Katherine

Location: Katherine

Miles: 3100

I have navigated the 3000 kms that makes up the Stuart Highway. It has brought me into Kakadu National park. An area of pristine natural beauty and also of considerable cultural significance, two attributes giving it good reason to be awarded World Heritage status.

A day off is to be enjoyed here to explore the park. There are a number of must-dos on the list for the park. A Yellow Waters Cruise is a nice way to watch the sunrise and the crocs waking up to position themselves and slowly warm up ready for another day of frightening tourists. The ride out to Ubirr rock to walk among aboriginal cave dwellings adorned with many paintings used to teach and pass on stories to their young. The view over the wetlands is also impressive. Nearby is Cahills Crossing where crocs can easily be viewed from a safe distance as they cruise the river eating Barramundi fish. There really are some large lizards out here in the East Alligator river. The Salt-Water or Estuarine Crocodile is the largest surviving dinosaur on the planet and stopped evolving 200 million years ago as nature couldn’t improve on what is a perfectly adapted killing machine. It is amazing to watch them in such a beautiful setting.  Nourlangie rock has another system of ancient dwellings and much artwork. Nearby Anbangbang billabong is nice for a picnic.

Kakadu has considerable wetlands which will be brimming with life as the group is riding in right at the end of the wet-season. There is excellent bird viewing at Mamukala if we happen to have sometwitchers in the group. Sixty percent of the worlds Magpie Goose population stops in Kakadu on its migration to rest and feed. I think much of that sixty percent just flew over me as I headed out of the park this morning. An impressive sight as they passed overhead in various formations. Luckily they didn’t use me as target practice.

Katherine Gorge can be enjoyed from the comfort of a small cruise boat as it takes you up the Katherine River through several breathtakingly beautiful gorges. Or it is possible to hire a canoe if your arms have any strength left in them after riding the 6623kms so far of this tour.

It is West tomorrow again as there is no more North I can do on this continent. It will be good to be home as Western Australia has been my base for the past 11 years and is very familiar ground.


Jeffrey Condon