Nitmiluk NP
CuriousOyster
Steve & Trish Brown
Sun 17 Jul 2011 23:10
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With only a day or two remaining before we had to
head back to Darwin, Trish and I headed further south to Katherine, the gateway
to the Nitmiluk NP and the Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge.
Carved out of the softer sandstone the deep gorge
carves its way through the landscape and located between the arid centre of the
country and the tropical north has a wide range of plants, birds and
animals.
 As the river rises and falls and winds its way
towards the sea it cuts out large platforms in the rock
 With only about 1/2m still to fall the river was
very low and we had to walk between the sections. In the wet season it is
possible to motor the whole way up the gorge.
 Water flows in from the surrounding high ground,
over waterfalls, side streams and gullies. Most dry up completely but a few
continue to run all year.
The gorge was impressive in the dry, it must be
spectacular in the wet season.
 Over 250km from the sea Saltwater Crocs still get
this far during the floods but if possible they are trapped and taken to a croc
farm near Darwin.
This helps the relatively harmless Freshwater
Crocodiles to flourish in this area.
 Much smaller than their saltwater cousins they bask
in the sunlight during the day and feed at night on fish, larger insects, mice
etc.
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