Katherine. Monday

I am sitting in the shade in the breeze waiting for Myrtle to have some belts changed.  Hoping all goes well and won't be here for too long.
I found out by blog that Kathy Bailey (from Beechworth) was in Darwin so contacted her and she caught the greyhound bus down to Katherine on Saturday at lunch time for a few days.  I picked her up and we went to the local market for some supplies then headed out to Katherine Gorge.  We booked a kayak for the next morning and were lucky to get one as they were nearly booked out.  We had a lovely meal - baramundi and salad and a few bubbles in a glass - cooked at the campground.  And there was a guy singing around the swimming pool who we could hear from the van.   Next morning down to the gorge and hired our kayak (along with many student teachers from Deakin at Warnambool who were up here to have a stint at teaching at some communities nearby).  It was cool in the morning and a bit windy so we had a head wind so it was hard going paddling up the gorge.  It was stunning with the layered rock cliff faces going up and looking out for crocs in the river.  We got out at the end of the gorge and walked over to see the second gorge.  We were very wet from sitting in the kayak and decided not to swim.  Then as we had to have the kayak back by 12 we head back down the gorge which was so much easier as we had the wind behind up and leisurely paddled back admiring the beaches (and croc nests) along the way and the birdlife.  There are freshwater crocs but also salties have made their way down here during the wet which is a bit of a worry.   A wonderful adventure and something that I probably would not have done on my own so thank you Kathy.  All the fellow campers are on for a chat and talk about where they have been and where they are going.  We had another night at the Gorge and Kathy cooked up a storm with potatoes, onions, tomato and feta - delicious.  This morning we came into town for a coffee and then out to Katherine Hot Springs for a dip - so relaxing and now sitting in the shade waiting for Myrtle and to see what the verdict is before planning the next phase of the journey.