Each dry season unearths more than a few wacky adventurers on the Stuart Highway.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Most you admire, with some you just shake your head.
If you are not kept busy enough negotiating the constant stream of grey nomads and their vans, it is these people who can keep you on your toes.
You just wonder what they will come up with next.
There are the car bashes, of the Variety Club ilk, or classic car clubs of even the solar car challenges. We are used to that.
Katherine is on the crossroads of the NT, they can't help but come through us.
The military convoys, the enormous road trains - they even trundle down the main street of Katherine.
But is these individuals who test their fitness, and their sanity (and that of their families) who can provide inspiration, and a few laughs.
Many are raising money for their particular charity, often in memory of someone close to them.
All strength to them.
We also liked Katie Visco and husband Henley Phillips who we were fortunate to meet a few weeks ago.
All the way from the US, years in the planning not to raise anything but a steady stream of sweat as she runs all the way from Darwin to Adelaide.
In marathon-sized chunks of about 42km a day.
How about the Hughes family of four - mum, day and the tow young kids travelling around Australia on tandem bikes.
They were already 7000km into a 12,000 km journey when they passed through Katherine.
What an experience.
There are plenty of families on the grey nomad route already.
Young couples who've quit their jobs, sold the house and bought a van to cart the kids around Australia to give them a "different" start to their education.
There are also many who look for firsts.
Katie and Henley say their 3400km run will be the only known bicycle-supported transcontinental run across Australia.
I've met a few pushing wheelbarrows, towing carts, riding weird contraptions and a few relays, where groups shared the load.
They come east to west, north to south.
Some have support, some do not.
Generous people in Katherine sometimes put them up for a night or two, their budgets are always tight and showers and hot food are at a premium.
Just when you thought you'd seen it all (remember the runner wearing only his underwear) there is always something new to consider on the open road.
Editor Chris McLennan's column Tales from the Top End appears in each Wednesday's edition of the Katherine Times.