Day 10: Katherine

We left around 8 that morning to make our way up to Katherine. After today, we would officially be out of the Outback and into the tropics. We were #goingtroppo. The drive was uneventful, although by the end, we did notice that the scenery was definitely getting greener. Along the way, we stopped at this real small town called Daly Waters and ate lunch at the pub there, which was famous for being one of the oldest pubs in the Outback. After having a burger as big as my face (no I don’t mean head…it wasn’t THAT big). We hit the road again and arrived in Katherine around 2 or 3 (have you begun to see a pattern here? I have excellent timing.) Katherine was just a bit bigger than Tennant Creek and a lot more humid. Its home to some Hot Springs and Nitmiluk National Park. The two most notable things there are Katherine Gorge and Edith Falls. Just like Tennant Creek, it was the biggest town for hundreds of km around. We stayed in this caravan park which was just across the river from Main St. and was run by a quite off elderly couple. It was a quite odd park too, because it seemed like a mix of caravan campers and actual residents. But hey, it was only $20 per night and where we parked had a dog that would occasionally visit us.

After finding our spot and filling up on gas, we hit the road again and drove to Edith Falls. The Falls are about a 45-minute drive north from Katherine, and although the visitor center and everything else is only 25 minutes east of Katherine, the falls are still apart of Nitmiluk. In fact, you can take a multiday trail from the visitors center all the way to the Falls. Bet it must be wild. Anyways, we get there and realize that the big swimming hole is closed because of strong currents and crocs. Even though it was April, the wet season (October- May) was still occurring. If we were there a few weeks later, it probably would have been open. So, we hiked 2 km up a mountain and arrived to great views. The water was nice and also pretty deep. Perfect for cliff jumping, which some people were doing. However, they climbed up some rocks, and as I am not a rock climber, I was unable to. But, I’m a smart guy, I found some rocks which were much more manageable to climb. I made it up, jumped, and so did Sarah.

We sure weren’t in the Outback anymore

However, I wanted to jump again. I started climbing again but I couldn’t remember how I got up there the first time. I slipped and fell into the water. I was fine though, but I should have given up then. Sarah came over and found a way up for herself. She told me it probably wouldn’t work for me because of my big feet. Me, being the arrogant bastard that I am said “nonsense!” I started to climb up, slipped, and BAM! I lost a good chunk from the bottom of my toe. When I got to all of our stuff, it was bleeding pretty bad and we had no bandages; I had to use one of my socks as a substitute. I had to then wait there while Sarah ran down to find bandages. There was no way I could walk down without one. After 20 minutes, Sarah came back with some stuff, which was real impressive because that 4 km down and back up a mountain. I was able to bandage it up and we headed back down. My toe hurt, but it was surprisingly bearable. Sarah said we should go to the ER but seeing as there was nothing for them to stitch up, they probably couldn’t do much. But when we got to the RV park, the owners recommended going there too.

By then, it was about 6:45. We got to the ER and upon realizing that I had international insurance told me it would probably be between $300-500 to see a doctor. The nurse did take a look at it and put a new bandage on it. She recommended getting it cleaned out and visiting the doctor in the morning, which would be much cheaper. I don’t know why we stayed for another half hour, but we did. While there, there was a man who kept demanding to be treated immediately and the cops brought in a man who suffered a blow to the testicles. All in all, a pretty normal ER visit.

We got back, cooked dinner, hung out, and went to bed. Throughout this trip, its been bloody hot sleeping in the campervan. Until Katherina, it has been bearable. But it was so humid that we couldn’t take it. We tried cracking the windows but all that did was let in a swarm of mosquitoes. So, for the entire night, we were dying from the heat while getting eaten alive by mozzies. It wasn’t the most restful night of sleep.

Tennant Creek | Katherine Gorge