Emma Gorge, Best Waterhole Ever

Emma Gorge has to be one of my favourite spots on this entire trip.  The hike was beautiful and the waterhole was breathtakingly gorgeous.  This time of year you have to get there early as they close the gates by 10am.  It’s just too hot to hike in there after that.  The walk takes about an hour, though I think that for once it took us less as we were motivated to get there quickly so we could get back out before midday.

There were numbers along the trail that were meant to point out various things along the way.  They also kept the kids going, looking for the next number.  There were also blue markings along the trail which were very helpful as sometimes it was hard to see which way the trail went.

TurboBug(2) wanted to walk but the trail was a bit tricky and we needed to move quickly.  So we gave him a stick (or two) to hold and somehow started having him touch each of the numbers with the stick.  He was very happy to have this job to do.

Like I said, the trail was a bit tricky!  We were clambering over rocks and hopping across streams.

Finally we saw the first pool.  This is a small swimming hole that you can stop at if you don’t want to do the last and hardest section of the trail.  We didn’t swim here but marvelled at how clear and inviting the water looked. 

Finally number 11, the last number on the trail.  Time for a swim!

The waterhole is unbelievably gorgeous.  You are surrounded by cliffs with mossy plants growing all over them and water trickling over the sides. 

Behind these rocks was a warm spring.  The difference in the temperature had to be felt to be believed.  There was a nice little spot to sit in before venturing back into the cold of the waterhole.

The water wasn’t freezing, more like a cold swimming pool.  You only had to brace yourself slightly before jumping in.  I’m a wimp when it comes to cold water but even I managed a swim.  There were several places around where you could find a rock to stand on, including under this ledge.  It was incredible under there, with warm drops of water raining on us from the rocks above.  But the thought of all that rock above had me moving out of there before too long!

Unfortunately we couldn’t stay forever so after a good swim we headed off again.

Not all of the water was good for swimming in.  Yuck!

Somebody fell asleep toward the end of the walk.  It was so hot that his shirt was soaked when we pulled him out of that carrier.  We were all very hot and thankful for a rest after our walk.

On our way out Dad hopped out to close the gate behind us and happened to find an American dime on the ground.  How strange is that?

Because of the drive involved we had a couple more stops to make that day, more to come.

Kakadu: Mardugal Billabong Walk

Our next stop after Katherine was Kakadu National Park.  The Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Kakadu was fantastic.  Unfortunately no photography is allowed so I can’t show you any of the fabulous displays.  It was one of those places where there were so many interesting things to look at that the kids took off in all directions as soon as we got through the door.  I kept having to wrangle them back together to point things out to them.  Heaps of info on aboriginal culture and wildlife in the area.  This seasonal calendar just outside the main door is the only picture I have.  There are six seasons on the aboriginal calendar and this gave just a clue as to what happens during each. (I have no idea why LadyBug (5) brought along her Rubik’s cube that day!)

We camped at the caravan park in Cooinda which is in the Yellow Water region of Kakadu.  One of the short walks in the area was the Mardugal Billabong Walk, which we thought was supposed to be a walk along the water’s edge.  It was more a trail that went parallel to the water but some way from it, but you couldn’t even see the water until the end.  And it was hot.  Very hot.  Definitely croc country here.

The walk itself was rather unexciting but at only half a kilometre it was a short one.   This spiral palm was along the trail, they are so interesting but I’ve read they aren’t even palms.  Somewhere I have a picture of one all green and lush.

At the end of the walk there is a picnic table, we had a snack and enjoyed the view of the river.  We were high enough up that we didn’t have to worry about crocs as long as we didn’t fall in.  :)

These two were ‘fishing’ together.  It was cute, they made up all sorts of stories while they sat there together.  In the second picture below they’ve moved up a bit, we asked them to move back since we didn’t want anyone faliing in!

Someone at the campground gave TurboBug a new hat that didn’t fit their child anymore.  He was so happy with it.  The only problem is that the hat is white and the dirt is red.  That hat won’t be white for long!

We enjoyed the view for a little while then made our way back to the campground to enjoy the pool at the lodge.  We’ve discovered the best way to survive this heat up north is to swim often.  There are waterholes safe for swimming at Kakadu but most are accessible only with 4WD.  The campground definitely had a national park feel, nice after some of the caravan parks we’ve been in.  It’s a huge campground with over 300 sites, full to the brim during peak season but not too crowded while we were there.

Katherine Gorge – Baruwei Lookout

Near the town of Katherine is Nitmiluk National Park.  Actually, until we got closer I’d only heard of it referred to as Katherine Gorge.  The entrance to the park is just 30km outside of Katherine.  We did one short walk while we were there, it was too hot to do much else.  We stopped in the visitor centre on the way in and they told us that if it was 30 degrees there, then it would be 40 degrees up on the escarpment.  So we quickly took off for our walk to the Baruwei Lookout before it got too hot.

The Katherine River has carved a series of deep gorges, there are thirteen in total.  You can do cruises to see some of them, or long walks to see others.  The lookout walk is part of a longer loop, we started near the visitor centre.  Did I mention it was hot?

The walk to the lookout isn’t long but it has a steep set of stairs.  Lots of stairs.  They told us at the visitor centre that the walk was about forty minutes return. 

At the top you are rewarded with beautiful views.  Of course, that’s really the point of hiking to a lookout!  This is only the first gorge.  Swimming wasn’t allowed in this one though some of the others were open for swimming.  There is some danger of crocs here though I don’t think that’s the only reason they close the gorges.  This time of year the water levels are getting lower.

It was too hot to wait for this little guy to navigate all those steps.  After he was tucked back into his spot we headed back down to the visitor centre to cool off.

After seeing those canoes in the gorge we looked into canoe rental but discovered they only allowed two people per canoe, so that wouldn’t work for us.  Our trip to Katherine Gorge was going to be a short one!