From Katherine to Kakadu

The Northern Territory is a rugged, diverse land steeped in Aboriginal traditions and dream time stories, yet the town of Katherine is a surprising blend of old and new. One day while we were out shopping a road train drove slowly through the middle of town carrying a monster of an engine on its way to a mine in Alice Springs. This was such a jaw dropping event that the whole town came out just to see it go by. Wow!! Nothing much exciting happens in Katherine so this was truly a wonder to behold. Getting back to nature we took a walk through a small part of Katherine Gorge and later visited one of the botanical gardens in the area. We also had a short visit to the "hot springs" but because we didn't have our swimming togs on that day we missed going in for a dip. We finally arrived in Kakadu National Park on our way to Jaburu. Kakadu is a living cultural landscape.Generations of Bininj & Mungguy have lived on and cared for this country for tens of thousands of years. Their spiritual connection with the land is globally recognized in Kakadus World Heritage listing, which honors one of the oldest living societies on earth. The aboriginals say "People need to come here and relax, sit on the country, feel the spirits of this country and go home and feel the same way."
Walking through this beautiful part of the world you can't help but feel drawn to its natural beauty and peace.
Jim Jim Falls is accessible only in the "dry season" which is now, so we were able to get into it by 4 wheel drive. It took us about 2 hours to navigate 60kms and then 10 kms of dirt track but we made it!
There are plenty of crocodiles in the area so swimming was out of the question.
Later that week we took a boat tour up the East Alligator River which is an odd name considering there are "no alligators" in this part of the country only crocodiles. We did however see lots of "crocs" lazing in the sun along the river banks. We were allowed to get off the boat at one point and walk onto Arnhem Land which is owned by the Aboriginals and usually off limits without a special permit. All in all it is truly a magical place.