Thursday...
We started the day with a 2.6 km loop walk to Edith Falls. The walk was another strenuous one up hill and down but predominantly less climbing than the walks of previous days - not as steep. We then drove to Katherine where we picked up more supplies and some odds and ends.
We dropped into the Information Centre and made bookings at Katherine Gorge Camping Ground and a Breakfast cruise down Katherine Gorge tomorrow (Friday). Looking forward to that.
The camping ground is more like a caravan park but perched in the Nitmiluk National Park. We have powered sites so we'll get a chance to charge the batteries - literally. We have booked in for 2 nights here so tomorrow will be a lazy day to catch up up on a few repairs and then some chill time.
We had another small replay of our van issues yesterday so tomorrow I'll make some mods to hopefully put it to bed enough to get us home with minimum further grief.
Links:
Google Maps reference is -14 19.067, 132 25.233
See more images at... https://picasaweb.google.com/106361511620108780730/Day2702082012
Wednesday...
Pinch and a punch.
Today, we set off not knowing exactly where we would pull up stumps. Our main target today was to see our final point of interest in Kakadu - Gunlom.
Because we had our full rig, we pulled into a small camping ground about 12km in off the Kakadu highway. The dirt road in was graded a couple of days ago so was in pretty good shape. Although, it doesn't take long for the corrugations to start forming again given the traffic on these roads. Anyway, we parked our trailer and van at the camp ground and locked them together and proceeded untethered for a further 25 km to Gunlom.
Gunlom is quite the spectacle. You know those infinity pools that you get at the swanky motels and resorts around the world? Well there's been one of these at Gunlom for a million years or more - who knows? When we arrived at the carpark , we came across this couple having a spell. They informed us of where we had to go as they pointed to the sky. Actually, they pointed to edge of a cliff face where there was a small trickle of water flowing over the edge. Our initial reaction was one of disbelief.
Yeah, it was one helluva climb. This one was 'mountain goat' territory and I amazed myself that I was able to do it. I had to engage the diff lockers on the old prosthetic knee to do this one. It's really quite amazing that we can simulate a body part to the point that it can do this sort of stuff. Barb went about a third of the way up and pulled back. On her way back (alone), she got up close and personal with a snake which crossed her path. If you know Barb, she's not a fan of these sorts of creatures. But she got through the ordeal and plugged on back to the car park where she was happy to await our return.
Meanwhile, when we arrived at the top of the climb, you looked down over a series of crystal clear pools each spilling over into the next and finally over the edge. Simply stunning sight! Les and I took a dip in the cool waters while Judy decorated the poolside - not braving the water temperature. I must admit it was pretty cold. Les, being the first in, indicated the temperature by informing us that his knick knacks were lodged up under his rib cage somewhere.
There was only one other family there at the time so we almost had the place to ourselves. Check out the photos.
After the return descent which took about 20 minutes, we had lunch and headed back to collect our homes and drove off to our new address. The drive took us SW along the Kakadu Highway out of Kakadu and into Nitmiluk National Park.
We are camped at the Edith Falls Camping Ground about 40km NE of Katherine. It's pretty crowded here.
In the morning we'll take in the falls and head off further in a southerly direction.
Links:
Google Maps reference is -14 10.816, 132 11.2
See more images at... https://picasaweb.google.com/106361511620108780730/Day2601082012
