Katherine Gorge...Nitmiluk National Park - where did all those people come from?

Our first words were, where on earth did all of these people come from?  Then fear crept in.  We are not really used to crowds after being in WA for so long.  Katherine Gorge is what we would now call a very "touristic" place.  Car park was full....yuk....

The campground is like a resort and charges like it, but it does have a pool, which up here is worth it. 

So, first things first, kids plunged in for some cooling off.

Next day we went for a 10.6km return walk in 50 degree heat in the sun, 47 in the shade!!  Luckily they provide water tanks along the way. 

Everyone did really well and there was a lovely spot to swim in the middle (Butterfly Gorge). 

We saw snakes along the way and a million butterflies.

The ranger had told us that there were no salties in the water so it would be safe to swim (later locals told us that they would never swim as salties are regularly pulled out of Katherine Gorge....)

Big rest that afternoon!! and a laze by the pool

Dinner with friends in Katherine, then ready to keep moving onto Kakadu (we are moving a rate of knots!  it is incredibly hot here).