A $30,000 Northern Territory government grant is poised to provide tourists with a more comfortable look at the unique experience that is life in the outback during their visit to Katherine.
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Tourism Minister Adam Giles and Member for Katherine Willem Westra van Holthe announced on September 18 that the Katherine Outback Experience had been successful in securing the funding, which will be used to build a grandstand to get patrons off their feet during operator Tom Curtain’s head-turning shows.
Currently, visitors are forced to stand near the arena for sustained periods as they watch Mr Curtain demonstrate his in-depth understanding of horsemanship and life on the land.
The affable tourism operator and well-known Katherinite said the funding would make a big difference to what visitors took away from the 90-minute experience.
“We get a lot of the grey nomads and school camps and that sort of thing, so, at the moment, we’ve got a few issues with the seating and, for 40 or 45 minutes, you've got people standing around,” he told the Katherine Times.
“It gets a bit tiring, especially for the older people.
“So, it’s going to provide a lot more comfort, really, and better viewing for a lot of tourists.”
We get a lot of the grey nomads and school camps and that sort of thing, so, at the moment, we’ve got a few issues with the seating and, for 40 or 45 minutes, you've got people standing around.
- Katherine Outback Experience operator Tom Curtain
The grant has been provided through the government’s $4.75 million Tourism Infrastructure Development Fund.
Mr Curtain said he believed that his popular show provided visitors with a genuine view of what life was like for ringers working on stations across the Top End.
“I’ve always sort of said to people I didn’t want it to be the Tom Curtain show,” he said.
“There are so many people who are driving up on the bitumen and never get off the road to see what the real outback is like on a going station.
“I suppose this show is about how people in the bush let down their hair and have a bit of fun with animals, and that sort of thing.”
Mr Giles said grants like the one provided to the Katherine Outback Experience would help communities value-add from the annual influx of dry season tourists.
“While these projects are small in scale, they will make a huge difference to improving the overall visitor experience,’ he said.