The temperature was getting close to 35 degrees, the only relief being the infrequent bits of shade behind scraggy gums and the outback breeze that blew across the land.  We kept pushing on, determined to reach our goal, hoping the heat wouldn’t make us turn back.  And then, almost unexpectedly, we came to the lookout, the end of the trail, and below us in both directions was the steep red rock walls and beautiful cool waters below of Katherine Gorge.  It was a tough walk but suddenly worth every step.

Nitmiluk National Park, using the traditional name, lies just north of the regional town of Katherine in central Northern Territory.  We spent a well-earned night in a motel in Katherine, at 9,000 people the largest town we had seen in almost a month, and ended a string of 27 consecutive nights sleeping in the roof top tent. The following day we drove out to the national park, found ourselves a beautiful spot in the corner of the camping area and then headed out on this 10 klm walk to see famous Katherine Gorge from the rim.

The following day we took the four hour cruise which goes upstream exploring the first three gorges of a 13 gorge system carved through the red limestone rock over the last millennium or two.  Deeply rich in Aboriginal history and dramatic in its beauty the Katherine Gorge is now an essential part of any Northern Territory tour.  The walls of the gorges are up to 100 metres high in places and separated by rocky breaks forming small rapids across the exposed rocks and meant we had to leave one boat, walk a short distance and then board another boat.  We did this three times during the course of the trip, allowing good time for photos and to take in this magnificent place.

The boat trip was highlighted in three ways.  First, at one of the stops we saw a fantastic array of Aboriginal rock art, one of our favourite things to see in our travels, painted on the gorge walls and dating back 8,000 years or more.  There were wallaroos, humans, turtles, serpents, kangaroos and many other figures high up on the walls with no obvious way on how they got up there.  Absolutely great stuff.

Which leads us to the third highlight, our swim in Katherine Gorge.  Between the first and second gorge there were a couple of large water holes and we took the chance to jump in (well, wade in carefully) to enjoy the clean cool waters of the gorge.  The place was croc safe for sure and we savoured the special moment of swimming in these waters with the huge red cliffs all around us.

Each afternoon after returning to our campsite we had a swim in the beautiful pool set amongst the Pandanus trees, tents and campers.  Our campsite was frequently visited by a number of friendly wallabies as they foraged for food amongst the leaves and undergrowth nearby, perfectly comfortable in the company of humans, even passing between myself and the truck only a metre away.  Their cute faces and inquisitive stares were always entertaining.  And a little downtime around the camp is always welcome after a vigorous day amongst the gorges.

The next day we left Katherine Gorge but north of the town of Katherine we re-entered Nitmiluk National Park to visit the beautiful Edith Falls.  This is a high waterfall cascading into a huge pool bordered by an escarpment on one side and sandy areas on the others where visitors could walk in for a refreshing dip.  A beautiful place for kids and families to relax and enjoy the spectacular setting.