Blog 14-7-2008

Katherine / Gunlom Falls / Jabiru

Pippa – We went to a cruise on the Katherine River. After that we went for a swim with blown up the tires and raft. The next day we packed up and headed off to Gunlom Falls. We swam in the bottom pool. It was about 30 to 34’C out of the water. The next day we went to the top of the water Falls. We did the same the next day. We went for a Cane Toad hunting that afternoon and night we caught over 150.We went to Jabiru and went for a swim. We were setting up in about 33’C. We went to the Bar for tea. After that we went to a slide show.

Lachlan – we went on a cruse down 2 gorges on the Katherine River. When we got on the boat bats sat above in the tree us and squawked. We saw 3 crocodiles. After that we went swimming. When we got to Gunlom falls we swam at the big pool the next day we swam in the top rock pools. The next day we did the same and we saw millions of rocket frog. That afternoon and night we went for a cane toad hunt pip whused of. We caught over 200. Now we are in Jabiru.

Campbell –We went to cruse on the Katherine River at Katherine Gorge.

Kathy – After having left our fantastic bush camp we headed off for Kakadu. Lachlan was surprised that Kakadu was not greener. He expected it to be more tropical and more like rainforest. Campbell, by contrast, expected more shops and cafes. He’s also hanging out for takeaway. For all his talk of wanting to be the outback king when he grows up in his fully optioned 4X4 we think he is actually a true urbanite more at home sipping his latte in Chapel Street! We even have to drag him out of souvenir shops. Our first stop was Gunlom Falls. The campsite was not a patch on where we had been staying so it seemed a bit of a let down until we went to the pool at the bottom of the falls. It is absolutely beautiful. The green/blue water contrasts with the black rocks of the cliffs and the waterfall is trickling down the rocks in the middle. The pool is surrounded by lush vegetation and lovely creamy sand. It really was like something straight out of a tourism brochure. Yes, those places really do exist! On the second day we were there the kids joined a couple of the older boys on a cane toad cull. I won’t go into the details but there are at a lot less toads in Gunlom at least for a little while.

The next day we climbed a steep hill in over 30’C heat to rock pools. Well, the climb was very much worth it. The rock pools were truly magnificent. God really did an amazing job with the landscaping of these pools – with the best eternity edge pool I’ve ever seen! The pools looked as though they were perched in the sky. They appeared to be carved into the rocks in a series of mini pools. It was what I would imagine open air pools on a cliff top on some Mediterranean island. The pools were a beautiful light blue with little waterfalls flowing from one to the other and were staggered up the hill. We spent hours there the second day we were there and liked it so much we stayed an extra day and did the same on the next.

We were surprised last night by a shower of rain at 4.30 am and got up to secure everything in case the rain set in to find most of the camp doing the same. Fortunately the shower soon passed. We were up early and had our quickest set up yet (by the end of the trip we think we will have worked out the best place for things and the best packing method!). We arrived in Jabiru about 11.30 am to the closest thing to civilization we have seen for days. Although it was interesting to get in touch with our feral side this last week it is also great to be able to wash the mounting pile of dirty clothes and not permanently smell like campfire.

Rhys – in the end we had to leave our bush camp near Katherine gorge, it was a sad time for all. From our bush camp we set off for Gunlom falls, magnificent, the best falls I’ve been to so far in Australia. Falls are probably 30-40 metres (maybe bigger) coming off the escarpment into a large pool at the bottom, which is a pleasant place to swim. I’m still nervous about some of the swimming spots up here, lots of signs about crocodiles. Parks NT does not guarantee or recommend swimming in any of the water holes but they do check the water holes everyday for croc’s. When you get to the waters edge and see 20 or so people swimming, it gives you confidence in statistics / probability that compared with being the only one swimming i.e. 1:1 chance, your chances of being eaten alive by a killing machine are now 1:20, which is very comforting!

The water holes at the top provided a serene setting to drift around in the water and sample different pools, small water falls, small gorges to swim up and cane toads to hunt. The variety of bird life up here is most interesting, also seems to be every bug and critter known to man all of which just want to have a bite or chew on you to see what a southerner tastes like. After our one night at Gunlom turned into three days the moved onto Jabiru in the Centre of Kakadu National Park to restock repair things and visit clients. Along the way we saw our first GIANT Cathedral Termite mounds huge structures for little bugs.

The weather in Jabiru is 34’C an about 60% humidity and this is the cooler time of the year! Last night went to a talk on aboriginal rock painting put on by Parks NT they regularly do different talks like this up here they a fascinating and FREE both of which appeal to me, as everything else seems to cost. Hoping to plan some visits to rock art sites and some more waterfalls around visits to customers over the next few days then off to Darwin.