Theme of the Local Hero, Mark Knopfler's
Going Home
If you have a google account you should be able to click that song title and click to listen to the song, an instrumental, as you read the final leg of this journey. So many songs about going home, Leonard Cohen, Tinpan Orange, Carol King, to name a few. But the lyrics are all wrong.
Our journey is coming to an end. We have this last day in Katherine and then we head up the very familiar stretch between here and Darwin.
This morning we took the bikes out for a spin. When we lived here we often went riding and have fond memories of riding with a bunch of friends around the Zimin Dve Circuit, or to the Cumbidgee Lodge or Springvale for breakfast on the weekend. Today we planned to do the Low Level to High Level circuit. Our park is situated right on the trail. Getting to the Low Level took no time, all down hill. While we stood watching the river flow beneath us Eric recalled a great story. We were both competing in the Katherine Canoe Marathon to raise money for the Red Cross. I paddled a leg for the School of the Air team. Eric was in a Hash House Harriers team. As their canoe went through at this point they capsized in the rapids and lost their bugle. The next day was Monday and the HHHs assembled here to search for it, but it couldn't be found. So they had a ceremonial drink to farewell the bugle. Unknown to the HHHs 2 male American backpackers were camped downstream. One of them was washing the dishes and found an old bugle underwater. Not knowing its significance he took it with them as they travelled to Broome. There, they met 2 female English backpackers and they all agreed to travel together as they were all heading to Perth and across to Melbourne. During the trip to Perth the boys showed the bugle to the girls and one of them noticed the inscription which mentioned HHH. She recognised what it represented as her father was a Hasher. So the chap gave her the bugle. She traveled on to NZ, South America then North America and finally home to the UK where she gave the bugle to her father. He wrote to the Grand Master of Katherine Hash (Eric) and explained he would take it to the next Interhash meet in Goa, India. There he gave it to a Hasher from Darwin who returned it to the Katherine club some 2 years after it was lost. The Katherine club members had another ceremonial drink to mark its incredible journey and return. Amazing.
Back to the cycling.......
Soon after we crossed the low level, we had to retrace our path.
One of the bridges on the far side of the river had been taken out by high water levels and not yet replaced. That must have been a while ago now. So instead we made our way back to our starting point and upstream to the high level bridge. I think its about 19m.
Just as school resumed in 2000, the year we arrived in town, the river threatened to breach its banks. It had done so 2 years earlier, peaking at 20.4m causing huge damage to many of the businesses in town. Many never recovered and everyone who had experienced it was very nervous. It was estimated enough water flowed under the bridge in 1998 to fill Sydney harbor in 12 hours. Fortunately it didn't happen this time, peaking at just below 19m, especially as Eric had returned to Victoria for his father's funeral and I still didn't even know the neighbours well. We followed the river to the cemetery, where the path finishes at the museum. We decided that was far enough as coffee was calling. Back near the hot springs is the very popular Pop Rocket Cafe, and the delicious smell as we had ridden by earlier, lured us back.
Unfortunately the form work the council did on the paths to the hot springs in recent years has created another much larger problem, so right by the cafe now is a massive construction site where they have to fix what they created.
We spent the afternoon with Fran and Shane, he tried to tweak the connections on our mobile solar panel but eventually we realized it needs a new regulator. Then home to eat and drink up whatever was left. Just one green one though.
Thursday 18 July
So we just had that last leg north to do. No rush, lots of thinking time. What have we learnt? What would we do differently next time? What would we leave behind? What do we need to get before the next venture? That's not even 2 & 1/2 months away. Another blog in the making.
Going Home
If you have a google account you should be able to click that song title and click to listen to the song, an instrumental, as you read the final leg of this journey. So many songs about going home, Leonard Cohen, Tinpan Orange, Carol King, to name a few. But the lyrics are all wrong.
Our journey is coming to an end. We have this last day in Katherine and then we head up the very familiar stretch between here and Darwin.
This morning we took the bikes out for a spin. When we lived here we often went riding and have fond memories of riding with a bunch of friends around the Zimin Dve Circuit, or to the Cumbidgee Lodge or Springvale for breakfast on the weekend. Today we planned to do the Low Level to High Level circuit. Our park is situated right on the trail. Getting to the Low Level took no time, all down hill. While we stood watching the river flow beneath us Eric recalled a great story. We were both competing in the Katherine Canoe Marathon to raise money for the Red Cross. I paddled a leg for the School of the Air team. Eric was in a Hash House Harriers team. As their canoe went through at this point they capsized in the rapids and lost their bugle. The next day was Monday and the HHHs assembled here to search for it, but it couldn't be found. So they had a ceremonial drink to farewell the bugle. Unknown to the HHHs 2 male American backpackers were camped downstream. One of them was washing the dishes and found an old bugle underwater. Not knowing its significance he took it with them as they travelled to Broome. There, they met 2 female English backpackers and they all agreed to travel together as they were all heading to Perth and across to Melbourne. During the trip to Perth the boys showed the bugle to the girls and one of them noticed the inscription which mentioned HHH. She recognised what it represented as her father was a Hasher. So the chap gave her the bugle. She traveled on to NZ, South America then North America and finally home to the UK where she gave the bugle to her father. He wrote to the Grand Master of Katherine Hash (Eric) and explained he would take it to the next Interhash meet in Goa, India. There he gave it to a Hasher from Darwin who returned it to the Katherine club some 2 years after it was lost. The Katherine club members had another ceremonial drink to mark its incredible journey and return. Amazing.
Back to the cycling.......
Soon after we crossed the low level, we had to retrace our path.
One of the bridges on the far side of the river had been taken out by high water levels and not yet replaced. That must have been a while ago now. So instead we made our way back to our starting point and upstream to the high level bridge. I think its about 19m.
Just as school resumed in 2000, the year we arrived in town, the river threatened to breach its banks. It had done so 2 years earlier, peaking at 20.4m causing huge damage to many of the businesses in town. Many never recovered and everyone who had experienced it was very nervous. It was estimated enough water flowed under the bridge in 1998 to fill Sydney harbor in 12 hours. Fortunately it didn't happen this time, peaking at just below 19m, especially as Eric had returned to Victoria for his father's funeral and I still didn't even know the neighbours well. We followed the river to the cemetery, where the path finishes at the museum. We decided that was far enough as coffee was calling. Back near the hot springs is the very popular Pop Rocket Cafe, and the delicious smell as we had ridden by earlier, lured us back.
Unfortunately the form work the council did on the paths to the hot springs in recent years has created another much larger problem, so right by the cafe now is a massive construction site where they have to fix what they created.
We spent the afternoon with Fran and Shane, he tried to tweak the connections on our mobile solar panel but eventually we realized it needs a new regulator. Then home to eat and drink up whatever was left. Just one green one though.
Thursday 18 July
So we just had that last leg north to do. No rush, lots of thinking time. What have we learnt? What would we do differently next time? What would we leave behind? What do we need to get before the next venture? That's not even 2 & 1/2 months away. Another blog in the making.
We are very interested in the answers to your questions. Have very much enjoyed the travelogue and it has certainly stirred the wanderlust (in me at least!) Look forward to the next one.
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