Katherine River Gorge

We arrived at the entrance to Katherine Gorge, also known by the aboriginal name Nitmiluk, bright and early – too early for my taste. We boarded a large aluminum flat bottomed boat. Even though it was still a young morning the heat was nearly unbearable.

The boat silently slumbered up the gorge and the guide told stories and pointed out nuances of the surrounding rocks and wildlife. As with nearly all water in the top half of Australia, the gorge was hiding a numbers of crocs. However, the area is involved in a trapping program to keep out the larger saltwater crocs to protect the smaller freshwater crocs. So the croc danger was more of the limb-removing kind and not so much the whole-body gobble. Ehemm… much safer.

Small kayaker. Big gorge.

After a bit of cruising we pulled up to a rock platform and the guide encouraged those interested to walk up the rock bank and check out the surrounding rock art high on the sheer walls.

The guide explained how terribly low the water level was in the gorge. Many of the trees and rock formations spend half of the year under water – the amphibious trees are easy to spot because they are permanently bent from the river current. Even the ticket booth itself, would be entirely under water during the wet season. Seeing the gorges and the Kakaku flood plains during the dry season, made us want to see the inverse season. You can tell from the remnants of the wet season that it becomes a completely different landscape. Numerous depth markers show the impending deluge. Many of the roads become impassable and water levels in areas like the gorge can change 60-70 feet. Upon arriving in the Northern Territory we pondered why so many of the trucks had snorkels high above the doors, but now it was clear that they could be put to good use.

Class is in session

River bend