NORTHERN TERRITORY ..From Katherine to Ayers Rock

Hi everyone
At the end of each packed day and with all good intentions I cant seem to stay awake long enough to put the days events on the blog. So will do a one off story to incorporate all of the Territory. 
We crossed the border into NT and as probably everyone does we stopped to take the usual photos.

The first stopoff was at Gregorys Tree. An explorer who apparently carved a message in a boab tree for his expedition party to say a letter was "in the oven". There was a small settlement there but at the foot of a crocodile river it was hard to imagine how harsh it all was in the 1800s. Over the years the carving has grown with the tree and the boab is huge.

 



Gregorys Tree



We hadnt bought too much in the way of fruit and veg as having thrown out all of our produce prior to going to Kunnunurra we didnt want to waste too much again. However they dont check going in to NT only going into WA.  So we could have bought a lot more at the market.  Oh well.
 We came accross a woman walking for the breast cancer foundation and stopped to make a donation. The weather was rather warm and you just had to admire her tenacity.



Walking for cancer

 

Probably one of the first thing we noticed was the roads were not as good as WA roads.  Very bumpy and patchy. The next most obvious thing was the speed limit. We were amazed at the 130k/h  speed allowance. 



130 k/h



The lines are also a little different with a black strip between the two white lines.
We made our way to Katherine and although we are now members of the Big 4 Club we decided to stay at a recommended Park called Shady Lane. It was a lovely park and true to it's name. It also had mango trees and once again full of fruit that was not ripe. This did not deter me though and I soon had 4 big ones tucked into a bag with a banana and an apple and hid the bag in a hidie spot.  I could just visualize myself eating all 4 mangos at once in a short time once the fruit had done its job.

Shady Lane Caravan Park..Also very friendly

I thought Katherine would be a little bigger than it was and is probably about half the size of Geraldton. We were soon heading off to it's most famous attraction, the Katherine Gorge. We booked a two gorge tour as apparently there are up to nine differnt gorges (not always full) and you need to get off one boat and on to another for each gorge. This is actually a great thing as the walks in between give a terrific perspective and there is some aboriginal artwork to see. Once again the pictures show how lovely it is.



Some very energetic people in kayaks






In between gorges




Artwork but not easy to see





In a good wet season the water comes over half way up the wall





This part featured in an Aussie movie in the ?70s



Postcard picture

One of the best places  to see was the hot springs.  We didnt know what it could possibly be and after going down 4 flights of steps (harder going back up though) we came to what could only be described as the most PERFECT water we have ever seen. It is a natural warm spring with crystal clear water approx a metre deep in a creek like bed. Once I saw it I wish we had brought our bathers so we could have a swim. There were a few people in there and I wanted to just jump in. You can see straight to the bottom and see every rock, pebble and grain of sand on the bottom. Thats how clear it is. 



I wore my reef shoes everywhere



After bugging John and Liz we did return later and had the best swim ever. You just dont want to get out.




One of the locals






How clear the water

 In the wet season  you need to be careful of croc's as the river is right behind the embankment. Of course I was ever on the lookout for them anyway...

We visited the museum where they served the best mango smoothie out in their garden cafe. There is a lot of history with Katherine and its all there. Sheds full of old machinery and an interesting "planetarium" made by one of the locals many years ago. There is a great detail on the flood in the 90s (I think the date is right) and a video documentary on just how high the waters got. The phoneboxs were just peeping about 6 inches above the water. When they tried to clean out the shopping centre the SES guys were sent running by 4 crocs who had made themselves at home in the butchers shop. 
 Another interesting item was a letter sent to the local sergeant by a prospector in the early 1900s. Hopefully you can read the letter as I tried to photograph it all. Quite sad really. It is a wonderful museum and worth spending some time there if you ever get the chance.



The letter




Lots of stuff




Planetarium




One pretty little maid at the coffee shop



and one very ugly one

We met some lovely people next to us at the caravan park who were travelling for 6 months on a holliday from South Africa. I felt a bit homesick talking with them as they said "Yah Yah" and "Shame" a lot.  It was really nice to listen to them.

We visited the old Crossing that is no longer in use, however, although there are warning signs for crocs I noticed a woman taking her child there for a swim. Its all a bit nerve wracking and I know they probably get a bit blazay about it all but I wouldnt swim in the actual river thats for sure.

As Katherine has been quite long and its getting a bit late now I will publish this anyway separately and continue on NT tomorrow.  Daylight saving has commenced today in South Australia (which is where we really are) and its now 1030pm  (930 really) and in wa its 8pm.

Today is our son Jonathon's 27th birthday. Happy birthday son and although we are not there today we will cook you up a nice tea when we get home. Lizzy has already planned the cake for you. Hope you had a great day. I am so happy knowing you have your gorgeous family Hayley, Summer and Connor to help you celebrate.

Goodnight everyone. Love to all

Sonia John n Lizzy xxxx