Dakota Park

Rudi had organised an hour's helicopter flight over the Katherine Gorge and all along the Jatbula Trail that we had just completed.
When we arrived for our midday flight, we were advised that the pilot and helicopter had been called to assist with the rescue of a person with a broken ankle and there would be a slight delay. An hour and half later they finally returned from their challenging rescue mission - man from Ghan Train, takes helicopter flight, trips over rock, stumbles off landing pad, falls over edge and luckily 'only' falls 5 metres onto a small ledge rather than to the bottom of the ravine. They managed to haul him up the steep edge on a stretcher and helicopter him back to a waiting ambulance - he had far more injuries than the original suspected broken ankle.
So we were finally off and away and it really was an incredible experience. The chopper itself was so agricultural - apparently the technology for these workhorse machines has changed very little in the last 50 years. We were able to fly with the doors removed for the full adventure experience. The buffering of the wind was so strong on my arm that I was worried my 'tuck shop arm' skin would feel bruised and my hair basically ended up 'felted'. Once we settled in to the sensory overload we could take in the magical scenery below us. Katherine Gorge from above was spectacular and we flew over all 14 gorges. We saw feral donkeys that are not often seen and scrub cattle but no buffalo or pigs. We followed the entire Jatbula Trail and loved seeing our campsites and swimming areas from above - so often these sites were actually perched above huge waterfalls that we were not aware of. Once we touched back down we felt more worn out from the physical experience than our days of trekking!
We loved chatting to the pilot afterwards and they said they don't often get to fly people over the trail who have completed it.
We continued on our way in our fancy motorhome down to Bitter Springs and set up camp. We enjoyed a van-cooked meal of schnitzel and 3 veg then enjoyed the live country and blues music over at the bar.Read more