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Days 337-338 – Katherine, NT (16-17 August)
Phew some warm days up to 35 in the day and down to 20 at night. The nights are perfectly balmy. Had a day catching up with odd jobs yesterday, we both have colds and didn’t feel like doing too much. We did go to a presentation in the afternoon on the history of the homestead which was interesting. The land was bought by a doctor who chose it because of the fresh water springs. The homestead was built in 1879. It was leased to a sheep farmer from Victoria who drove 12,000 sheep through the harsh bush of the 1800s, the trip took many months. The land here is too harsh for sheep and only 70 survived. The sheep were getting grass seeds buried in their coats which then burrowed into their bodies and then into their vital organs eventually killing them – horrible death. When their meat was eaten grass seeds had to be removed from the meat. They then tried cattle which resulted in a similar fate. Finally in the 1900s the family Ronan moved in, they were authors and wrote books in the few years they were here. Currently the homestead is owned by Travel North who manage it as a tourist attraction and tourist park. The homestead backs onto the Katherine River where we take Coco for walks. Freshwater crocodiles inhabit the river and we caught a glimpse of one as it darted into the water off a log. There is one called Elvis who lives in the billabong in the park, he is about 3m long and is quite territorial and has been known to move campers away if they are too close to his billabong. He bit a cattle dog on the bum recently who got too close. Rare to see saltwater crocodiles in the Katherine River here but they can get in undetected particularly during the wet season when the river floods. There have been some significant floods here, one in 1998 when the river rose 21 metres and widened to 6kms wide. In this flood the homestead was flooded up to its ceilings and again in 2006 when it rose 19 metres and the homestead was flooded up to its window sills. So hard to imagine when you look at the river at the moment. You are allowed to canoe on the river here just getting the kayaks down to the river is quite steep so looking for easier access. Once the day cools down about 5.30pm we take Coco for a walk to the river. It is so peaceful and we are the only ones there. There is one spot on the river where many hawks seem to hang around, must have nests nearby. There must be close to 30 of them flying overhead and they perch together in the trees, I counted 12 in one tree without really trying. Amazing to see. We drove into the town of Katherine to stock up on groceries, First shopping centre I have been to where you have to pay for a trolley and return it to get your money back. A large indigenous population here with many hanging around. Stopped at the Katherine hot springs which look so inviting, same deal as Mataranka, constant 32 degrees and crystal clear aqua blue water. Quite tempted but when it is 36 degrees want to cool down not warm up. There were a few people in the water though. It is very very nice here and is a great location. The park is not too busy and we are hoping we will now only catch the tail end of travellers from now on especially as the weather is hotting up here.
Phew some warm days up to 35 in the day and down to 20 at night. The nights are perfectly balmy. Had a day catching up with odd jobs yesterday, we both have colds and didn’t feel like doing too much. We did go to a presentation in the afternoon on the history of the homestead which was interesting. The land was bought by a doctor who chose it because of the fresh water springs. The homestead was built in 1879. It was leased to a sheep farmer from Victoria who drove 12,000 sheep through the harsh bush of the 1800s, the trip took many months. The land here is too harsh for sheep and only 70 survived. The sheep were getting grass seeds buried in their coats which then burrowed into their bodies and then into their vital organs eventually killing them – horrible death. When their meat was eaten grass seeds had to be removed from the meat. They then tried cattle which resulted in a similar fate. Finally in the 1900s the family Ronan moved in, they were authors and wrote books in the few years they were here. Currently the homestead is owned by Travel North who manage it as a tourist attraction and tourist park. The homestead backs onto the Katherine River where we take Coco for walks. Freshwater crocodiles inhabit the river and we caught a glimpse of one as it darted into the water off a log. There is one called Elvis who lives in the billabong in the park, he is about 3m long and is quite territorial and has been known to move campers away if they are too close to his billabong. He bit a cattle dog on the bum recently who got too close. Rare to see saltwater crocodiles in the Katherine River here but they can get in undetected particularly during the wet season when the river floods. There have been some significant floods here, one in 1998 when the river rose 21 metres and widened to 6kms wide. In this flood the homestead was flooded up to its ceilings and again in 2006 when it rose 19 metres and the homestead was flooded up to its window sills. So hard to imagine when you look at the river at the moment. You are allowed to canoe on the river here just getting the kayaks down to the river is quite steep so looking for easier access. Once the day cools down about 5.30pm we take Coco for a walk to the river. It is so peaceful and we are the only ones there. There is one spot on the river where many hawks seem to hang around, must have nests nearby. There must be close to 30 of them flying overhead and they perch together in the trees, I counted 12 in one tree without really trying. Amazing to see. We drove into the town of Katherine to stock up on groceries, First shopping centre I have been to where you have to pay for a trolley and return it to get your money back. A large indigenous population here with many hanging around. Stopped at the Katherine hot springs which look so inviting, same deal as Mataranka, constant 32 degrees and crystal clear aqua blue water. Quite tempted but when it is 36 degrees want to cool down not warm up. There were a few people in the water though. It is very very nice here and is a great location. The park is not too busy and we are hoping we will now only catch the tail end of travellers from now on especially as the weather is hotting up here.
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