Explore Katherine & Surrounds

The Big Rivers region has monsoonal rains as part of a short wet season from December to April, and beautiful sunny days as part of a long dry season from May to September.

Katherine is located 315km south of Darwin and can be accessed by air, rail and road.

Transport to the Roper Gulf Region is via the Stuart Highway, Central Arnhem Road and Roper Highway with buses also available to the area.

The Victoria Daly region is serviced by the Buchanan Highway, Stuart Highway and Victoria Highway with buses also available to the area.

Bus and coach services regularly travel to Katherine from Alice Springs, Darwin and Western Australia. For information about tickets, schedules and fares, visit local visitor information centres and transport hubs or Greyhound Australia for details.

Understand the history and culture of the Big Rivers region by visiting one of the many art galleries and cultural centres. There's heaps of festivals that happen throughout the year from marathons to music festivals. Have a look over the NT Events calendar.

Some key events in the region include:

• Barunga Festival
• The Gurindji Freedom Day Festival
• Katherine Show

Want to know where the locals go? Activate Katherine is your go-to guide for insider knowledge about things to do, and places to see and explore.

In the Big Rivers region, Katherine is the main sports hub it has a variety of sporting facilities, including: ovals, BMX track, Basketball/Netball courts, skate park and children's adventure playground.

Find out more about the variety of sports available in the region. You can also look at the NT Community website for local sporting groups.

Katherine has a lot of essential services, you will find:

• Post office
• Police station
• Library
• 3 banks, 4 ATMs
• Mechanics
• Fuels stations
• Variety of accommodation options
• Public pool

For those who live out further in the Big Rivers region, visit bushtel.nt.gov.au to understand what is available in the regional communities.

In Katherine, there are daycare centres, primary schools and preschools, two high schools and one specialist school, Kintore Street School, which ranges from prep to year 12. Katherine also has a distance education school, Katherine School of the Air. This school has more than 250 students over an area of 800,000 kilometers catering to primary and middle year students in remote or isolated areas.

Look over the list of schools in the Big Rivers region.

Callistemon House is also a boarding option for remote students in Katherine.

The Big Rivers region and specifically Katherine has a wide variety of family homes for rent and sale. There’s opportunity to secure your own piece of land and build a home yourself.

Housing and rental average costs are kept up to date on the NT Economy website.

Note: There's a high rental demand in Katherine, sitting around 1.5% - so it's important you factor this in when you relocate to Katherine.

Depending on where you are moving from, relocation prices to Katherine can vary. It's best you shop around and receive multiple quotes from multiple removalist companies. You can find more information about things to prepare for by looking over our Moving page.

Whether you decide to rent or purchase, the Northern Territory Government offers a range of assistance to homeowners to enter the market or build homes. You can find out more information by looking at our Housing page.