Spent some time in Katherine, this time not just passing through. Unfortunately I have lost my photos from this stop off my camera & IPod. Bugger !!!! Double BUGGER!!! We paddled the 1st gorge & while it was a nice paddle the scenery was a bit underwhelming compared to the Kimberley. Never the less it was an enjoyable kayak trip. I guess we may be "gorged" out as a lot of travellers comment.
Also visited Cutta Cutta caves which were really nice. It is the only tropical cave in Australia & as it floods each wet season it is the slowest growing cave in Aus. During WWII. Servicemen used some of the stalactites for target practice, the sound of a gun going off would have been horrific let alone the ricochet concern.
The local indigenous people are out & about in the streets & parks of Katherine everyday, from early morning to evening. Groups of men, womem & kids sit in every patch of available shade. The shade of a building, a tree or even a post, each shadow is sought after. If they are not sitting they are trailing from one group to the next so they can sit again. So many kids are not going to school as well, learning how to sit or trail instead!!! Big problems not sure if there is an answer.
Had another stop over at Daly Waters Pub. This pub has become an icon out here & on many travellers bucket list. Unfortunately we missed the entertainment from the legendary guy called Chilli, apparently he is a real hoot. Too early the first time through & too late the second time.
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| More Irish Barmaids |
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| Camp Daly Waters |
Heading out across the NT we took an alternative route from our trip up to get back to the Barkly H'wy. via Cape Crawford. As you can see in the photos the roads are long & straight.
Diesal price at the aptly named Heartbreak Hotel, Cape Crawford. Break your heart filling the tank at this price!
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| Over the hill - more of the same. |
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| Water? No a mirage. |
Tone on the highway beside our overnight camp site. We looked like being the only campers until late arvo & my mind is thinking - "Peter Falconio", "Wolf Creek", "Ivan Milat". Anyway my nightmares were relieved by some other travellers pulling in for the night.
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| Another awesome outback sunset. |
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| Sunrise bringing another warm day. |
The paddocks across the Barkley tablelands go on forever. You could stand & turn 360 deg & this is the view to the horizon in all direction. Everything had dried out in the months since we first travelled these roads.
Cattle in the "long paddock" grazing on what they can find. Roadside kill of these animals is common. Their faces sometimes registering the instant & agony of their death, with flared gums & wild eyes, others not knowing what hit them. Hundreds of miles are littered with bleached scattered bones. white from the scorching sun & picked dry by the hawks & eagles. The carcasses of the dead cattle become like some macabre dried skin vessel, as the top half & innards are devoured by wildlife leaving an empty container after the feasting is finished.
Nearly back in QLD after our long trek to the west coast.
Gee, the Pacific Ocean is starting to drag us home.
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