coins. Even after numerous washes there is still red mud dripping out of the rear tail lights and above the license plate. Don't know where it is being stored but at least we got most of it. Did a bit more shopping (pharmacy, butcher, hardware store, and dollar store). Nice to have all these options for buying stuff that we haven't had access to for a month. Gives you even more appreciation for the people living in Outback/Remote Australia. Their living costs would be substantial and you just simply don't have access to everyday conveniences that the rest of us take for granted!
The weather is still hot but cooled off a few degrees from what we have been experiencing. The nights are also feeling a bit cooler which really helps with the sleeping patterns. Hopefully will continue to gradually cool and become less humid over the next couple of months in the Tropical North. We enjoyed a cool down both days in the lovely swimming pool at the caravan park. One of the largest to date on our trip and a large shade cloth helps keep it cool. We had a nice Steak BBQ to top off the day.
Thursday morning we set off for Edith Falls by 9 AM. Trip was a bit longer than both of us remembered as you head 40 Km North of Katherine on the Stuart Highway before turning East for 20 Km into the Falls which is part of Nitmiluk National Park. The entire road was sealed and an easy drive. There is a campground at the falls which looks quite nice but from memory is not designed for large caravans such as ours.
It was already quite warm by the time we set off on our walk to the Upper Falls. We had forgotten it was a fairly steep climb as well. We managed to make good time with a few rest breaks as we climbed. Once we made it to the top we stopped for a refreshing swim in the upper rock pools. We were able to climb into the main waterfall pool and swim up to it's base although the force of the water made it very difficult from certain angles. You were then able to float with the current around a rock point and through a narrow passage way back to the main pool. Beautiful experience and really cooled us off!
From there we ventured up the other side of the Gorge and completed the loop walk back to the base of the lower falls. A good climb again but we were rewarded with the best view of the Edith Falls at the lookout on the far side. Sandra got a bit shaky so we needed to stop for some grapes and museli bars along the way.
We enjoyed a picnic salad lunch in the park at the bottom. Nice green grass and some shade which was nice. After lunch I had a quick swim in the large body of water at the base of the lower falls. I had got in trouble with my better half the last time we were here for swimming across to the falls. I behaved myself this time and stayed close to the park. The sign saying "Low Crocodile Danger" may have had an influence as well. I believe it means they think they have got all the saltwater crocodiles out of the water body but aren't 100% sure? Enjoyed my swim with no interruptions which was a relief!
We headed back to Katherine and the caravan park after our lunch and swim. Enjoyed an easy afternoon with a long swim in the pool. Met some nice people in the pool that we compared travel adventures with. We've also been researching our next stage of our adventure. Our original plan was to spend a week or so in Kakadu revisiting some of our favorite locations near the end of the Wet season and explore a few new ones. We have decided against Kakadu for two main reasons. Firstly, Kakadu Management in their wisdom has significantly increased both the cost of the entry pass and the camping costs. Entry fees have been increased from $25 to $40/person and camping fees have been increased from $10 to $15/person/night. The camping fees are ridiculous as the level of service provided at these National Park camps is very minimal. The entry fee was already a deterrent at the lower price as very few other National Parks charge anything. Litchfield which is also close to Darwin is free and many would say superior to Kakadu. The second reason we have decided against Kakadu is many areas are still closed because of the Wet Season. So not only are you paying a premium many of the Park attractions are inaccessible. Hopefully other Grey Nomads will make the same decision on how to spend their travel budget; and Kakadu will notice the negative impact on their tourism revenue! Many of the tourism activities in Kakadu are also quite expensive and may also suffer from reduced visits to the Park. We are choosing to support other Northern areas, Parks, and tourism activities outside of Kakadu National Park.
We decided to stay an extra day in Katherine before heading North to Douglas Hot Springs/Adelaide River area for a few days as a result of our decision. We will work our way from there towards Mary River area where we plan to meet up with the Ransleys again. Friday we had a bit of a later start and a bit of relaxation. I'm working on our Blog update for Katherine and Sandra is giving the inside of the car a bit of a wipe down.
Friday afternoon we headed into Katherine to have a look at a couple of tourist attractions. First stop was a gas bottle refill however. New record for cost of 9KG refill at $35! Believe it or not but this was $10 less than I was quoted at Mataranka and Borroloola. I probably could have made it through to Darwin on my other tank but better safe than sorry. From there we headed to Katherine Hot Springs to have a soak. Sad to say we hadn't visited this attraction in our first two visits to Katherine. Was a nice natural setting with a few different areas along the stream to get in and out. The water was clear but not really what you would classify as hot. Got fairly busy while we were there and the water got a bit churned up and murky. Good to see that it is well utilized by tourists and locals alike!
On our way back to the caravan park we stopped at Knotts Crossing on the Katherine River. Apparently this was the original river crossing at Katherine. Not in use now and would have been fairly harrowing as the water flows through quite forcefully as you can see from the photos. Beautiful peaceful reflections when you look upstream. We returned to the caravan park for a late afternoon swim in the pool. Katherine has been a nice peaceful stop with quite a few things to do. Still a few that we haven't done yet! Maybe the next time. Very high marks to Shady Lane Tourist Park as is one of the best we have stayed at so far! We found Katherine in general a much nicer town during this visit than in 2011.
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