Description
Katherine is one of two large towns you will come across on the route between Darwin and Alice Springs. The main attraction to the area (other than the fact it has constant running water) is the spectacular Katherine Gorge.
Katherine is situated on the banks of the Katherine River, which is part of the Daly River system. The upper reaches rise into the Arnhem Land escarpment and Kakadu to the north east. The topography of the region is predominantly tropical savanna woodland, open eucalypt forest and rocky escarpment country with isolated pockets of monsoon rainforest and vine thickets. The average temperatures range from 25° – 35° C, reaching 40C and very high humidity at times during build-up period to the wet season, when the region begins to receive some of the country's most spectacular tropical thunderstorms along with dramatic lightning displays.
Katherine town and surrounds provide plenty of park and garden areas. Dakota Park, Giles Park, Jurassic Cycad Gardens, Jukes Park and O’Shea Park are in the town. Tourist attractions include Nitmiluk National Park and Cutta Cutta Caves Nature Park, Kintore Caves Nature Park with it's populations of endangered cycads, Low Level Nature Park, Springvale Homestead and Katherine Hot Springs. Along Riverbank Drive on the Katherine River, Katherine Hot Springs provide swimming, shaded picnic tables and BBQ facilities set amongst monsoon forest and tall paperpark trees. Fishing for barramundi and sooty grunter is also popular along the Katherine River.
