Asia Trip - Day 20

Kakadu - Katherine

Our cruise set out from a different point than usual due to the very high water level. Their usual spot was underwater, which seemed to be the theme for the trip. We cruised from billabong to billabong through channels that only have water during the wet season. We saw lots of underwater walkways and railings that are lookouts of hikes during the dry season.

The scenery was wonderful, very lush and green. All the plants have to adapt to being dry 3 months of the year and under water for three months. They have developed great ways of coping. Some float, some have snorkels and others have roots that expand and contract depending on the water level. We saw lots of birds, including a sea eagle. Just as our guide was apologizing for not finding us a croc, we spotted a big one (~3m).

After the Yellow Water cruise, we headed down to Katherine Gorge for another cruise (photo). We arrived just in time to get on the last boat of the day. The gorge is made of sandstone and is very pretty. Sandstone splits at right angles, so from the air, the whole area looks like a checkerboard (or a mango that has been sliced and turned inside out for eating - if you don't know what I mean get Shannon to prepare a mango for you sometime). This means that every turn in the river is 90 degrees and you can see the smaller ravine out each of the other sides. Because it was wet season, the waterfalls were raging.

On the drive back from Katherine we had a blowout. There was a 4" cut in the side of the tire. Luckily we had a full spare instead of a donut, so we changed it and went on our way.

We spent the night in Adelaide River, not for it's charm, but for its proximity to the park that we are visiting tomorrow.