Katherine (from Darwin)

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Well folks, we have instalments.

Prepared the blog as far as Katherine some time ago (seems eons), but comms being what they are, I havent been able to load it until now (Darwin) where I have connection for the entirety of our stay.

I will bring you up to date with the next, but meantime, further tales to (hopefully) whet your appetite.

As typed 4 days ago .........

You now find us in Katherine. A delightful town in the middle of nowhere and only 300kms from Darwin.

But firstly, Alice. We did get a cancellation at our lodgings and were able to stay the extra night. Having travelled (and already reported upon) the West MacDonnell Ranges, we headed east the next day for a bit more of the same. Highlight was Trephina Gorge where we were able to do a Gorge top walk. Magnificent walk and views - and importantly, your correspondent was able to stretch himself even further and climb to the top of the rocks without so much as a moment of breathlessness (in 37 deg heat!).

Glad to say that I am at last getting some confidence back.

Jessie Gap and Emily Gap (non-use of the possessive is deliberate) were also both attractive - and of considerable importance to the local indigenous. We rounded off the touring with a late lunch at the Botanical Gardens. Lunch was good at least …….

The next day we headed off to Tennant Creek - not knowing what to expect. We booked ahead to a motel called (for some still inexplicable reason) The Safari Lodge Motel.

An uneventful drive (theses 130 km/h speed limits really help), and we stopped off at an unusual rock formation along the way. Known as “The Devil’s Marbles”, they are of Granite and are quite brilliant. Tennant Creek was less so!

A town of around 3000, it seemed to have little going for it. We drove around a bit, located the old telegraph station, and the local dam. We weren’t able to identify the water source for this dam - but it was a lot healthier than some of the Melbourne reservoirs at present. We also visited the cultural centre where the Seniors Card gets us in for half price. It was quite good.

The place is very hot - although not humid at this stage.

Another highlight is that they had a ‘Red Rooster’ of which we partook - and needing to double the Crestor to deal with the fat load. Actually chicken is quite good for us as it can provide lunch for the next couple of days’ sangers. (Hows that for rationalising!)

And so, the trip to Katherine. Nearly 700 kms but the time flew. Lunch at a wayside stop (They are much better in the Territory but fewer in number), and this one happened to be alongside a bushfire which was trundling along without any attention. It was 50 kms from the nearest town, and by the look of the landscape, these happen quite often. Grass seems to burn, but here the trees are not so tall nor as bushy, and while the trunks singe, the foliage seems to remain in good nick.

In another 100kms we pass another fire - but this seems a bit more serious and as I type (the next day), it is still providing smoke to the skies.

In Katherine (we arrive by 3), we are staying at a really nice park with a great cabin. The woman apologised that she had to put us into the disabled van but we were able to put her mind at rest assuring her that at the rate we were deteriorating, we are only 12 months from NEEDING it!

The Park is great and we settle and set up our stay with some shopping at Woolies. Prices are still OK. BTW, for alcohol purchases in the Territory, you need to have ID which they scan to see if you have an order against your name to stop supplying alcohol. We suspect that this is because some individuals actually purchase alcohol for indigenous who are somehow constrained. We actually saw this happen at a bottle shop in Alice.

Katherine is a bit like Swan Hill - built around the continually flowing (unusual for this place) Katherine River. Our Van park is at Low Level - as best I can tell that is actually a suburb name, but it also reflects a low level river crossing and a nice public park adjacent to a nice part of the river.

The River of course provides the spectacular Katherine Gorge - which we toured today. Magnificent. It is quite low at the moment which means that we need to change boats half way thru our tour. That was OK until one of the girls found a snake in the new boat. The guide assured us it was harmless and managed to shunt it down the back of the boat somewhere. Some remained unconvinced.

The tour was great and well worth the cost of admission. The Guide was very knowledgeable on Aboriginal ways although he later informed us that we shouldn’t be fooled by his dark skin, his detailed knowledge or his middle Australian drawl, as he was actually born in Barcelona!

Although there are several other areas of interest in the town, we settle for a visit to the ‘Springvale’ Homestead - the first such in the Territory on a beautiful part of the river 5 kms from our park. We decide on lunch then an Afternoon of relaxation and swimming in the pool in readiness for heading off to Kakadu tomorrow. We are heading there before Darwin as it seems to make more sense. Then we will have a big unwind in Darwin.

The trip continues to exceed expectations in almost all areas.

I don’t get wifi at the van park which is just as well as it is $1 per 5 minutes. I will look for a café in town and hopefully send this off. Otherwise I will store it for Darwin.

If you read this Thursday night / Friday, you will know that I was successful.

All the best
Chris and Ian

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Comments

[Peter Edwards]

Instalment 11/10/2009
Ian and Chris, The photos and blog look great and I am pleased you managed to attach the photos. When I toured Katherine Gorge the river was flooded and it was a little hairy to say the least. I noticed in the paper the other day that a new viewing platform for Uluru Rock was opened last week - did you get to stand on it?? The Homestead looks great and I will be interested to hear about Kakadu since on my two trips to Darwin I missed Kakadu because of the rains. Thanks for the blog and enjoy the trip. Wish I was there!! Pete