Gorge on Outback beauty

FROM hand-crafted didgeridoos to kangaroo stew – Nigel Adlam tastes the Northern Territory on a stunning cruise of Nitmiluk Gorge.

Don't miss ... Katherine's highlight is still the sandstone gorge, Nitmiluk, which is so old that it holds no fossils but does contain plenty of rock paintings

WHATEVER you say about Katherine, you can't deny it has character.

The town retains an Outback feel – despite the railway, the shopping centre and the air force FA18s overhead.

Katherine's highlight is still Nitmiluk Gorge, that great rift in time and space that runs through the north of the town.

The sandstone gorge was laid so long ago that it holds no fossils.

The first cliff face is called Jedda's Leap because the death scene in Jedda, Australia's first full-length motion picture, was filmed there.

Marbuck (played by Robert Tudawali) knows he cannot have the young and beautiful Jedda (played by Rosie Kunoth-Monks, now comfortably retired at Utopia in Central Australia) so he jumps to his death.

"That gave a whole new meaning to 'til death do us part'," said our guide on the two-hour cruise.

Freshwater crocodiles can be seen easily during the dry season but the only one we spotted during our wet-season trip was at the boat ramp.

The full-day gorge cruise is great fun and should be tried by everybody who is reasonably fit and unencumbered with small children.

I'd been thinking of buying a didgeridoo since Marbuck jumped into the Katherine River for the love of Jedda, but had always been worried that it would turn out to have been made in a sweatshop in Java.

But there is no doubt about the authenticity of the work sold at Katherine's indigenous-owned Mimi Aboriginal Art & Craft.

In fact, it's possible to watch the artists at work at the gallery and then buy the finished product.

Mimi sells work from more than 200 artists, from Arnhem Land to Lajamanu.

The gallery's manager, Barbara Pedersen, is dedicated to helping Aboriginal people reap the financial rewards of their work.

The Katherine Outback Heritage Museum & Historic Park is well worth a visit.

Kaye Marsh, the first white person born in Katherine after World War II, was on duty when we arrived at the museum, housed in the old airport building.

Behind the museum Geoff Mark was serving damper and cream, and bush tea.

He runs a stockman's camp-tucker night once a week.

The menu is mouth-watering – beef, lamb and kangaroo stew with coal-cooked vegies followed by damper and pancakes with butter, syrup, honey, jam or cream.

Marksie, as they call him, is perfect for the job – friendly, unpretentious and full of good yarns.

A bit like Katherine, really.

Sunday Mail (Qld)