Katherine and Roper region, Northern Territory, Australia

Photos from the Real AUSTRALIA

Katherine and Roper region, Northern Territory

Katherine is the Territory's fourth largest town, situated about 310 km south east along the Stuart Highway on the Katherine River, permanent running water traversed by a road and rail bridge. It was developed in the late 19th century after the Overland Telegraph Line had been built and the first cattle station of the Territory had been established at Springvale, near what is now called the Low Level Crossing on the river. It became a centre for the cattle stations in the region and an abattoir was set up. Nowadays huge road trains bring their cattle to the Katherine Meat Works. The town, with a population of close to 10,000, also has an air force base and is a major tourist centre. The Katherine River offers beautiful views, good swimming and fishing and Nitmiluk National Park, Katherine Gorge, is nearby. And what is the weather like in Katherine right now? Click here to find out.

Along the Stuart Highway, 30 km south of Katherine, is Cutta Cutta Caves Nature Park, about 1500 hectares of limestone landscapes, offering Karst formations and a network of caves with stalactites and stalagmites, unique to this region. Further south, 107 km from Katherine, is the small town of Mataranka, with nearby Elsey National Park centred around part of the Roper River. This is a lush parkland with as its greatest attraction the thermal pool at Mataranka Homestead, 7 km east of the highway from Mataranka. The warm pool in Mataranka was first developed by troops in the Second World War at the natural warm spring here. It is now a major tourist attraction, an idyllic turquoise coloured lagoon surrounded by Pandanus palm trees. The crystal clear water is a constant 34 degrees C and flows from Rainbow Springs at over 30 million litres each day. The area around the pool is a natural breeding ground for the Little Red Flying Fox; during the breeding season in the Wet there may be thousands of them twittering in the palms.

Nearby, on the Roper River, is Mataranka Falls and good spots for swimming and fishing for barramundi in the clear cool waters. The river is a beautiful emerald green and flows through the largest stand of Livistonia Rigida palms in the world. The Roper Highway turns east 7 km south of Mataranka and leads to Elsey Station, the subject of Jeannie Gunn's popular autobiographical novel 'We of the Never-Never'. This is Mangarrayi and Yangman tribal territory and nearby is the small Aboriginal community of Jilkminggan, formerly known as Djembere or Duck Creek. There are many great camping and swimming places here, like Barlmardak and Elsey Falls with its beautiful swimming hole, but as these are not signposted and are reached by unmarked bush tracks, are not really accessible to visitors. But the Punchbowl, a deep waterhole surrounded by lush forest on Salt Creek, is visible from the road and often people can be seen fishing from the bridge here. The Roper River flows all year round 250 km east to the Gulf of Carpentaria.

If you like to see a photo full size, just click on it;
you can then send it as a postcard by filling in the form underneath it.