While everyone else was at work Clare and i decided to Canoe up Katherine Gorge, our goal was the end of the 3rd Gorge at Lily Ponds. We hit the water very inelegantly at 8am, no one around but us or no one else silly enough but us.
It seemed to take hours but was only about 30mins to reach the 1st Gorge. This is where you leave your canoe and walk around the rocks into the 2nd Gorge.
Once in the 2nd Gorge you select another canoe and off you go.
Try as we might Clare and i could not keep our canoe in a straight line. We zig zagged all over the river, very embarrassing which is why we stopped and took photos every time other canoes or a boat would come past. Going up was hard work, gale force winds coming straight at us and because it was early the sun was in just the right spot to render us blind. We tried to stay in the shadows which meant colliding with the rock walls now and then..we did laugh at ourselves, what else was there to do ?
We reached Lily Ponds in 2 hours which was pretty good time, we had no feeling in our arms or legs but 2 hours is good, if we had paddled in a straight line we probably could have done it in an hour..but we'll never know. Above is the 4th Gorge which is not canoeable. This is the end of the road for day canoe hire, you can go further on an over night hire which we plan to do one day soon. We left the canoe and walked over the rocks looking for a good spot to sit and eat.
Having lunch ( above ) our view is the 5th Gorge not far from Smitt Rock. It was so beautiful and quiet, hard to believe we were only about 30klms from town and home.
While i traversed back over the rocks with the cameras and bags, Clare swam back to the canoe. The water was freezing but this never bothers her.
Our paddle back was easier because the wind was now behind us and we moved faster, still zigzagged though. I blame Clare because she was in the back of the canoe and therefore in charge of steering !
The couple below passed us in a straight line..show offs. We had a lovely day, ached all over for the next 2 days but it was worth it. All this 20 mins from home...i wonder what the rich are doing cause us poor buggers are paddling the Katherine River and loving it.
