Day 49 Katherine Gorge Cruise

30km from Katherine is the Katherine gorge and 9.00am found us boarding a boat to cruise three sections of the gorge.  They described it as a three gorge cruise but you have to transfer from boat to boat when rocks block further progress upstream at two places.  We saw trees, rocks, bats, cliffs, including the one made famous in the Jedda movie when they jumped off the 70m cliff, water, rock paintings, fish, people paddling canoes and yes! crocodiles - fresh water ones.  At  one point we left the boat and climbed up many steps and rock hopped to a place called "The Lily Ponds", where a number of passengers had a swim.  The tour took four hours after which we had lunch at the visitor centre at the gorge entrance.  The trip was enjoyable but we missed a lot of the commentary because of poor amplification.  We saw some more mango farms on the way home and the trees here were pruned into those box like shapes too.

250514 Start of the Katherine Gorge cruise

250514 One of the many gorge views on the
Katherine Gorge cruise

250514 Rocks blocking our progress to the second gorge

250514 Katherine Gorge rock painting

250514 Katherine Gorge cliff made famous
in the movie "Jedda"

250514 Another Katherine Gorge view

250514 Rocks blocking our passage to the third gorge

250514 Looking back to the river/gorge
from the walk to the Lily Pond

250514 Swimming at the Lily Pond

250415 Yes a real live freshwater crocodile

250514 Horse-shoe bats in a cave in Katherine Gorge

250514 Flying foxes near the boarding ramp