Katherine

What a gorgeous town...just perfect and really lovely. I had a great trip up to Katherine all things considered. I basically couldnt walk! The bites on my feet especially my left one made my feet all swallen. And believe me my left foot just ballooned... never seen anything like it and i was so painfull. Id gone up to woolies and forced my feet into my trainers so i could itch my feet and when i got back and took my trainers off theres was no way my left foot was going back in there to get the bus, i only just managed to put my thongs on! But i made friends with one of our drivers Jamie, he was hitting on him bless him and i thought id take advantage of the situation, the bus was packed and there was no way i could share 2 seats, i didnt have to! Jamie sorted it out for me, he was such a lovely guy and he kept me entertained Friday morning until his shift finished and another lot of drivers took over at 11am. He couldnt believe the state of my feet and bought me brews! Which was great considering we werent allowed hot drinks on the bus, he also let me sneak an apple into NT!
We arrived in Katherine at about 6pm and i didnt do much but bump my stuff and potter down to woolies, my feets had gone down abit by then and the pain was being tamed by tablets! Id decided if my feet were up to the challenge id head up to Katherine Gorge in the morning and have a look around. Basically theres not much in Katherine which doesnt relate to water, only problem is the wet season has just ended so things are even more limited and even more limited when you dont have transport! Anyway my feet were up for the challenge and i could fit into my trainers so i booked the bus up to the National park, there was no way i was walking 29km! Long story short the bus didnt turn up but a ranger was passing which gave me and the german girl from my room a lift... thank god! id booked to do the 11am cruise up the river so as it was just gone 8.30 i thought id try one of the gorge walks... by 9am is was already around 34c and the notice boards had warning about tempertures hitting 40c... at home we complain about walking in 20c and make excused to eat ice cream and potter along. I got back from my 16km route in just enough time to jump on the boat but boy was i knackered! Was good though and dare i say i actually really enjoyed myself. The boat tour was really good as well and the views...wow! I had issues again with the bus back to town but i wasnt taking no as an answer for the bus not meeting me from my tour... the tour was late back and i wasnt happy if the bus had gone without me. The ranger who brought us up took us back again...bless him! I had a very productive afternoon, it was too hot to find the hot springs so i just relaxed by the pool.
Early this morning i thought id see if i could find these hot springs, it was only meant to be a 10min drive from town so figured it wouldnt take me too long to walk it. Once again in the 34c heat i walked the 40 mins it took me to get to the hot springs. These springs were meant to be 32c...not convinced they were but they were so lovely just to lie in and relax. It started to get busy so i headed back to town and the hostel to make sure i didnt miss my bus to Darwin...which is where i am now. But just for the night...up at 4am for my flight to Cairns. Cant believe i live oz in just a few weeks. Got hold of Ian and hes ringing me tomorrow to sort out New Zealand, so excited!

Ill let you know how gorgeous the weather is in Carins tomorrow!

Love you xxx