On the journey from Mataranka to Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge, we passed by many WW2 airstrips on the Stuart Hwy. They were built to defend Australia against Japanese bombings of Darwin and to transport goods.
We dropped into Larrimah. A weird little town pop. 11, consisting of a hotel, a big stubby and the Pink Panther caravan park. Why ? apparently a stuffed pink panther use to sit at the front of the hotel and kept being nicked, so they built a real one.
During WW2, Larrimah became the end of the northern railway to Darwin. Soldiers travelled by road from Adelaide then transferred at Larrimah for Darwin. It became a staging and hospital army camp.
Day 1
We arrived at the informative Katherine Visitor Centre. You could stay at various caravan parks in town or head out to Nitmiliuk National Park and Gorge owned by the local indigenous Jawoyn Peoples and run in conjunction with the NT Govt's Parks and Wildlife Commission. A no brainer really.
We set up a non-powered campsite at Nitmiluk, which was much cheaper than a powered site. This is the only national park campsite I know that has a lovely wi-fi'd pool with a licensed poolside cafe that does dinner- yummy pizzas and kangaroo. Lots of Wallabys hanging around - cute.
Day 2
Joel and Jack hung out in the morning, while Ava got her hair cut and Mandy coordinated extra non-powered devices in Katherine. In the afternoon we took the two gorge tour of Nitmiliuk (Katherine) Gorge. No canoeing as lots of rain brought many crocodiles down the river- not that we saw any.
After two hot and humid nights, we set off for Kununurra via a night at Timber creek.
Poolside dining...a bit flash!
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