16 March 2013 - Big4 Katherine Holiday Park, Katherine, Northern Territory

I would be lying if I did not express my delight in having excellent internet and endless electricity last night. As a result I sat up far too late and totally ignored my husband. Such is the lot of a modern marriage in a technological age!

We did manage to catch up with some news; a new Catholic Pope from Argentina and a toppling of the Northern Territory Chief Minister. It seems the season for such coups with the Victorian Premier having been given the heave-ho the previous week. Next the Australian Prime Minister?

We woke to enormous avian noise this morning, the most we have ever been subjected to and we enjoyed every bit of it. This caravan park is just fabulous; we are so glad we chose to come here.

After a leisurely breakfast we headed the three kilometres into Katherine’s CBD and visited the weekly market. It did seem that all weekend idle whites were there enjoying the prepared snacks and the entertainment, a chap on a guitar. There were a few stalls with the usual trinkets and a masseuse (of the remedial type). Nothing caught our fancy although we did chat for a while with a guy selling an assortment of vegetables and herbs one would use in Asian cuisine. His wife is Thai and encourages his alternative  tastes.

We walked over the now abandoned rail bridge across the Katherine River, built in 1926 and looked down upon the muddy swollen river. Rubbish and abandoned shoes and shirts were strewn along the walkway and we wondered how that could be.

Rather than drive down to the shopping centre at the southern edge of town, we walked along the main street, stepping around and over the aimless aboriginals. Women of our age sitting on the dirty pavement amongst the litter, being shouted and chased by aboriginal men. At one point a publican came out and asked us to go for the cops who had just entered “The Coffee Club” back up the street. By the time I got there, one was already on his way out the door having heard the altercation.

Chris says I am racist with my criticism  and one might think so especially as I say worse things to him about the locals than I am expressing here.However, as I told him, I would feel a whole lot more uncomfortable and indeed, threatened, if there were this many white people hanging about the main street in an identical fashion to this lot. That does not make me a racist, in my opinion.

Locals enjoying the Katherine Hot Springs

En route back to camp we pulled into the Katherine Hot Springs which are currently closed. The large obvious notice confirming that fact made no difference to those bathing in the pools today. We climbed over the barricade keeping an eye out for the one crocodile still alluding the local authorities  and descended the iron stairway to the pool area. Here a natural creek created by the springs flows through a shaded area of Pandannus and other scrub. In the upper reaches three white tourists floated about and below them a family of about ten happy aborigines soaked and swung and dived into the pool having a ball. Despite the fun that everyone was having, we decided our safety was of greater importance and after ten minutes or so climbed back up the river bank to the care and continued home.

Closer to camp, where the low bridge crosses the river, we pulled into the Low Level Nature Reserve to have a good look at the river which is also closed for swimming. There is evidence of recent flood, the force of the muddy river having rocked the root foundation of may of the river gums.

We came back to camp with our fresh fruit stores replenished and headed to the pool for yet another swim, three within twenty four hours. Our togs will be in a state of shock! Refreshed from our brief swim in the camp’s delightful pool, we dined a la picnic, since I had made incorrect assumptions earlier in the day as regards our outings. Dining thus under the awning, looking out across the open and vacant park was just lovely. Perhaps it would not be so if we had arrived “in the season”.

Mid afternoon we headed off out again, this time to the Museum located on the road to the Gorge. Here we watched a video all about the 1998 Katherine flood when the river peaked at 20.4 metres, inundating the town and much of the surrounding area, a total area of 1,000 square kilometres, affecting 1,100 homes and cutting off many roads in and out of the town. Amazingly, only three people drowned.

This flood was one of the many that have coloured the history of the town. Others are noted on a large sign near the disused rail bridge:

1897    First recorded flood which washed away many Overland Telegraph Line sections.

1925    The Katherine River rose to 70 feet.

1931    The water level came within 8 inches of the railway girder.

1940    The town and the airfield were flooded, 5 inches higher than the 1931 levels.

1948    Extensive railway washaways.

1957    Major flood.

1974    Flood warning system installed. Cyclone Tracy brought the river to 16.8 metres.

2001    Regions outside Katherine flood.

But of course records like these are repeated all over Australia. It is a land of extremes as I keep repeating.

European settlement started here in Katherine with Stuart exploring the future Telegraph Line route and then those that followed to construct this historical communication link. Pastoralists followed but by the 1930s, Katherine still only had a population of 250. Then came the War and thousands spent time here and many stayed on. Today the area continues to be excellent cattle country and tourists arrive in their hundreds of thousands to see the natural wonders of the region, although most arrive after the beginning of April when the temperatures are a little more bearable. The permanent population for the town and immediate region is around 11,000.

On the way back we thought to check out Knotts Crossing,  the weir crossing over the Katherine that was once the main crossing. Like so many of the spots around here, it was closed “due to floods”.

We came on back to camp, found our way back into the pool then settled into the airconditioned caravan. As I complete this post, rain has arrived and there is quite a storm passing overhead. No doubt it will soon pass and we will have more of the clear weather we have enjoyed for many days now.