Time to Gorge!

2008-09-25 - Thursday

Remember the pics of the termite mounds from a couple of days ago...and I had mentioned that I would be seeing even bigger ones in a couple of days...well, here we are...a couple of days later.

Our first stop are the giant termite mounds of the Catherdal Termites; as well as those of the Magnetic Termites. Now the cathedral termites build "one of the more spectacular termite mounds, with columar structures of ornate pillars and fluted buttresses; reminscent of mediaeval cathedrals" (taken from their literature).

Looking at the mounds built by the Magnetic Termites, the field looks more like a graveyard filled with headstones rather than termite mounds. The mounds in this field easily reach over 10 feet and are built by a creature respected by many as master builders.

In short (yeah, right), they are called Magnetic Termites because these structures are predominantly built along the Northern-South axis, in general. As these termites thrive only under very specific condtions, overtime, through trial and error, they have devised a building system which provides them with those conditions. Whether it be the searing heat of the dry season or the wet flood plains of the wet season, these specially designed mounds are able to regulate the internal living conditions to what the termites need to thrive. For example, by building along the North-South axis, the mounds are able to operate like solar panels, collecting the sun's heat during the morning; as well as survive the force of the prevailing winds. It's believed that termites are able to pass along this building knowledge between generations and that the termites themselves are sensitive to the magnetic bearing they need to build along.

After our stop at the Termite mounds it was off to Katherine to replenish our surplies and do a bit of shopping.

Next we were off to our evening campsite, Katherine Gorge, with more than enough time to take in the Katherine Gorge cruise; or as a couple of us did - canoe it. (Technically, they were open, flat bottom kayaks; but apparently they call them canoes here. It can all get a wee bit confusing at times.) In any case, the canoe option was a much slower paced experience than the cruise, and we didn't get to visit the second Gorge, but it was a great experience nonetheless. Slower, more time to explore the interesting little things near the cliffs edges. This was also a known crock locale, and the crock cages along the river were a pretty clear reminder of this...as were the signs on the sand beaches along the river which stated, "Do not approach, known crocodile resting area". Ok, we approached the first...then saw the sign and respected the warning for the rest. Didn't see any crocks on any of these sand beaches though...not sure if that was a good thing or not.

After the relative exertion of energy canoeing along the Gorge, it was a welcomed change to lounge by the pool with a rum 'n rasin ice cream and a Solo carbonated lemon-aide (do we have these in Canada - I don't ever recall seeing them, if not, we should get some... They're quite refreshing!)

For supper this evening, it was a departure from our norm of beef based dishes to fish based dish. Basa fillets (a Vietnamese fish) for all with fried potato slices and salad prepared by Matt and Sasha.

We also had several visits from wild wallabees (similar to kangaroos, but different and generally smaller). In total there were about 6; one larger with about 5 juvenilles. These visitors did little to deter the group from sleeping without tents - which has more or less become to norm now.