Sunday, 1 September 2013

Katherine / Edith Falls 28/8/2013



We had only booked 2 nights at the resort, so we were up early to pack up. It was such a beautiful morning and as we had until 10 to check out, we decided to go for a walk, it was a lovely flat path, so a walk turned into a run. We got back finished packing, had our shower and handed our keys in at 1 min to 10! We still had 2 days to kill before we left for Gove, so headed back to Coffee Club, computers in hand to update some more blog and do a bit of research into where we could go. Iain found a place around 40km away called Edith Falls, part of the National Park that encompasses Katherine Gorge but on the other side. The web page said there were swimming holes and walks and a camp ground, so we packed up and after buying Iain a belt – he has lost a bit of weight and we were afraid his pants would end up around his ankles at some point – we set off.

It was a very pleasant drive, the area is very green still, but there appear to have been a few bush fires. We found out later it was the local fire authority doing control burns. We were a little concerned that it would be crowded like some of the other parks, but we decided we would just stay anyway as it looked like a great area. When we drove into the camp area, we were really surprised, there were quite a few people, but because of the way it was set out it didn’t feel crowded at all. The sites were shady, and all spread out around a middle grassy area with BBQ’s and tables.

After doing a basic set up, chairs and table, as it was too hot to do the big set up yet, Iain went for a walk to check out the area, while I checked out the toilet blocks. He was back within minutes and announced we were going swimming. We made our way to the pool, it was amazing, a massive rock pool with a waterfall on the other side.

We chatted to some of our fellow travellers, while we adjusted to the water, and I got the courage to get in – a tad refreshing. Once I was in we set off for a swim to the waterfall, I must say my fitness and confidence has improved, and something I would have found daunting before I now see as a challenge. As we got closer to the waterfall we realised we were going nowhere, so had to change direction, head for the side and approach from a different angle. We mucked about for a bit, then swam back along the perimeter, exploring all the rock crevices and water plants along the way. I must say I was a tad buggered when we finally made it back.

We went back to our campsite and spent the rest of the afternoon, reading and relaxing. One of our latest acquisitions was a stick mixer, which I put to good use making a very refreshing raspberry smoothie. We have quite a few gadgets that we have found very useful, one of them being a Sin wave invertor, this allows us to use normal everyday appliances, and runs off a second battery. We just have to watch that we don’t use too much.

At around 5 when it had cooled down a tad, we set off to find one of the shorter walks. It turned out to be a 2km round trip, 500m up a hill to another beautiful waterhole and waterfall. As everyone in camp seemed to be older, we didn’t expect anyone else to be there – we were wrong, that is where all the younger people were. I didn’t have anything to swim in so I sat and paddled my legs while Iain went for a swim. I got his camera out and practiced some photography skills.




We went back down, had some dinner and then went to bed exhausted.

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