2006/06 Australia trip - Edith Falls in Nitmiluk |
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We were now seeing more and more flowers: wattle/acacia shrubs and trees covered with what we called yellow fuzzies, the pink
stars of the turkey bush, the delicate desert roses, and the bright yellow flowers of the kapok tree. The kapoks have no leaves in the Dry, just a profusion of yellow blossom. These would all become familiar plants to us as we crossed northern Australia.
We continued on to Katherine, the junction with the Victoria Highway. We would be coming back to Katherine for the leg west to Broome, but for now we just filled up with food and diesel and continued north. We ended the
day at Edith Falls inside Nitmiluk national park. We had been there before for lunch and a hike back in 2002. Back then itwas over 50ºC or about 125ºF up on the cliffs above the lake, hotter even than our trip to Death Valley, and I burned my feet just walking between pools up on the clifftop.
The Edith River drops into a pretty lake and then continues across the park to the Katherine River. Back then, the water was evaporating faster than the waterfall was running, so the downstream river bed was dry.
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Edith Falls (10.59) |  |
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This time it was very pleasant in the mid 70s and the river was still flowing a little. The trees around the lake and the river 
were full of birds. We saw a rainbow bee-eater, one of Australia’s most colourful birds. They show so many colours in flight that it’s easy to think you’ve found a new parrot species until you look a bit closer. We 
had a warm night, with all the vents open.