Day 56-57 Katherine - Nitmiluk National Park

It is time to explore the Nitmiluk National Park near Katherine. For the first day and given the high temperatures (30C at 10-11am) at the start of the walk, we went for the Baruwei Lookout. It is a short but steep climb up to this lookout, but it is worth the effort as one has spectacular views of the gorges and the river. For the way back we decided to walk the loop back to the visitor center and not the climb back, which was a bit longer, but gave us some information about the walk(s) for the next day. The walk and also the climb are ok, but the heat, especially on the plateau it feels +10C warmer, with almost no shade and strong sun made even this walk exhausting.

Early start for a long day of walking: 7:30am at the start of the walks and already about 24C... First, walk up to the Southern walk entrances, where the Windolf walk starts to Pat´s Lookout. Before heading to the Lookout we walked the 500m (one-way) detour to Southern Rockhole - it is steep, the second part scramble over rocks to finally reach the Rockhole. Unfortunately, there is no swimming allowed here due too crocs in the water...

Going the way back up to the Windolf walk, it is time for the first break in a shady place to revive. Then just a few meters along is Pat´s Lookout. It is a spectacular view over the gorge!

Next stop is Jedda´s Rock. From this spot you have a different view on the gorge, again spectacular view although the sun and hot temperatures there won´t let you enjoy it as much...

For the last stop of the day, it was a bit of a walk to the junction to the Butterfly Gorge in the hot sun on the plateau, so we first went to the water refill spot. After a short break and refilling on water, a last challenging walk to the Butterfly Gorge started. The way over stones and rocks in the hot sun is challenging, but as soon as you are in the Gorge, there is shade and temperatures drop. After walking another couple of hundred meters one sees why the name is Butterfly Gorge: everywhere are butterflies. At the end of the walk there is a beautiful small gorge with clear water to swim. The cold water is refreshing and most welcome after the heat (~38C) and walking of the last hours.

The way back from the cooler & shady Butterfly Gorge up into the heat, sun and steep climb up before the last 4km back to the car starts was more than a little challenge...

Back "home" Stuart was happy to see us back and enjoyed looking at the photos instead of walking all the way in the heat.