The first stop on the Darwin to Adelaide trip was at Katherine, which is 320 kms from Darwin - we arrived not long after midday. Wearing our Ghan lanyards, as we had to do when we were off the train, we set off on our various tours.
I had been to Katherine twice on my round Australia jaunt, but strangely could recall very little of it, as we ventured along roads that I was not familiar with - although later we did go into the town itself and I recognised it.
I chose to go on the Katherine Gorge tour by boat - it is now more commonly known by the local indigenous name Nitmiluk Gorge. We actually went into two gorges - one boat took us to a part of the gorge where folk were swimming and paddling canoes, and we walked about 800 metres, before boarding another boat which took us into the second gorge. The guy that was our tour guide and "boat captain" was a local indigenous man with a very dry sense of humour. He was very interesting.
There are so many beautiful spots along both gorges, from sand dunes (with a notice of warning about crocodiles nesting in the sand), to amazing rock formations, and trees. At every corner, there is something new to see.
Of course my camera was working overtime - so much to see!!!
When the journey was over we wandered back to our buses and returned to the train.
The train was almost 1 km long - and each time, we left the train, or returned to it, there was a long walk as our cabins were towards the end. There were no platforms, so each time we had to negotiate steps up or down, but always a staff member was on hand to help any wobbly travellers.
It was back on the train, and a long walk to the Queen Adelaide dining room for dinner, after a short wait in the lounge.
All the meals were impressive!!! And of course there were choices. Great food - great desserts.
I had been to Katherine twice on my round Australia jaunt, but strangely could recall very little of it, as we ventured along roads that I was not familiar with - although later we did go into the town itself and I recognised it.
I chose to go on the Katherine Gorge tour by boat - it is now more commonly known by the local indigenous name Nitmiluk Gorge. We actually went into two gorges - one boat took us to a part of the gorge where folk were swimming and paddling canoes, and we walked about 800 metres, before boarding another boat which took us into the second gorge. The guy that was our tour guide and "boat captain" was a local indigenous man with a very dry sense of humour. He was very interesting.
There are so many beautiful spots along both gorges, from sand dunes (with a notice of warning about crocodiles nesting in the sand), to amazing rock formations, and trees. At every corner, there is something new to see.
Of course my camera was working overtime - so much to see!!!
When the journey was over we wandered back to our buses and returned to the train.
The train was almost 1 km long - and each time, we left the train, or returned to it, there was a long walk as our cabins were towards the end. There were no platforms, so each time we had to negotiate steps up or down, but always a staff member was on hand to help any wobbly travellers.
It was back on the train, and a long walk to the Queen Adelaide dining room for dinner, after a short wait in the lounge.
All the meals were impressive!!! And of course there were choices. Great food - great desserts.
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