Sunday 6th July

This morning we left behind the lovely Katherine but not before we had packed up the Karavan and then into the town. While in Katherine, we bought a few more supplies and refuelled as we were not exactly sure where we would be located by the evening except somewhere in Kakadu National Park.

After doing the brief shopping we then went for a coffee and toast at the Cinema Cafe. It is by far the best place to eat and have a nice coffee in Katherine. We have become friendly with Leanne and her husband, Mick, who own the Cafe. Mick is a fulltime crewman on the Rescue Helicopter out of Katherine. He knows Roger Fry from the Westpac Lismore Rescue helicopter, as I do as well. We can highly recommend this Cafe if you ever are in Katherine. We left Katherine and look forward to returning in a few weeks.

Apparently, word is out around the town there is another person about to do massage. We will be back on the 19^th July and I am led to believe there may be a few looking for a massage. Time will tell. The town’s only Chiropractor also mentioned she would like me in her practice.

After a short drive, we reached Edith Falls. A lovely green area surrounded by dryness. The lawns are really nice and green with nice shade around to rest under if you want to. We passed the time of day with several families from Queensland and discussed last night’s Rugby game, the Wallabies against the French which the Wallabies won.

Then we strolled down to take some photos of the falls and the large hole below the falls. Quite a few people were swimming but we opted not to. While we were there no less than 3 coaches arrived with about 40 German students each, all from Frankfurt. These students are probably 17/18 years old and are out here for several weeks having started their tour in Darwin. I think there would have been a few sunburnt young Germans later in the day. There were a lot of pale skinned students there with little cover. It was very crowded by the time we left.

We rejoined the Stuart Highway and drove onto to Pine Creek where we had our sandwiches in the rest area while reading the information boards in the shelter. A small village whose history is based upon mining and now tourism. Again we turned off the Stuart Highway onto the Kakadu Highway.

From Pine Creek to our overnight stop at Gagudju (Cooinda) caravan park. We are on an unpowered site which costs $15.00 per night. It is a nice shady site and clean, although there is some dust around. There are several good facilities here such as the Bistro and Restaurant and a nice pool as well as a reasonably well stocked shop.

So after driving about 281 kms today it is time for a rest and plan the next 2 days sightseeing we do based from here.