Back to civilisation

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Katherine is another one of those towns with very strict drinking laws. Like the rest of Australia you cannot buy alcohol in the supermarkets - you have to go to a liquor store or bottle shop, they are only open between 2-6pm and you are limited to what you can buy e.g one bottle of wine per person per day!! As we approach Katherine we stop at the Hot Springs, a lovely shaded spring fed creek that has crystal clear thermal waters at constant temperature of 32º. Its a lovely way to wake up, wallowing in the waters and getting to feel really refreshed and kick starting the day.
One of the first weird things that strikes us as we drive into Katherine is that for the first time in what seems like absolute ages we are in a town with lots of traffic lights and road signals, side roads and roundabouts. We get a little bit freaked out as we have been so used to towns consisting of one or two long dusty roads or long open stretches of road with no traffic signals. It all seems so far removed from what we have been used to. After popping into the visitors centre to grab some info on the area we see a display showing how the town has suffered from flooding in the past, the last big flood being only in2006. We’re talking major flooding too. Not only does the town have to contend with extremely dry, hot summers where water is rationed, they also have the complete opposite during the winter with extreme rain and flooding. Now I see why the Northern Territories have only 2 seasons in the year as opposed to four. They don’t call it winter and summer but the wet season and the dry season.

On the outskirts of town we pass Sabu Sing, the Katherine icon- a bronze statue commemorating the forebearers and those currently working on the land. The inspiration for the statue was a member of the Wardamen tribe, a skilled bushman, horseman and stockman. Our main goal though is to head out to the Nitmiluk National Park and to Katherine Gorge which lies in 180,000 hectares of land. There are 13 gorges in total carved out of the rock by the torrential summer rains over time. This is serious hiking country and many choose to complete trails that will take a few days to complete. We on the other hand decide to just complete a 7km trail which we soon discover consists of steep uphill climbs but is worth it when we get to the top and have magnificent views of the gorge with the River Katherine running through it. Its magnificent and we can only stop and stare for a while, taking in all the fantastic views in front of us.

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