Springvale Homestead is a few km from Katherine on the banks of the Katherine River. It was one of the
first pastoral stations established in the Top End of the Northern Territory (1878). We spent one night
in budget accommodation there, enjoying the historic buildings, large old shady trees and wildlife
spotting around the grounds and billabong.

Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park is owned by the Janowyn Aboriginal people and jointly managed
with the Parks and Wildlife Service of the Northern Territory. The park is about 30km from Katherine
(which is around 300km south of Darwin).

The main attraction of the park is the towering cliffs/deep sandstone gorge through which flows the
Katherine River. Boat cruises and canoeing are popular here. We missed out on a cruise but managed a
walk to the main lookout. With it being a rather steep and rocky climb our legs soon turned to jelly.
Back at the cafe and deck area at the visitors centre we enjoyed the scenery and antics of some of
the birds that come rather close (looking for crumbs).

Around 60km north of Katherine is Edith Falls (Leliyn) waterfalls and water holes, also part of the Nitmiluk
(Katherine Gorge) National Park. My photos show the popular pandanus fringed main plunge pool at Edith
Falls. We also saw many lizards around the Edith Falls grounds, the most common being the Ta Ta Lizard.