Tag Archives: Katherine

Katherine Gorge is situated in the Nitmiluk National Park 29km from Katherine. It is defined as a series of 13 gorges and there is a visitors centre and a commercial operation offering a huge range of different tours and cruises from a two-hour cruise taking in two of the gorges at $56pp to helicopter adventure trips through all 13 gorges with gourmet picnic and swimming in your own private rock pool at $300pp. There are also several walks of varying lengths from two hours to three days or more depending on how far up the series of gorges you want to trek. We opt for the two hour loop walk which takes us up the escarpment to a lookout which from where there is a good view of the first gorge and the surrounding countryside before looping back through the empty (of people) savannah. It’s not a particularly difficult walk and fortunately it’s cloudy so we are spared the direct sun and the temperature doesn’t reach the predicted 40 degrees. But we still feel exhausted by the time we get back to the van! The secret is do everything slowly, slowly; drink plenty of water and have frequent stops.

Frogs are everywhere on the campsite but particularly in the toilet block often sitting in the toilet bowl or under the toilet seat. Always a wise move to check before sitting down! There are also numerous wallabies which hop around the vans after everyone has gone to bed, which can be a bit of a shock when caught short in the middle of the night – as Andy discovered. Apparently, a 12 foot ’saltie’ has been removed from the billabong today, although it’s probably not a good idea to camp by the water’s edge even so.

Had a dip in the pool again which we discovered today is fed from a natural ‘hot’ spring although the water isn’t hot, just luke warm. We get talking to an older Australian couple who often drive up from Wollongong to holiday around the Daly River. She is originally from New Zealand and we get chatting about travelling and taking vitamin B1 to stop mozzie bites. We’ve been taking 2 x 100mg of B1 since we arrived in Darwin on the recommendation of the pharmacist friend of Helen and Adrian but it hasn’t stopped us getting bitten. We been advised variously to take 20 tablets a day which seems a bit over the top, by an Ozzie from Darwin, to 125mg, by the Kiwi today. We’ve upped our dose to 200 mg twice a day to see if that is more effective.

Andy met someone tonight who used to live in Sydenham and swim in Forest Hill Pools before he moved out here to live. Small world, eh?

Continue reading →

The saga of the van continues and not on a positive note. This morning the battery is flat again and this time we haven’t been running anything off it during the night. In fact it still had a charge just before we went to bed . There is no-one at the campsite to help jump start it until the owner returns from town about three-quarters of an hour later. Another call to Wicked, who are adamant that the van was fully serviced before it left the depot – because they always are and it seems inconceivable that our one wasn’t despite all the evidence to suggest the contrary. Another visit to a local garage ensues and it turns out that there is no water in any of the cells of the battery, consequently it isn’t holding a charge. Wicked agree that a new battery should be fitted (at their expense) by which point it’s lunch time and all the mechanics have disappeared for an hour. We are experiencing a very off-hand, if not downright rude, attitude from the receptionist in particular and wonder why.

The receptionist is looking after an indigenous child, a cute little girl of two, who is asleep on the sofa when we arrive. Like any two-year-old she’s inquisitive and lively when awake, but she has no toys and nothing to occupy her and is expected to sit still on a chair all day. This leads to a certain amount of tension between child and adult and the latter seems to have no compunction about threatening her with smacks and other punishments such as being sent to the toilet if she doesn’t remain seated. In fact smacks are administered in front of us – obviously corporal punishment is not disapproved of in this neck of the woods. There is an element of thinly disguised racism too, as the receptionist points out to us that this is an indigenous child and indigenous people let their children run wild.

By the time we get away, it is too late to make a trip to Katherine Gorge as planned. So, after sending another email of complaint to Wicked, we visit the hot springs which are just outside the town centre, instead. The spring is not actually hot rather luke warm and flows through shady pools which are probably the only safe place to bathe around here. The water is a few degrees below the ambient temperature and very refreshing. There are some Ozzies and a couple of Aborigines sitting in the water chatting and we get talking about the alcohol restrictions which are pretty draconian in the Northern Territory. There are many areas where the sale and drinking of alcohol is restricted. In some areas it is an offense to be carrying alcohol In Katherine alcohol can’t be drunk in public places within two kilometers of the town, including the hot springs. Although this doesn’t deter some in the group we are sitting with who have a stash of beer with them and are drinking in the creek when we arrive. In certain circumstances there is a limit on the amount of alcohol that can be purchased in a bar or off license (bottle-o) without providing id. As we sitting chatting the police turn up, beer is hastily poured away and the empty bottles hidden under water. The police want to know if anyone is drinking and whilst they don’t catch anyone, they do find the stash of alcohol and pour it away. It seems that there is a very paternalistic attitude to drink and drinking which may be primarily designed to protect the Aborigines from themselves, but is applied to everyone in the name of even-handedness and seems to cause a certain amount of resentment in both communities.

Continue reading →

A do-nothing-much day. The morning spent pottering around, enjoying the surroundings, having a swim, wandering the homestead grounds and generally relaxing after covering 1300km over the last week. In the afternoon we make a quick stop at the Low Level Nature Park on the banks of the Katherine River. This is another beauty spot popular for picnicking and swimming and there are two very inviting pools just below the weir in the eddy of the fast flowing current. But we resist the temptation to take a dip. There has been another report today of a 10-year-old being attacked by a croc while fishing somewhere in the Northern Territory, saved only by the quick thinking of his father who whacked it on the snout.

We spend some time looking around Katherine which has a sizeable town centre with a small shopping mall, a Woolies and various other shops including a campin’ and fishin’ which we browse around. Andy bought a cheap fishing rod a week or so ago and now buys some lures – live bait isn’t allowed . But when and where it will be safe to fish we’re not sure! We visit the library hoping to find some travel books on India as a cheaper option than research on the internet which is $2 for 15 minutes, but the library is small and has a poor selection of books and no travel section at all.

Like the rest of the Northern Territory indigenous people make up a high percentage of the population in Katherine and they are much in evidence as they spend much of their time outdoors usually sitting under the shade of trees or standing around the streets. We haven’t been able to determine how they make a living, if indeed they do.

After last night’s experience, we have rigged up a mozzie net outside with the table and chairs under it and we have a peaceful dinner while the flies swarm around outside, many clinging to the net. The flies only appear as dinner is being served and disappear just as suddenly when the last forkful has been consumed. Very strange!

Continue reading →