The most popular tourist game in Katherine today was how to reach our famous natural attraction, the Hot Springs.
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Tourists trying to reach the popular rock pools encounter a bewildering array of logs, sagging mesh barriers and a confusing mix of signs.
People were carrying prams across slumping fences and down slippery tracks.
Staff at the Pop Rocket Cafe were seen fielding questions about directions.
Nomads were walking in circles with large maps trying to make sense of an array of signs, none which actually pointed the way down the river bank to the springs.
Others were slipping and sliding down steep and dangerous escarpments.
Every tourist the Katherine Times encountered was in utter confusion about how to actually get down to the springs.
Council closed the entrance via Riverbank Drive on Friday morning, leaving the only access point to and from the springs via Croker Street.
More than a million dollars is being spent renovating the “tired” attraction, a process which is continuing.
When you arrive at the Hot Springs car park there are no signs directing our visitors on how to access the tourist magnet safely.
The haphazard routes to our famous attraction have raised questions of safety access, after a young man was seriously injured in an accident there on Saturday night.
There was no suggestion the accident was in any way related to the renovation work, but the issue of access to the springs by emergency services has been questioned.
St John Ambulance officer in charge at Katherine, Rhys Dowell, was in the water with the injured man.
“It was a difficult extraction because of the steepness of the banks there,” Mr Dowell said.
“It was too hazardous to try there so we had to move further down for safety reasons.”
Some readers have called for the springs to be shut by council until reconstruction works are completed.
The redevelopment project was announced in late 2015 and will use the Katherine River corridor to lure more visitors to town and “reconnect” residents with the waterway.
Council has previously said the first stage of work to bring new life to the famous attraction should be finished by October.
A council spokeswoman said the council was still investigating the weekend’s incident and “we will follow up with the relevant authorities involved to get a debrief on the incident which will inform any potential council actions”.
