Australia: Day 130 - Katherine Gorge

Another early start and another very hot day. My first impression of the day was once again disappointing as I realized I would no longer be with Adventure Tours but instead a much larger company called ATP (Australian Pacific Touring) - so picture one of those big coaches filled with older individuals touring the country. Fortunately it was an empty day and there were only 12 people on the whole coach. We made a lot of weird stops on the way to Katherine Gorge - for example a cemetery, a closed railway station, and crappy/expensive roadside restaurant - not sure... The guide (Lindsay) was nice but liked to talk and it sort of sounded like he might keel over and die when he spoke - he just took the most awkward breaths and pauses in his speech. Anyway we reached the visitor center for Katherine Gorge right around lunchtime. After a few minutes of exploring we helped ourselves to some cold meats and salad. Not too bad. Next we took a boat cruise up the gorges. The guide was really good and I enjoyed this part of the tour a lot. According to the brochure we were also supposed to have a chance to Kayak at this spot - but when I asked Lindsay, he just laughed and said we wouldn't have time - um. Anyway, after the boat tour we drove to Edith Falls for some swimming and ice cream. I was bummed because we only got 45 minutes to explore and there were some neat trails - just no time to walk them. Soon we were on our way back home - we took a break at the same restaurant - I was the first person dropped off in Darwin. I put my gear in the Hostel's storage unit and headed to another free dinner (the tour companies give out meal vouchers for a free buffet dinner - not the best grub ever - but it does alright). Afterwards I met up with a friend from the Kakadu tour and we had a chat until the Airport Shuttle came and picked me up. My flight didn't leave till 1:45am so it was a long wait in the airport but I managed to sleep most of the 4 hours home.